The Opelousas courier., 1895-04-13
FALSE REPRESENTATIONS.
Republican Journals Distort Facts to In
lure the administration.

Republican Journals DistOrt Facts to In
jure the Administration.
That the distinctively republican pa
pers should endeavor to mislead the
farmers is bad enough: but II is to be
expected because it is their regular
practice to mislead voters of every
class. That agricultural newspapers
published ostensibly for the enlightcn
ment of the farmers, should either in
t~entionally or ignorantly mislead them
is altogether wrong and i~nexcusable,
1t is certainly inexcusable if they do il
Intentionally; nobody will question
that. 1t is equally SO if they do il
through ignorance, for it is their
bounden duty to inform themselves as
to the facts concerning which they as
sumo to teach the agricultural commu
nifty.
This conclusion is drawn from an
article in the Michigan Farmer, in which
that journal undertakes to criticise
the presidents financial message. So
far as the article is merely critical,
we have no quarrel with it,
though the partisan bias Is clearly
apparent. We shall not even quarrel
,vltn Inleftnces, which, while they seem
to be ill-founded, are to some extent
matters of opinion. Such. for instance,
Is the Farmer statement that "to de-
mand the payment of duties on imports
in gold would at once add to the value
of that metal, and place 1t at a premi-
um, and as a corollary depreciate the
value of other currency 1t does not
seem to us possible that this could be
the result, unless the act which de-
clares it to be the policy Of the govern
ment to maintain gold and silver at a
parity in the currency should be re-
pealed; but SO long as it is in any de-
gree a matter of opinion we cheerfully
concede to the Farmer it's right to its
oun opinion, ridiculous as it may APP
pear to us. We accord the same re-
spect to its opinion that "to retire the
yreenback, as redeemed, would cut
down the currency to such an extent
us to embarrass business" The presi-
dents recommendation covers an in
crease in the national bank notes
which, with the releasing of the gold
now held for the redemption of the
greenbacks, would, in our Judgment,
go very far to overbalarce any con-
traction which the gradual redemption
Of the greenbacks as proposed could
occasion. The contraction is, however,
a theoretic possibility; and we are quite
willing to concede that the Farmer be-
lieves what it says in that behalf.
There are two statements in the article
however, which cal only be explained
on the score Of dense ignorance or
a willful intent to mislead the farmers.
One Of them is the statement that the
greenbacks "are as sound as the gov
eminent, and cost nothing, while the
people will have to pay interest on the
bonds" No one who read the presi-
dents message intelligently can be ig-
norant Of the fact thai the greenbacks,
snstead of costing the people nothing.
have cost them a great deal, and will
continue to do SO as long as they are
Kept outstanding with the obligation
upon the government of maintaining a
gold reserve to redeem them. Speak
ing on this point in his message, the
president said:
objection has been made to the issuance of
interest-bearing obligations for the purpose
OF retiring the non-interest bearing legal ten
der notes. In point of fact, however. these
notes have burdened us with o large load of in
terest, and it is still accommodating. The ag-
gregate interest on the original issue of bonds,
the proceeds of which In gold constituted the
for the payment of these notes,
amounted to $40, 325. $50 on January l, 1895; and
4hn ~ rpr In- F~~ s~.a-1-k
and those issued for the same purpose during |
the last year, will be 80, 145, 0GO, dating from |
January /, 1895"
This is a sufficient answer to the |
Farmers statement that the green
backs ''cost nothing" but it does not
tell the whole story. Figures care
compiled by the New York Times
show that the actual cost of the green
back to the country-in spite OF it's |
bearing character-was. |
from March 10, 1862, when it wa first
to June 80, 1889, 81, S3s, sO7, 452.
And, Notwithstanding this enormous
cost, S346, ooo, 900 of them are still out
standing to be redeemed and reissued-
Unless existing laws are changed-at
constantly increasing cost.
The other misleading statement of
Farmer which we have in mind re-
ates to the rate of interest on the
ponds sold by President Cleveland's
administration to maintain the re-
1t is in these words: 1.-THE
100. 100000 in bonds already issued
'ear S per cent. interest. They are
in twenty years, and will
hen have cost 500, COZ, 900 in interest,"
low, while it is quite true that the
'onds referred to are nominally 5 per
ent. bonds-congress having refused
o authorize the issue of bonds at a
rate of i~nterest--it is a we'll
nown fact that they were sold at a
rice which makes the rate of interest
he government has to pay only 8 per
emit. The cost to the government,
therefore,, in the twenty years will be
My $50, 000, 900, instead of 500, O0o, 900,
$ the Farmer puts it. In other words,
is $40, 900, 600 out of the way in it's
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Free Press. 4.
NOTES. AND COMMENTS.
The republicans and populists :