The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-03-28
CLEVELAND AsD GRANT.

Biand silver seigniorage bill. but will veto
IL absolutely without any qualification
whatever. When We repealed the PRO-
vision OF the Sherman silver purchase Law
Of 1880 We stopped heaping mp silver; We
stopped the issas Of notes 10 b main
tained u par with gold; Ne reafli-med the
duty and purpose OF the United States 10
keep all its currency At par with gold The
Bland bill provides for the replacement OF
the outstanding treasury notes, which are
legal tender aud redeemabis in gold, By
silver certificates. which are not legal
tender, save to the government, and which
must also be kept at par with gold. II the
Bland bill becomes q law the treasury
revenues would infaiiibly be paid in these
silver certificates: it gold reserve would
be exposed to drain.
The gradual drift to re-establishment
Of public confidence in our monetary
policy at home and abroad would be Ar
rested By the Bland bill becoming . law,
for If for the treasury notes we are to have
silver certificates. by their terms redeem
able only in silver, the confidence of tho
money-lending public In Europe and
America that the spook Of free silver had
been finally laid. would be again rudely
shaken. A Leading New York banker re-
Gently said.
Suppose Europe should happen to be
convinced By this Bland legislation that
We are headed toward fiat money, and that
the doctrines of the silver people are, after
ali. 10 prevail. We should probably get
fns To- rta ties Inn
the market. They would have TO be sold
and payment would have TO be made in
gold. and that gold would be exported.
With such tendency there might
come disposition on the part of those in
the United States who hold paper money
to seek its redemption In gold, thus CON-
Polling the government either TO suspend
gold payments by refusing TO pay out gold
for this paper. or else TO 90 into the mar
ket again TO borrow gold in order TO meet
these demands. How soon after such
things were begun would il be before We
found ourselves in . worse panic than We
we're last SUMMER"
There is great force In these suggestions.
for il 10 true today that prudent investors
in Europe are not willing to buy United
States bonds lest they DO cheated out OF
their money. A leading London house re-
Gently wrote large bank of New York
city a. follows:
LONDON. March 0. 1894.
"Dedr Sirs: We beg TO acknowledge re-
ceipt Of your favor of 10Th ult., and we are
much Obliged for your offer of United
States 3 per cent. coupon bonds, OF which
We regret We cannot avail ourselves, as We
cannot count on their being paid In gold.
We remain. ETC., - -"
OF course this London banker is wrong,
for the recently issued 5 per cent. bonds
are like all the existing bonds Of the
United States, save the Pacific 8 per
cents.," which were expressly made paya-
bic in currency; nevertheless these for.
eign investors are naturally alarmed at
the fact that there is still strong party in
the United States IN favor Of depreciating
tho currency and bringing all dollars
down to Is cents, or whatever may he the
value of 4is,s grains of silver of standard
fineness.
These foreign investors perhaps go too
far in their assumption that the govern
ment would cheat its creditors out Of
cent by taking advantage of = technicality
| in the wording of q law. |. O.. by the use Of
the word ''coin" In tho act Of is70 under
which these bonds were issued. In 1870
the only legal tender coin known TO the
generation was gold coin. The SILVER
dollar was worth 267 cents more than tho
gold dollar. aud II had no, been seen in
actual circulation for thirty years.
| Silver was practically demoneiiEed in
| 1884 and legally demonetized i'm 1873 and
| has not since been remonetixed. Neverthe-
less foreign investors naturally dread that
| the silver. party will sooner or later get
| full control of the government and that
| silver standard. but will not hesitate to
cheat its creditors by paying its coin obIi-
| CATION in silver.
| President Cleveland ought to rise to the
! level Of the occasion as President Grant
| did when he vetoed the imitation bill In
/ 1874 Grant had been reelected by an
overwhelming majority in lisa and his
party controlled both houses of congress
The imitation bill, which proposed to In.
crease the amount Of irrsdeemahIe paper
money, passed the Senate on the "a of
! April, 1874, By vote OF - to -. majority
| of the Republicans supporting it, and the
house eoncurred on the iiih of the month
by vote Of lao TO To-.
The bill va, favored By Morton OF In
diana, by John A. Logan. by Matt Carpen-
ter. by ingalls, and by Ferry of Michigan.
/ and by Simon Cameron Of Pennsylvania
I The oaly Western men who opposed it
we're John Sherman, Chandler of Miehi-
| gan and Jones of Nevada Preslden.
Grant vetoed the bill. aud among other
things said ESa.
"fae fact cannot be concealed that the
| osetieslly. the bill increases the paper cir
| eulation sioo o.a1 6Oa. less only the amount
| OF reserves restrained from circulation hy
| the provision Of the second section. Tia
ismeasure has been supported on the theory
/ that 1, would give Increase! clrcui alton
| ls - fair inference. therefore, that II in
| practice the measure shoala fall TO create
| the abundance OF circulation expected Of
IL, the friends Of the measure, particularly
| those eat Of congress. would clania- for
| such sntiation ~ would give the expected
/ relief
THE theory. in nly belief, - departure
| from true principles az nnAnee, national
| interest national Obligations 10 creditors
| congressional promises. party pledges ca
/ the par; OF both polisies. parties. and Of
/ personal vless aud promises made BY ne
/ Ia every annual message sent TO congress-
/ and in each inaugural address"
/ President Grant VAS urged to slgn .hs.
/ rerniclaas measure "for the sake Of the
party" Just ss Cleveland is today urged
I by Democrats % sign the Bland imitation
saver se4gaierage bill ''fos the sake Of the