Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-08-20
TIrE HERALD REPLIES.

Grand Rapids Herald and published
just enough OF an item to make a point
in favor OF free silver, purposely omit
ing the facts. 1t said:
"Here is an admission from Repub.
lican paper that practically upsets all
this noise about cheap dollars, etc. In
reply To question the Grand Rapids
Herald says:
In Mexico the United States silver
dollar passes at full value. 1t Is not
discounted. IL will buy just as much
as n gold dollar will buy and In every
respect il Is accorded the same pur-
chasing power that gold is accorded.
In Canada, United States subsidiary
silver is discounted 20 per cent, but
the United States silver dollar passes
at par or nearly so. These are about
the only foreign countries In which the
United States silver dollar circulates,
but silver certificates travel further
and they circulate at par, or nearly so,
wherever they go. The only discount
to which they are subject is the ex-
change and that is variable. But the
question cannot be fully answered
without explaining what holds our
silver up" Silver dollars are legal
tender and are not directly redeemable
in gold dollars, but they are receivable
for government dues and interchangea-
BILE with other forms of money which
the government will redeem in gold.
TO this the Star added: 1.-THE facts
are the silver dollar now mas but little
more than fifty cents OF gold value in
ii, is not redeemable in gold only In u
roundabout way, and yet. as the Her.
aid says, it passes anywhere at par.
It's the name, The United States of
America stamped on IL that makes it
good and as long as the government
stands it will be good"
Now il the Star had been honest it
would have quoted all Of the Herald's
editorial, the words that explain away
the meaning trumpet up by the Star
OF course it could not have made its
point had it done so, but 1t could have
been honest, and honesty is always best.
The Herald's explanation omitted by
the Star is as follows:
If ii should fail to do so by exercising
its option to redeem in silver coin
instead OF gold coin, according TO the
demand Of the Chicago platform, the
whole of our paper currency and the
silver dollars would come down TO the
basis of the intrinsic value Of the lat
ter. There would then be only the
purchasing power of SO cents in the
circulating silver and paper dollar,
and gold would depart from the cur
rency. Silver can be kept up to the
gold level by this process OF indirect
but ultimate redemption so long as
there is not too much of it and conf
dence in that redemption is not i'm
paired. 1t is the pledge, express or
implied, of the government to meet its
obligations in gold, that holds all the
money of the United States at an
equality. Remove that pledge, take
from silver it's gold support and in
stantly, almost, it would sink TO its
bullion value, not only at home, but
everywhere.
The star may affect not to believe
this explanation OF The Herald's. 1t
may claim there is nothing to justify
the belief So cents worth of silver coin
ed into United States dollar depends
upon gold for its circulating value,
but, unfortunately for the Star there is
proof The Herald is right. The proof
comes from Canada. In that depend
ency within the past ten days or two
weeks there was put upon American
silver coins OF all denominations a dis
count SO heavy as to be prohibitOry.
The Canadians will no longer accept
American silver. They profess TO be
afraid-not of it, but of its reputed
friends, and popocrats. They say, II
the popocrats win at the elections this
fall-which they will not-they will
establish free silver coinage with the
result that the United States will lose
its gold and inevitably sink to silver
basis and they are right. If the Star
could read Alright the evidences that
confront it, il it could fathom the fact,
Bedding was built up to its present
Importance by protected industry
If it could attune its hearing to the
hum OF the revolving wheels that pro-
claim six days in week the advan-
tage Of protection and sound money,
1t might cease to be popocrat and
abjure the half truths OF popocracy.