The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-11-29
CARLISLE ON CURRENCY.

CARLISLE ON CURRENCY.
The Secretary Addresses the New YorH
Chamber Of Commerce banquet.
# New York, Nov. 2i.--The l27th an
nnal banquet Of the Chamber of Com.
merce of the state of New York was
held at Delmonico's last evening.
Secretary Carlisle spoke on currency.
He said, in part: II he fundament tai
vice in our currency system is the legal
tender note, redeemable in coin by the
government and rcissuable under the
law. There are other defects, but this
threatens the stability of the whole
volume of our currency. So long as
these notes are outstanding. the
slightest dininution of the coin re-
serve at once excites a feeling of
apprehension and distrust, affects the
values OF all securities, curtails in
vestments, and more or less seriously
cmbarrasses all the business affairs Of
the people 4
I'm attempting to provide circu
lating medium of it's own notes, re-
deemable in coin on presentation and
reissuable after redemption, the gov
ernment of the United States is en-
s dsCN ia - OuSIACSS 1Ok w AlC1 III IS
wholly untitled and which was never
for a moment contemplated by its
founders. 1t has right to borrow
monev and issue evidences of the debt,
but it was never con templated that it
should convert itself into bank Of
issue and furnish legal teuder paper
currency for the use Of the people.
The Treasury department ought to be,
and was intended to be, simply a pub
lie agency for the management of the
fiscal affairs Of the government-as a
government, rot as q bank.
mo change made in our currency
system will afford relief unless it pro-
vides for the retirement of the legal
tenders The circulation of legal ten
ders has tendency to drive out of use
and out of the country the very coin
in which the government is compelled
to redeem them; and it has expelled
millions of dollars from our borders.
Although the government and our own
people are compelled to receive them,
they will not discharge international
obligations, and gold must go out to
settle all final balances against us.
No other government in the world is
required to supply gold from it's treas
ury to discharge the private obiiga-
tions Of it's citizens.
The agitation for the free coinage
Of legal tender silver is predicated upon
the same vicious principle that under
lies the legislation making paper
promises a legal tender, but there is a
practical difference between the two
systems The United States note was
a forced loan from the people to the
go vernment, which the government
promised to repay in dollars, but the
ratio of l6 to would be q forced loan
from the people to the owners of silver
mines and silver bullion without a
promise of repayment by anything.
The campaign against the PROPOSE
tion to debase our standard of value
| should not be abandoned or suspended.
| If the friends of a sound and stable
| measure of value are vigilant and ac-
tive, this effort cannot possibly suc-
ceed, and the question will soon
recede from public view. But the
United States legal tender notes will
remain to conplicate the currency sys-
TEN and embarrass the government
In my opinion legislation in this di-
rection at the earliest possible day is
imperatively demanded by every sub
stantial interest in the country, and
it's postponment upon any pretext of
political expediency or upon the as
sumption in advance that no salts
factory result can be accomplished
would be a very grave mistake