The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-29
THE WISDOM OF LEGISLATORS.

Mr.. Patterson. a Democrat from Ten
nessee, in the course of his speech in
the House of Representatives ON the
Republican bond bill, Friday, attribut-
ed the financial disaster that has
overwhelmed the country to the want
of confidence in our currency system.
He was of opinion that the people
could not have confidence in a currency
system which carried S500000,000 of sill
yer and s346, 600 of greenbacks on tn
basis of a gold reserve of 100000 000
The dispatches then represent him as
saying: ga single declaration of Con-
gress that it intends to sustain invi-
olate the gold standard of value would
do more than anything else to restore
confidence" oh, lame and most i'm
potent conclusion! After pointing out
that the financial disasters of the coun-
try are due to sustaining too large a
currency on an amount of redemption
money too small he would have Con-
gress make a declaration that the gov
eminent intends to keep up that policy!
Or would he increase the amount of the
s1O0.OOO.0O0? If so. how would he do it?
The only method of doing so at present
is by issuing more bonds; and as the
borrowed gold for the reserve has to
stand under the, bonds for their re-
demption as we'll as for the redemp-
ton Of United States currency, it seems
difficult to understand how increasing
the gold reserve by increasing the
bond Indebtedness is going to help the
matter; for while it may be true that
by increasing the gold reserve by Dor
rowing, though the gold thus secured
stands under the bonds as well as I'M
der the currency, we lessen the ratio
between the amount Of the currency
and the redemption money, nobody is
so gold mad as to believe that we can
afford to borrow enough gold in this
way to put an absolutely safe amount
of it under our currency for it's re-
demption.
Then it must be remembered that our
gold reserve is not now hundred
million dollars. The dispatches which
brought Mr.. Patterson's speech to the
West brought also the treasury state
ment to the effect that the gold reserve
was now down to S63,86S,320. If we find
it so difficult to keep a gold reserve of
500, 000,0 600 we would find 1T even more
difficult to keep up a larger reserve.
What the financial condition demands
is not a congressional declaration that
the government will sustain inviolate
the gold standard of value, doing that
in practice is what has brought us to
our present distressed condition.: but
what is necessary is to increase the
real money, broaden the basis Of the re-
demption money on which the curren-
cy depends for its value and it will
cease to be a threat to our financial
stability. Suppose Representative Pat
terson instead of recommending a de-
claration for sustaining inviolate the
gold standard OF value mad suggested
and carried to it's ultimate passage a
resolution that would have made the
$500, 0UO,000 of silver of which he speaks
real money-money of final redemption,
what burden would have been unload
ed from gold, and at the same time
how much would he have broadened
the basis on which the currency rests
for its value! The mistake our govern
ment financiers are making is that they
insist on one of the money metals do
ing the work of the two. To para
phrase an old scriptural saying the sin
gle gold standard bed is shorter than
our country can stretch itself upon,
and the single gold standard covering
is narrower than the country can wrap
itself in. yet Mr.. Patterson wants a
congressional declaration that the
country shall have neither a wider COW
ering or larger bed! Such is the wis
dom of legislators.