The Portland daily press., 1896-07-29

a crazy experiment that disturbed COM
| meIcial usages as old as the settlement OF
| the country, under the safe and oonserva-
tive influences of which the government
and the people had enjoyed marvellous
| prosperity for more than n century. I'm
der the pretext of saving the credit Of the
nation. which was not carrying on or
| contemplating war, on which no general
calamity had fallen, other than that nrO-
duced by his own financial laundering,
and which ought to have had no occasion
TO borrow money, he destroyed the credit
| and solyenoy of thousands of merchants
and manufacturers, and placed in the
| hands of receivers most of the great rail-
way corporations, whose prosperity was
50 intimately connected with the fortunes
of millions of poor men.
8. How could these calamities have
been avoided? A. In one way assuredly. II
| he had exercised the discretion legally
and equitably open to him, 30 pay the
presented securities in legal tender silver
coin of the United States, the raid on his
! gold would have been headed off before
1t fairly begun. The gold gang, most of
it foreigners, in no way promoted legiti-
mate business. 1t was pure speculation.
Most of the treasure taken from the gov
eminent went into government bonds
was sold for green backs, treasury notes
and silver CERTIFICATES and came back
bullying for more gold. 10 have put his
foot resolutely on this cut-throat conspir-
aoy, as sturdy General Jackson would
have done, would have secured for Mr..
Cleveland, who processes to be his ad-
mirer, General Jaekson's fame instead of
the obloquy under which the administra-
ton of the latter seems about to end.
One generous bagfull of new silver dol
lars paid out over the counter of the
Treasurer would have stopped this mis-
cradle series Of commercial and political
disasters
6 But If Mr. Cleveland had failed to
redeem tie United States paper money
notes in gold, would he not have driven
the country to silver standard PA. II you
mean to standard under which all the
authorized coins are measured by value
of the silver dollar. assumed as the unit,
all other coins being either permanent
fractions or permanent multiples OF
that, then that is the exact condition
which was maintained in this country
from the beginning of our national exis-
tence to 1878. 1t never has been charged
that there was anything dangerous or
unscientfic in that condition. Indeed it
was no failure of silver that led. to its
characterization. Tt was demonetized
when the commercial value was three
that 1t will drive US to the exclusive use
of silver as currency, it will devolva
upon you to tell how. We do not intend
to demonetize gold. How is the gold OF
Great Britain. to say nothing Of the
large supplies of our own mines, to be
kept out Of our markets If we continue to
trade with Great Britain? Mexico and
Argentina on silver standard and with
no currency but silver, find their trade
with gold countries greatly increased :,
and supply them with commodities OF
which this country used to have the mo-
nopoly. Why will not the silver-using
peoples twice as numerous as the gold
using. while continuing to sell their pro-
ducts to gold countries for the sake OF the
premium Gf there be any, on gold, make
their purchaser of us until their own
currency is on oul par of exchange?
Z. But is it honest to pay creditor, a
depositor, a note or bill-holder laborer,
in dollars that are worth only IS cents
A. Where are these 90 cent dollars to be mad
and who offers them for sale at that
price? There are no So cent dollars in
the United States. In purchasing, in
debt or paying power, every silver
ways has been. The absolute siliness of
dishonest dollars only pervades the shall
low people who do now know the rudi-
ments of monetary science. All trade
even the trade in labor, Is an exchange of
real values. A bushel of corn, a pound
OF WOOL or COTTON or iron are Things or
roal and intrinsic value. All money as
such, has no intrinsic or real value.
Coins or paper representatives Of coins
have not, and from the nature of the case
can have no intrinsic Value, but are
mere tokens, SO made by commercial
agreement or public law. represents
abstract value and serving as mere chips
to transfer things Of real value from one
form into another. The only way the
silly fiction Of SO cent dollar got pos
session of any bewildered mind is by
comparing gold as money, gold clothed
with monetary attributes with silver as
merchandise, silver deprived of monetary
attributes. 1t is fact of no Importance
in any serious monetary discussion.
Il. The first question is entirely su-
perfiuous. Nobody ever claimed that the
President or the Secretary of the Troasu-
~ had authority to borrow money on
the credit of the United States without
permission from Congress.
2. 1t was not because the President's