Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1895-11-05

edness and obligations payable to her
people in that money, with the purchaslng
power of it, on account of its scarcity,
double what 1t was when our obligations
were entered into.
"Can any reasonable man, with a fair
amount of information as to the vastness
Of our country, with Its more than oo,-
DOC, 900 people, with its products nearly
large enough to feed and clothe the World
and with resources sufficient TO sustain
an army large enough to triumph over
the world in arms IL invading our shores,
say that it should be in financial matters
dependent on Europe or any NUMBER Oh
the nations of the world? Are we not
large enough and great enough, ana our
future sufficiently inviting for US 70 as
sumo among the nations of the world the
position of dictator rather than OF
suppliant or follower"
Colonel Oates was justly indignant at
the idea that we should follow monarch
ical Europe in adopting a sole gold stand
ard He did not speak ignoran1iy OF
carelessly. He had been a statesman Tor
twenty years, mingling with men OF IN
tellect and having the ear of the greatest
men in the world. He had seen the result
of silver coinage in the output under the
Bland and the Sherman acts. He knew
exactly what had been done and what
was being done under those laws. The
tables, the books, the figures were all be-
fore him, side by side with the views OF
Mr.. Cleveland in 1884 and afterwards In
1898. He spoke deliberately and intelli-
gently. If he did not then understand the
subject he had no capacity to understand
it, But he had the capacity. He Is a
man of great mental virility, of great
personal courage, of high conscience ana
undoubted patriotism. He is a man as
devoid of selfishness as most politicians.
Not only so, but we have reason to believe
from his speeches that he has pride of
composition and rhetoric. Governor Oates
is a strong man and he knew what he
was saying. He deplored the demoneti-
cation of silver and denounced 1t as
cringing subserviency to Great Britain
and other monarehical powers. He then
proceeded to say what the result would
be if in fact Mr. Cleveland intended to
make this country pay the national
bonds upon a sole gold standard. Said he:
"Sir, the closing paragraph of the pres
ident's special message to congress reads
as follows:
peal of the provisions of the act passed July
IA, 1890, authorizing the purchase of silver
may put beyond all doubt or mistake the in
tention and the ability of the government
to fulfill its pecuniary obligations In money
universally recogized by all civiiized coun-
tries"
Some members of congress profess to
believe that by the latter part of the
above quotation-'that the government
fulfill its obligations in money univer-
sally recognized by all civilized coun-
tries'-the president means that all OBJ
DC
should be paid exclusively in gold. There
, are nearly 81, 900, 900, 900 of these bonds, as
largely held in Europe, perhaps, as In this
country, and now payable by their terms
in either gold or silver.
"Of course our gold and silver are
recognized in other countries only ac-
cordng to their bullion value, while our
paper has no circulation whatever
abroad. But the bonds are payable here
and in our own coin at it's stamped value.
Does the president mean that all the
obligations of the government, including
the bonds, shall be paid exclusively in
gold? I think not
Should congress pass a resolution to
that effect, ! inquire in all candor, where
in will there be found any difference be-
tween the effect of that and the act of
1878, which demonetiZed silver, SO far as
the payment of the bonds Is concerned?
Believing him to be the friend of the
Iax-DufOeneu people, 10 llpt tillIlh tHdt
he means that congress should require
the bonds to be thus paid, which would
be harder to do and more unjust to the
people than the act of 1873 made it, be-
cause of the increase value of gold at
present. 1t would be a violation of the
contract and wrong to the tax payers,
which the president would not sanction"
Yet this violation of the contract, this
fearful hardship upon the tax payers. is
1,a hoc
and what Governor Oates in his maya
zine article now condones.
OF course the governor has a right to
change his opinion-to modify his views
but we respectfully submit that those
who have not changed their opinion in
one or two years, with no new facts be-
fore them. are entitled to more respect
full consideration than is accorded to
them by the sweeping summary of the
article in the North American Review.