The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1895-05-02
SOUND MONEY.
N. ". Sun.

| N. Y. Sun.
"By itself no phrase is emptier,
President Cleveland of the District
of Columbia and John p. Jones of
Nevada both say that they are for
sound money; and, stopping there,
neither can deny the others truthful
ness. Yet Jones is known to be for
free silver coinage at the ratio of
sixteen to one, and Grover Cleveland
for something different, which he
has never defined with percision
equal to .Jones's. 1t seems as though
all the statesmen, except, Secretary
Morton, who are opposed to Senator
Jones and to the free silver party,
now rampant, dread to say the awful
words which alone can make their
financial programme unmistakable.
The alternative for free silver
coinage at sixteen to ono is what we
have, namely, gold, as the one per-
manent measure of value and stand
ard of currency. This has all along
been manifest, although the efforts
have been frantic and often lud,crous
to avoid saying it, or to prevent it
from being recognized. The issue
which the silver men say they will
preoipitate, cannot be modified by
delqsion or pretence, on either side.
The issue is between gold and silver
as to the standard of currency, the
value of each metal, with respect to
each other and to other commodities
being totally beyond the power of
any financial legislation or conven,
tion to change.
The silver proposition is to dis
card the gold standard and to sub
stitute the standard of silver; to
measure things by .silver instead of
by gold. We measure by gold now
and not by silver. The silver men
propose to abolish our present system
and to substitute another, plead ing
certain advantages and denying the
opposed disadvantages. Yet, not
withstanding all the turmoil, mystifi-
cation, and crazy rhetoric of the
contest, with which this generation
is particularly familiar, gold has
been the one ruling standard of this
country for full sixty years. Gold
monometaliSm Is what we have had
in fact throughout that PERIOD, it is
what the anti-silver men must confess
they favor, or stand for silver. There
is no middle ground"
There is much of the wisdom of
foolishness in the SUNS article given
above. The trouble does not arise
in money, but in the use of the term
standard, and between ''standard"
and ssmoney" there is no such init
mate connection as Bro. Dana would
have us believe.
The yard is a standard of long
measure, yet who will dare say that
a yard of calico is not as truly a yard
as the same measure of silk or broad
cloth. So also is the pound whether
it be applied to the most worthless
OF the most valuable commodity of
commerce.
The struggle is between represen.
tatives and not standards.
The term Dollar, is the standard,
the gold the representative.
The God bugs insist that nothing
but gold shall be used to represent
the standard, while the Bi metalist
demand that silver shall also be
used in connection with gold as ali
equal representative.
The foolishness and insincerity
of the gold-bug is shown in the fact
that he is perfectly willing to use
paper representative of the stand
ard, but is opposed to the use of a
silver, and the only reason apparent
is that the use of the white metal
robs the money dealer of his subsidy
and loosens his grip on the throat of
business.
The editor of the Sun, with COM
mendable frankness, acknowledges,
that the gold men "drea i to say the
awful words which alone can make
their financial progam nnmistake-
able" Why ''dread," if their pro-
testations are honest? Only because
they would boforced to acknowledge
that they favor the use of paper
money, (the credit of the banks at
direct cost to the business of the
country of from to 10 per cent,
rather than use silver, which will
circulate free Of interest.