Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1895-06-20
I" The Battle Is On. :"


columns. a great campaign of edu-
cation is now in progress throughout
the country, and we think the peo-
pie should have the benefit of the ar
gumCnt on both sides:
"The Memphis convention of the
s0-CallCd advocates of sound money
was 50 VIGOROUSLY gathering Of
bankers and shylOCkS that the intel
ligrnt representatives. of the wealth.
producing classes have called a con-
NCntion to consist Of men who are
opposed to comforting upon corpora
ti0nS the entire control of the money
and the currency of the country and
who believe in maintaining and per
petuating the money of the Consti
tuition. AvariCo and greed CharaC-
terlZed every speech and resolution
of the sound money Gathering
The makeup and proceedings have
opened the eyes OF many who have
hitherto been inclined to take sides
with the moncyCd classes or have
been indifferent. They are not pro
pared to confer upon corporations
the functions and powers exclusively
delegated to Congress by the organic
law. 1t is a fundamental and ac-
copied doctrine Of the Democracy
that the supplying Of the currency
Is incidental to the power to coin
money. Hence, Whatever CirCulatrS
AS money should be supplied by Com
gresS. 1t is no part Of Legitimate
banking to furnish currency. If
gold and silver are Inadequate Con.
gress should supply an emergency
money. When the Union was in
peril during our civil war, gold and
silver disappeared. The banks were
applied to in vain to furnish the sin
ews Of war.
Th" people have not forgotten and
they never will forget, and will for
ever be grateful to Mr.. Lincoln for
lnNcnting the greenhaCk. 1t was an
emergency money precisely suited
to the occasion. 1t armed and
equipped, supplied with munitions
of war, fed and clothed the graudes,
army the world ever saw. 1t was a.
> much as mans life was worth tc
ldiScrcdit ii and dcnOuncc the green
r back. 1t not only sustained tn,
. army but gave better wages to labor
opened more farms, built more pub
, lie buildings, private residences, pub
4 lc halls, built railroads to the Pacific
: in short accomplished more granC
results than all the gold and silve,
and bank paper could have done il
' available. The people have not for
V gotten how the bank party de
4 nounCcd the Government money
{ calling 1t the rag baby, II lying prom
I Use L" pay, cabbage leaf currency
ana every other 0pprobrious epithe
which their billingSgate vocabular,
Il. could furnish. The bankers urged
: Congress To demonetize, call i'm ant
e cancel this Government money O.
convert il into interest bearing bonds
as basis for bank currency
Ihey would have been successful il
: Their effort but that Democrat,
r Congress passed law that the,
should he retained as part of thu
, circulating medium. The banks an
y Piled to the Supreme Court, through
r their attorneys, to have the Treasur,
! notes declared unconstitutional, bu
I that tribunal decided that they wer.
:, a war necessity, that peace has il.
necessities as we'll as war, and that i
was the exclusive province of Con
j gress To determine when the neces
3 slty was present.
|, Inc people have not forgotten how
', persistently the bankers have, thro
Presidents and Cabinet Ministers
i importuned Congress to cancel green
:, backs because they were "a per
| tn a -
:, system" The people are beginning
10 understand that the war upon sill
yer was inaugurated and il being
f prosecuted with vigor by the same
d party which denounced Government
= paper money. The greenback wa.
called rag baby by the very same
y men who call the dollar of the con
a stitution dishonest money. The,
@ slandered the former and have LIED
about the latter.
These were the fellows who com
posed the Memphis sound money
;. convention.' The greenback is {
o rag baby and bastard, and the sill
!. yer coin of the fathers fraud.
In order to placate and win re-
cruitS from the plain, common peo
pie these conspirators profess to b,
: friends OF silver and would like &c
n preserve its parity with gold if there
- could be an international agreement
:, To that effect, but this Government
II cannot establish standards without
the consent and concurrence of Eng
land and Germany and France
y England is the only country which
y preceded us in degrading silver
q Germany and France followed ouI
example. The trainers of our con
stitution made no provision for con
= sulting other nations before Congress
: should adopt a standard of value
q When our Government was com
posed of thirteen sparsely settled
colonies ii might have been eXcusa.
; Bile To ask permission to exercise thi.
r act Of sovereignty. When we have
4 grown from three to seventy mil
= lions of people with more domestic
!, and foreign commerce than any
3 three other nations on the globe, il
Is cowardly, humiliating, disgrace
ful ana I'm American to make such 8
! confession Of weakness and depend
, enre. If the United States car
. dominate in anything ii is in estab
, fishing its own standards of yalue
3 OF course We cannot fix ratio be,
= tween silver and gold when gold
. only Is money and silver is only
, merchandise. This impossible con.
. dIti"n IL of our own making and we
=, can restore and maintain the ratio
I. without the advice or consent of any
other power. We hone that IN,