Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1894-1895, 1894-12-07
Gentle Shrpperd, Tell Us Why.

welfare of our country alone, let every
man come to IN honest, conscientious
conclusion on the subject.
There are three reasons given for the
issue of bonds.
l. To increase the gold reserve.
2. To strengthen the public credit.
B. To provide money for the current
expenses of the Government.
That it will not increase the gold re-
serve is proven by the former issue OF
bonds. That it wholly failed to do so,
was pointed out by the New York Her
add The Herald says:
Last February when the treasury
reserve ran low it WAS replenished by
the sale of fifty millions of new gov
eminent per cent. bonds for gold,
the proceeds amounting to upwards of
fifty-eight millions, as the bonus COM
manded high premium. That was
very well so far as 1t went, but the
people who had paid in gold saw q
hole through which they could sur
reptitiously pull it out again. This
was the obligation of the treasury and
its branches to deliver gold i'll re-
demption of legal tenders when pre-
scented in sums of $50 or more.
Through this hole all the gold re-
ceived for the bonds was soon drawn
out of the treasury again, and its pres
ent owners stand ready to repeat the
trick by paying it over the counter
once more for government bonds.
Given continuance of existing con-
ditions and this same sixty millions of
gold could be used as often as Davy
Crockett's Ipeltry, and after the Gov
eminent had issued a thousand mill
ion of bonds the treasury would have
nothing but the same old gold reserve
with which it started"
That the gold reserve cannot be
strengthened in this way is evident to
everyone 1t must follow, therefore,
that this is not the reason why bonds
are issued. Both Mr.. Cleveland and
Mr.. Carlisle very we'll know that it
will not strengthen the gold reserve.
Let us then consider the second
reason assigned, viz: ito strengthen
the public credit" Is the credit of
the United States under suspicion !?
Does any one IN any part of the world
doubt the ability of this Government
to pay every cent it owes?
If there was any such suspicion
would the way to remove that doubt
be to go further in debt? Is it not
more reasonable, if We wish to strength
en- the credit of the United States, to
pay off some of its debts than to con-
tract new ones? Is not the course
adopted by Mr.. Cleveland the very re-
verse of all business principles and
even of every day common sense? If
the credit of the United States was in
the least degree to be suspected, who
would be the first to find it out !?
Would it not be the Rothschilds bank
ing firm, which owns so many millions
of the obligations of the United States !?
Yet we find this firm, as soon as the
announcement that bonds are to be
issued Is made, cabling their American
branch to take the bonds, Baron
Rothschilds seems to think that the
credit of the United States is the best
in the world. il cannot be strength
ened." 1t therefore follows that the
claim that the issue of bonds is to
strengthen the public credit is sham
and fraud.
In regard to the third reason assign
ed for the issue of bonds, viz: 10 lay
the current expenses of the Govern
ment," it is we'll for every man who
loves liberty and desires to maintain
free government to recur, as Jefferson
wisely advised, to first principles.
Such a thing has not have been attempt
ed in an English speaking nation since
the time of Charles l. 1t has been
supposed that the representatives of
the people in Congress or Parliament
assembled, alone had the exclusive
right to provide for the support of the
army and navy and the judicial and
and executive branches of the Govern
ment. When the kings of England
tried to do what Mr.. Cleveland has
done, they We're dethroned and one of
them lost his head.
To establish the principle that the
Representatives of the people had the
exclusive right to say what the ex-
penses of the Government should be
and providing for them has cost the
shedding of more blood than any other
of the underlying principles of free
government. Yet Mr.. Cleveland, in
stead of applying to Congress, which
IS soon to convene, for appropriations
to pay the expenses of the Govern
ment, registers mortgage on all the
property of the citizens of the United
States for S50,000,000 If any potent
ate in Europe, with perhaps the ex-
ception of the Gar of Russia, should
do such thing. he would have a rev.
olution on his hands within twenty
four hours.
Neither Mr.. Cleveland nor Mr. Car
Isle has ever claimed that there was
any law authorizing them to issue
bonds to pay the current expenses of
the Government, but they took the
money obtained by the former issue
and so expended it. The only color of
authority for the issue of bonds is the
statute passed many years ago, and
long since considered IL dead letter, to
provide redemption fund for green
backs so as to enable the Government
to resume specie payments. After
specie payments were resumed, and
greenbacks became par with gold, it
was considered as dead letter until
Mr.. Cleveland discovered that it