The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-02-22

al ca pIoSelou VI OpiuIoH bHab the treas
ury was under any obligation to heed.
Mr.. Conkling undertook to have it put in
the character of an authoritative declara-
| ton on the part of the government OF its
| policy, but this was voted down and
the resolution passed in the form 1t was
introduced as mere declaration of opin-
| ION OF the senators and representatives
who voted for it. Now it is fact patent
to every body who is familiar with Con-
gressional proceedings that mere ex-
preston of opinion which has not the
force of law and which imposes no policy
is very different thing from a mandate
to do or refrain from doing a certain
thing. In the former case men need
not look beyond the conditions of the
| moment, they can accommodate them
selves to the passing whims and notions
of their constituents, bur when they dc
the latter they have got to look hey ond
the present and consider great many
things which may be ignored in the first
| case. We have had great many declar-
| ations from Congress in various forms
as gold and that the governments obli-
cations could be discharged in the form
| er just as we'll as in the latter, but we
have never yet had President or Secre-
tary of the Treasury that has been will
Ing to act upon that opinion. The favor
lite explanation of this phenomenon on
The part of the silver men has been that
our Presidents and Secretaries have been
mere tools of Wall street, slaves of gold
bugs and bondholders. But this has
not been the correct one The true one is
| that with the power and responsibility
of determining the governments policy
toward its creditors has come calm re-
| Election as to what the effect of that
policy would be upon the governments
| credit and the governments good faith,
and after careful consideration of the obli-
cation which was upon him to preserve
both. every Secretary of the Treasury and
every President has paid the bonds in
gold or its equivalent. Our policy of re-
deeming the bonds in gold or its equiva-
lent has not been accidental nor
| 400 ~ bSCo tAC ICSul1 OIL QeI-
erence to small part of the
| people. 1t has been due to the fact that
good faith andsa maintenance of the gov
ernment's credit required it. Take the
| last issue of bonds and see where the
reputation of this country for honesty
and fair dealing would stand if We
should apply the doctrine of Mr.. STANLEY
Matthews's resolution. those bonds
| have been sold for gold. Nothing else
would be accepted for them. Now i'm
agine the government turning round AMI
saying to the holders of these bonds, "It
is true you have given us gold for them,
| it is true we demanded gold for them,
but you must remember that in 1875
| both Houses of Congress expressed the
opinion that the payment of the bonds
III silver was not in derogation of the
| rights of the public crditor and not a
violation of public faith. We are going
to fall back on this declaration and make
you take for every gold dollar that you
| lent us a silver dollar of half the actual
value of your gold dollar. You
can't sue us, you are at our mercy, our
| policy is to pay our debts in the coin
that imposes the smallest burden upon
our people,"
| No President, no Secretary of the
Treasury. that we are ever likely to have
in this country would say any such.thing
| as that, not even if he had voted a hun
| dred times when member of the House
or Senate that the bonds could be paid
in silver. 1t is precisely as Mr.. Reed
| said in his speech in the House the
other day on the gold bond resolution:
A nation standssby itself and upon it's
honor, and it acts as a gentleman does
who stands upon his honor. He fulfills
| the obligation as the other man under
stood it, if it is a straightforward and
honorable understanding; and such is
| the effect of being In power, that the
most radical opponents of the policy of
| paying the best come at once to the
| front as the defenders of it.
Gentlemen may argue that the bonds
can be paid just as well in silver as in
gold. but when the responsibility is
placed upon them they seek to fulfil the
obligation as the circumstances show ii
was understood at the time it was in
CURED. Their sense OF fair play and of
| honorable dealing then asserts itself.