The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-17
THE REAL "SILVER" ISSUE

From the Rochester Post-Express.
Mr.. Cleveland as we understand him, is
distinctly man of words, not acts He Is
| the most cunning of all American poll
ticians in the matter of choosing a cam
paign issue; and In the matter of control
| ling conventions and securing votes from
all manner of incongruous elements, he is
| easily the greatest Of all our many dema-
gogues. But he never accomplishes any
thing in the way of craftsmanship; and TO
man entrusted with leadership and power
ever made so poor record in deeds or SO
big a record in professions. He is not re-
sponsible for single act of the slightest
Importance in the state or in the nation
And after he has won an election on q
great REFORM" he takes no further in
terest in it, and looks around for another
available fake. He was elected on "civil
service reform" in 1884; and 1t took no
step beyond the point where President Ar
thur left it. He ran on tariff reform"
in 1888 and in 1892; and tariff reform" af-
ter costing no end Of party turmoil and
business disaster, is abandoned in The
ditch. And now Mr.. Cleveland, in his
usual cloudy STYLE proposes an issue for
1886, currency reform" 1t would be idle
to try to fasten Mr.. Cleveland to any
definite statement in SO tortuous a let
ter; but 1t may be said that on its surface
It is a plea for sound money and the ma
tional credit. The thesis Is a good one;
but there are different notions as to what
sound money Is and as to what makes for
the national credit.
Here is our own view on certain definite
points. There are $3i6,6Sl, ,0l6 in United
States notes, commonly called greenbacks.
They are legal tender and the business of
thp ppInfrv ho haan n N, ho, Or,
more than thirty years. They are the best
paper currency ever in circulation. The
man who attacks their character and pro-
poses to incur a huge bonded debt to get
rid of them, that they may be supplanted
by paper based on corporation debts is an
enemy to sound currency and to the public
credit. Mr.. Cleveland has assailed the
greenbacks and proposed that course.
There were on Feb. l. 1895, $205, ,297,5H in
national bank notes, every dollar secured
by United States bonds and each, though
not directly legal tender, practically as
good as a greenback. The man who pro-
poses to give us, instead of this, cur
rency based on less valuable securities, or
forty-four different kinds of state bank
currency, is an enemy to sound money
and to the public credit. Mr. Cleveland
has proposed that course.
There were. Feb. l. 1895, In existence $780,
75l,54l in treasury notes, legal tenders
based indirectly on bullion silver, in the
treasury vaults, but directly on the credit
of the nation. The validity of this cur
rency should be respected and upheld; but
Mr.. Cleveland has dealt with it even more
bitterly than with the greenbacks.
There were, Feb !, 1885, in coined silver
dollars $i22, ,6S6,749, each dollar a legal
tender, and the great mass of these dollars
were represented in circulation by silver
certificates. The man that aims to depre-
ciate these dollars Is an enemy to sound
money and the public credit That has
been Mr. Cleyeland's constant endeavor.
There were outstanding on March /.
1895, in United States bonds, payable in
coin, $685. 800 The man who declares
that the obligation of these bonds Is not
good enough for the money markets of the
world and wants to issue bonds with new
obligation, attacks the credit of the United
States. Mr.. Cleveland advocated that
policy.
Thrty-year, per cent. bonds of the
United States were selling on the market,
Saturday, at 12Ola The man In authority
who orders their issue to a secret syn
dicate at 10ila on the plea that no better
terms can be had. when the markets Of the
world are ready to bid 12O1s, Is an enemy to
tne puDHc creult. Inat course Mr. CleVe-
land took. We do not mean to say that
Mr.. Cleveland, in these matters, has dellb-
erately and maliciously acted against
sound money and the national credit-pos-
sibly he was trying in futile way to
serve both; but we merely apply his own
formula to his public policy.
Perhaps the only apparently definite
statement In Mr.. Cleveland's letter is this:
Disguise 1t as we may. the line Of battle
Is drawn between the forces of safe cur
rency and those of silver monometallism
If there be people advocating silver mono-
metallism, then every one who UNDER
stands the subject will agree with Mr..
Cleveland in opposition to them. Silver
monometalllsm would be exactly the same
thing practically as gold monometallism,
for the value Of gold and silver in the
world is roughly speaking, equal: the nat
ural supply Of each metal Is limited, and
the cost of production is pretty constant
in the long run; SO that to change the
standard would not change tho debt pay
ing money of the world. Our conception
of the real issue, however, is that 1t is be-
tween gold monometallism and bimetal-
lism, not between silver monome talllsm
and anything else.
Important. II True.
From the Syracuse Post.