Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-04-29

" tue power 10 uthtfoyf I0pulor Joal-
ousy mas ever watched IL Careful
statutes have hedged Il rouad Consti-
tutlons have guarded II as II IL were
the giant powder OF industrial disaster
but II this be true Of the power 10 tax,
which Is annual or biennial In It's uses,
and against which relicf may soon be
applied, what shall be said NJ the power
TO burden a country with a bonded debt
due In ten. fifteen or thirty yearsG
Public debts arc the curse OF our civil
lizatlon. After they are once created.
honorable men VIII never sufrer them
TO be repudiatcd, Those who created
them by postponinK the day Of pay
ment lift from their own shoulders the
greater part OF the burden, and lay it
upon the energies of the young and the
unborn whose own hardships may press
more heavily than the burdens descend
ed TO them from their fathers 1 do not
wish to underestimate the Importance
OF meeting every government obllga-
ton. But the first effort should be to
meet Il by a reduction Of expenses
which will leave current money for
every necessary creditor and if this
be impossible, then by raising the tax
levy upon Ourselves, SO that we may
settle our own bills and not shit them
to those who come after us. II every
other eNpedient fails and the govern
ment financiers are confronted with a
permanent deficiency. the high power OF
issuing an DEMONSTRATING bond should
receive the express sanction OF congress
so that every member could he held by
his constituents TO demonstrate the
urgency Of the cricis which required
step so extraordinary, No citizen how.
ever eminent, no cabinet officer how
over wise. should ever be vested with n
discretionary power 80 iraught with re-
sponsibility and peril, II elected to the
senate shall labor increasingly to CONF
bat every proposed power aud with
draw every existing power under whicn
public officer may assume TO issue
bonds at his discretion for any purpose
whatsoever
It need rot be supposed. however.
that our able secretary of the treasury
undertook a measure so radical AS the
creation OF q bonded debt without de-
liberation and reluctance. The respon-
sibility Of conducting the national
Frances has been one Of Unprecedented
difficulty since the beginning OF the
present administration. The situation
has been growing more complex FOR
several years and was due 20 causes
which are fbmiliar TO many, but which
may be briefly recapitulated here, A
great struggle has been going on dur
ing the present century between the
nations OF the earth for financial
MYSTERY. The two main weapons Of in
dustrla armament employed by gov
ernments have been the tariff and the
currency Seventy-fivc years ago. all
the great nations were bi-metHllic.
England has always been the agrees
sive leader IN the worlds commercial
battles, She has her colonies on every
continent and In every sea. Canada.
| India, Australia and many other coun-
| tries Of less Importance constitute ter
| ritorial parts OF her empire The
| whole world contributes 10 her CONNER.
! .HaH.N 4 H. - He.
| universal creditors OF mankind, nnd
| have been SO for more than hundred
| years, Her great fin0nciers, conscious
| OF her position. about 1916 concluded
| to adopt the gold standard. Thus
| things continued until 1873, when the
| United States followed the English eX-
| ample ana stopped the coinage of
standard silver dollars. In the same
| year. but later on. Germany, having
| received one billion francs OF gold
| from France as an indemnity in con-
| sequence OF the FrRnco-Prusaian war,
| concluded to take advantage OF the
| opportunity its possession afforded by
| adopting the gold basis Holland,
small in territory, but rich In credit
! quickly took the same step. and so by
the beginning OF 1874 the Latin Union,
| as it is called, composed Of France,
| italy and minor European nations
| found itself compelled on account Of
! the established policy Of England,
| reinforced by the recent action OF Ger
many and the United States, TO sus-
| pend silver coinage. The people Of the
| United States, however. had not In
| dorsed the silver legislation of 1873
| That statute. II not fraudulent. was at
| least unexpected by the people, and no
| sooner did they realize the financial
| position IN which II left the country
| they began an agitation for the restora-
! ton Of silver money This agitation re-
.1.N.Ns a
| bill. which remained ON the statute
| books from that time until 1890 and
| gave steady monthly addition Of two
| million dollars worth Of silver to the
volume OF the circulation, When this
| Bland bill was enacted, the fnanclars
OF New York predicted that Il would
/ bring disaster that the silver money
issued under II would depreciatc, and
! that the United States could not sup
| port such an experiment. The opera
| ton OF this act for twelve years with
ouy friction the disappointment one by
| one OF every prophecy made as 20 it's
| bad results. and the continued improve
ment OF the country built up n silver
| sentiment so strong that Il could not
| be entirely resisted. As concession
| to its demands the sherman act Of 1899
The sherman Act.
This act was not what the friends
| of silver wanted II was compromise
and as time has developed. a very un.
| fortunate compromise. The Democrat
&c party opposed It both In the house
/ and senate. The silver senators OF the
| West received IN exchange FOR the
| Bland act. which had worked well. the
| Sherman act which by executive con.
structlon Of It's meaning has been made
| the instrument 10 completely destroy
| silver coinage The Sherman law never
was genuine silver coinage. either lin
| tied or unlimited, because It provided
| for the purchase OF silver bullion and
| the issue OF treasury notes therefor
| The act declared that these treasury
notes could be redeemed In gold or sill
yer, at the discretion OF the govern
| ment, but the Harrison administration
commenced the policy Of allowing the
| man who held the notes TO decide which
| coin he would take. That clause Of
| the act which defined Ito be the es-
| tablished policy Of the United states
to maintain the two metals on parity
With each other was construed 10 give
| the holder Of the notes issued for the
| silver bullion the option which the law
| In specific terms conferred upon the
| secretary Of the treasury. TIE result
was that the treasury notes Issued
| every month for 4,50o1Oa ounces If sill
| YER bullion, instead Of helping the cauFe
| Of silver as "a money metal, RWell ID the