Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1895-05-16

metal. It is safe to assume that
if today in the full vigor of his
intellect he would be as pro-
noupced in his opposition to
lowering the standard of value of
the money of this government
as the most earnest and enthu-
siastic friend of a sound currency
could possibly DESIRE"
Senator Hill in discussing
MIR. Tilden as a party leader
shows how that great Democrat
regarded the unlimited silver
coinage idea. We quote extern
sively what Senator Hill says on
this point, because nothing could
be more apt in the present cur
rency agitation:
I'm the summer of 1886, while
Manning was endeavoring to re-
new his strength from the sea
air at Watch Hill, Mr.. Fairchild,
was acting Secretary of the
Treasury. He wrote direct to
Mr.. Tilden for advice and aid in
stead of doing SO through his
chief. The correspondence is
exhibited (p. 318 vol. Ill., by
Mr.. Bigelow. The silver ques-
ton was evidently perplexing
the administration. 1t will re-
pay study to-day while we are
stunned by the discordant din of
the raving currency idealogies of
the hour. He deals with our
present situation excepting that
now the present market value of
gold. measured by silver, is some
so instead of 80 per cent, as it
was then higher than silver.
The last sentence Of that letter is
this:
1T would he very desirable to
bring both silver and gold into
use as reserves as a basis of the
currency and as a means Of in
ternational exchanges, thereby
doubling the quantity Of prec-
iouS metals available for those
purposes. but that action cannot
be affected by the action of the
United States alone"
Mr.. Tilden's financial views
are easily deducable from his
letters, his speeches and his pub
lie papers and were well known
to his political and intimate
friends.
Tilden knew real money when
he saw it. He was not under IL
usion or delusion regarding the
nature and definition Of such
money. None Of the fallacies OF
certain political economists con
corning money misled him, nor
have they misled the New York
Democratic organization. Every
New York Democratic conven-
ton, since 1873, when we put up
the banner Of Hard Money!
has expounded the creed of Dem
ocratic New York.
The seventh amendment of the
Federal Constitution recognizes
and afirms our unit of account tC
iS d QOlldI. Liz wv UlCuL
section Of the law Of April 2,
1892, declares it. All our publ,
accounts and all our judicial pro.
ceedings must be in ''dollars.'
Law having thus prescribed g
unit Of account, it was for the
law to take the next step anC
prescribe a unit of value. That
was done by the same law 81
1892. Whether that unit ther
established reposed in a silver
dollar Of 81 grains of pure sill
yer, or in that silver dollar and {
gold dollar of 49, grains Of pure
gold is now of little consequence.
because in 1873 the law declared
that a gold dollar Of 258-1(
grains Of pure gold ''shall be the
unit Of value" To that unit al
other dollars should conform
But on February %, 1873, the
law created another full legal
tender dollar of 41299 grains O.
standard silver, and did no
make it a unit of value. On May
81, 1873, the law created the
'-endless chain" greenback-debt
full legal-tender paper dollar o:
another sort. Thus we have
now four kinds of full legal-tend
er dollars-the unit Of value
gold dollar, and the three others
We have not a double STANDARD
of gold and silver at a fxeC
weight ratio, as Tilden believed
we had before 1873, but one sin.
gle standard, which is the golC
dollar Of % $40 grains. AL ou7
four sorts of dollars are at parity
in our country, but not else
where. What keeps them so
Nothing else than law. Tilder
answered the question when he
told a Fairchild that the silve1
certificates are kept at par will
gold simply because they ar,
received and paid out of thu
treasury as equal to gold coin
because the known policy of thu
treasury is to maintain tba
equality, and because of publ,
confidence that the treasury Cal
execute that policy. Law &C
complishes it. The task has O
late been a hard and costly one
but it has been done. All, how
ever, has depended, and does de
pend on law, and the fidelity O
the treasury. which has on de
mand redeemed thus far in gold
/ greenbacks, and silver certifi'
catpS That law and that .fdeli