Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-05-16
MIR. LlewellYn His stand for Gold.


MEXICO, Mo, May i5,-l see our
friend, MIR, Lieweliyn, with his usual
placid philosophy takes side with the
gold monometallists aud millionaires
who principally own the great wealth
he speaks of as having blessed the
country since 1879, Has Fred been
asleep To the innumerabIe strikes and
disorganization of labor and Industry
throughout the land, the wrangies of
Congress in extra session over the re-
peal of the Sherman act, the bank
ruptcy of the Treasury, bond issues,
etc, in this period of prosperity and
plenty? Does he not know that every
gold standard country has foremost
suffered widespread depression and
that our financial and industrial trou-
bles is the burning issue of every
newspaper and rostrum, and date their
starting from the demonetizing act OF
1873? Have we not been undergoing
a terrible shrinkage of values since
the reduction of the volume of the on
ly money which measures value, for
only the money of ultimate redemp-
ton is the standard of measure, and
upon it rests the huge inverted cone
of our immense credit circulation.
When you hear the statements of the
per capita circulating medium and of
a billion and q half or more of such
currency tear away the sham by asking
what is the volume of real money
that money by which all the rest is
measured. Coin in his little book has
punctured such sophistries and con-
clusively shown that the worlds gold
available for money can be placed in
solid block in room % feet square
by % feet high and our own in an or
dinary bank office. What an oppor-
tunity here for a mammoth trust! And
it has already been formed. Ask Mr..
Carlisle about it. Isn't it strange that
Mr.. Llewellyn would break the back
of every tariff trust by opening the
markets and expanding the sources of
supply? Yet he would further fortify
this basic trust of them all and bring
all values to its chopping block. 1t
has already seized the control of the
Treasury and drove, in the language
of Mr.. Carlisle, "a hard bargain" by
which it lays its exaction of millions
on the nation. And from the papers
we see it has entered into competition
for the gold product and is shutting
off the bullion from the mints. Yet
we hear the cry that bimetallism will
drive our gold from us. The Lom-
bard Wall street alliance now controls
it, places it in the Treasury or out, at
home or abroad, at its pleasure. Mr..
Llewellyn claims we have been on a
gold basis for sixty years. Yet did
that prevent the enormous gold ex-
ports of the last few months up to the
time the bond syndicate made it's own
terms with the Treasury?
The monometallists, instead of a
square confession of their creed, mas
querade at times under bimetallism
upon conditions of foreign co-opera-
ton, and always abound in epithets
hurled at their opponents and appeals
for ''sound money" "safe currency"
wholesome financial IDEAS" etc. |
have yet to meet sane business man
who wants anything but sound money.
And can old-fashioned Democrats be
blamed for adhering to the definition
| of such a medium of exchange as
found in the Constitution: That Con-
gress mot syndicates) shall have
''power to coin money, regulate the
| value thereof and ''no State shall
make anything but gold and silrer coin
a tender in payment of debts" This
| is the whole contention of Democratic
| bimetallists. Congress exercised this
power in the act of 1892 by establish
| ing the silver dollar as the unit of val
ue and in 1884 by lowering the amount
of pure gold in the gold coin to con-
form to this standard. Yet the syndi-
cate by solemn compact with the Ex-
ecutive Department fixed a discrimi-
nation of sixteen millions of dollars
| Gas stated in the Presidents message
against the legal coin of the Govern
ment in favor of gold, and though not
openly stipulated in the bond, yet the
Treasurer dare not construe, as the
"coin" nominated one dollar of the
nineteenths of our whole silver coin
age, (some five hundred millions) saiC
by Mr.. Llewellyn to be held in the
Treasury.
Restore silver to its constitutions
rights of coinage and to it's position
in the original act of 1892 for Amer
lean coinage as "the dollar or unit,
and thus loosen the clutch of the golC
trust on the National Treasury.
Now, as to Mr.. Llewellyn's facts, o
, assertion of what he believes to b.
facts-but as this letter is alread,
longer than intended will take thes,
up in another communication.
: G. CLAY.