The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-08-27
Here's A Cllncher.

Here's A Cllncher.
Mr.. Francis Heermans, of King
wood, prominent banker and bust
ness man of that town, scrt the fol-
lowing letter to the Wheeling INTEL
Agencer one day last week. The
arguments are so clear that we pub
lish the letter for the benefit of our
Garrett county people.
The letter is as follows:
To the Editor of the Intelligeuccr
S1R:-Many voters do not under
stand the position Of the Republican
party upon the silver question as
connected with the financial system
Of the government. The terms
"goldite,'' "'gold-bug," ETC., APP
piled by the advocates of free and
unlimited coinage of silver to Re-
publcans and sound money Demo
Gratis have led many to believe that
the election of Mckinley and Re-
publican majorityin congress would
result in the dlscontinuance of silver
as money and the use of gold only
as a money metal. The present
money system is a good one and
thoroughly sound, every dollar is
sued under it being as good as gold.
The Republican party has always
been friendly to silver and would
stand by the present system and
continue it substantially as it is,
maintaining at a parity the differ
ent classes of the circulating medium
now issued, which are in round
numbers as follows:
Gold 500, COO
Standard silver dollars 429 299, O3C
Subsidiary silver coins.........,..... $685. O1C
Gold 1860, OOO
Silver 1851 900
Silver treasury nOtes................ I3l 3S5 600
U. S. notes (greenbacks 346 $50, 600
Currency $3.50, OOO
National bank 225, DDS, 900
OF the silver dollars, only fifty
three millions are in actual circula-
ton, the balance being represented
by silver certificates which are pre-
ferred by the people for conven-
fence.
Many still adhere to the belief
that the River dollar was demone.
tiled by the law of 1878. That act
referred to by the Popullsts and
Democrats as the "crime of 1878"
simply discontinued the coinage of
4124 grain dollars for the time be-
ing, because neither gold or silver
was then circulating as money, and
for the further reason that because
of the scarcity of silver, that metal
was worth 3 per cent. more as bull
ion that when coined into dollars,
or IN other words the silver dollar
was worth three cents more than
the gold dollar. The silver dollar
was not demonetized and has con-
tinued to be "the money Of the
realm" as surely as the gold dollar
and any debt, large or small, may
be paid in silver dollars, which are
legal tender for any amount.
Not even the fanatics will deny
that the free and unlimited coin.
age Of silver will result in a greatly
deprecated currency, a dollar o.
about one-half the value of the golc
dollar, and it is we'll known that
with a cirulation of depreciteC
money, with its purchasing powe:
correspondingly reduced, the rate
of interest for loans are always in
creased, as witness the rates pre-
vailing during the greenback infa
ton period from war times to 1879
when the government had to pa
from 6 per cent.in gold equal t.
more than 10 per cent.in currency
to more than per cent in currenc
on its loans, and when private loan
ranged from 6 to II per cent, &C
cording to locality. But from tn
time that specie resumption on
gold basis was assured, rates of in
terest began to decline, and nov
the government is able to borro1
at about 3 per cent, while bushes
men in good credit, obtain none
at from 4 to z per cent.
10 the credit of our level headet
mountaineers, the free silver Graz
has not gained much headwa
outside of the Democratic Popu
listic combination in this section @
West Virginia, for we are wont t
attach mnch greater Importance t
the restoration of the 10 cent tart.
tax on wool, which will benefit th
farmer, and, as your timely editor
ial suggested, preseve the soil c
our hillsides from washing away