The herald., 1895-08-02
p,eo for One constitutional Money STANDARD


Plea for One Constitutional Money Standard
Editor Herald All reasonable mon.
whether advocates of monometallism or OF
bimetalism, will agree that after the great
exieencies OF the civil war had dragged
the paper dollars of this country Gown to
less than one-half the value of the specie
dollars of the constitution and the stat
ute books, it was the bounden duty of
the American people to gradually (that
is, as saon as might be without too vio-
lent disturbance OF values) return to a
specie basis; in other words bring our
to the level of the gold and silver dollars
of the constitution. And as a matter of
fact we did that very thing. we labored
and legisiated, in season and out of sea-
son, despite many and tremendous OBJ.
stacles, amongst which was the terrible
shrinkage of values of all property conse-
qu uent upon the necessary appreciation or
restoration OF the standard to constiru-
tional basis. We would not have been
honest il We had not done this. We
steadily kept in view. to our everlasting
credit. the fact that all the dollars, both
of the government and the people, then
and always, meant or ought TO mean,
the dollars of the statute books and moth
ing else. Congress even went so far as to
pass credit Strengthening act. which
declared in explicit terms, what in real
ity was, or ought to have been, self ev.
dent. namely. that all United States
notes and bonds were payable in coin, i.
e.. IN gold or silver dollars, as defined in
the statute books.
In looking back now we see that the
American people. in striving to make
good. both in letter and spirit. their
promises on all their demand and time
paper, acted in businessiike, strictly
h.., -1A AHcA s~,, AL.
they and their posterity in after years
may Justly feel proud.
Now the so-called silver men of this
country insist that if it was wise and
just and honest then to bring an aberra-
ted sophisticated, deprecated standard
back to the true legal basis of gold and
silver, as provided by the constitution, 1t
is equally right and honorable and the
bounden duty of the gold men now to
join with the silver men in similar sim
cere and earnest endeavor to bring our
present sophisticated, appreciated gold
standard back to the plain, simple, dou-
BILE standard OF our iorefathers, which
was changed, with such momentous re-
suits, without their wish and almost
without their knowledge, twenty-five
years ago.
The silver men submit. and they think
with irr rresistable logic, that cannot be
evaded or gainsaid, that if the declaration
bonds or paper dollars of the government
were payable in coin. that is, in standard
gold and silver dollars. was true at the
time of its passage, it is true today. for
tnat law is still on the statute books. If
that was the policy of the government. as
proclaimed to all the world by the pass
age OF that act then, it is or ought to be,
no less the policy OF our government to-
day. Besides. the declared intent Of that
law is in strict harmony with all onr leg
islaton prior to 1873 and with the very
phraseology of the obligations issued by
our government, whether before or since
the passage that year of the baleful law
which attempted 10 sophisticate our
standard by basing 1t on gold alone, when
the constitution more than eighty years
before, had formally and explicitly based
it, by free coinage. on the universal masses
of both the metals, silver and gold.
Ii it was honest, If il was good public
policy, for the American people to bring
back in good faith a deprecated stand
ard years ago. to the true constitutional
basis. they are no less bound by the same
sacred obligations of honesty and sound
public policy, in token OF good faith to-
ward them selves and all the world. to
bring back their present appreciated un-
constitutional single or double standard
back to the true bimetallc basis, where
the fathers OF the republic placed it.
Will the gold men, who, as a rule, are
great sticklers for the forms of law ana
for strict construction of the constitu-
ton. join loyal silver men in this good
work? On the contrary. are they not in
fact opposing with all their might this
great constitutional reform? Are they
not, inueed. more virulent in their oppo-
sitJn than were the so-called green.
backers. the deluded ''fiatists," who so
determinedly opposed resumption? The
attitude of the gold men today is almost
identical with that of the paper standard
lunatics of the '70s. Probably neither
class feels t1attered by the comparison.
But still it remains true that both parties
may be and probably will be set down by
the future historian as opponents of a
return to constitutional methods
II. ID. BARROWS.
July 30, 1895.