The Penn's Grove record., 1896-09-11
NOT REPUTATION
But C~OnfisCatiOn.


The lines of battle are being tightly
= drawn. The money cliques have ar
rayed themselves in defence of the APP
preciating gold standard that enables
them to conliscate the property of their
debtors, to enrich themselves at the ex-
pense of the producing classes. Major
Mckinley has lent himself to their pur.
poses, and they have rallied to his sup.
port. Under the false cry that free
coinage means reputation they have
entered the campaign.
With flowing rhetoric Mr.. Mckinley
tells us that tile defence of the appre-
ciating gold standard, of the standard
of c~oniiscation, is a struggle to preserve
the financial honor Of the government
and a contest to save spotless its credit:
that men of all sections can and will
unite to rebuke the population of our
obligations and the debasement of our
currency. But TO repay our debts as
nominated in the bond is not repudia-
ton, nor does honor require that we
shall continue to pay as interest on our
public debt and as principal when due
a dollar worth twice as much as the
dollar borrowed, or to repay u public
creditors with a dollar that costs our
producing classes twice the sacrifice of
produce and double the expenditure of
labor and energy as the dollar original
ly loaned to our government.
Interest on, as well as the principal
of our national debt, of our whole bond.
ed debt, is payable, as nominated in the
bond, in coin, in either gold or silver
coin at the option of the government
and the payment of our public creditors
in strict accordance with the contract
is neither in derogation OF the rights of
public creditors OF a breach of the pub.
lie faith. Nor will the credit of the
government be impaired by the fulfill
ment of its obligations in such strict
accordance with the letter of the con-
tract. Our creditors took the outstand-
ing bonds of the United States with the
full knowledge that the law under
which they were issued specified the
payment of interest and principal not
in gold, but in coin-in either gold or
silver at the discretion of the govern
mani Ju5aa6 nooh Ion1 iScuaI hoaro
written across its face "redeemable in
coin of the present standard, value,'
that is of the date of the act.
The refunding act under which all
our outstanding bonds have been issued
vas enacted July IA, 1870, and provides
for the payment of such bonds, both in.
terest and principal, in coin of the then
standard value. And that standard
was exactly the same as the present
standard. The standard gold coin was
then as now the gold dollar of 25.S
grains standard gold and its multiple.
and the standard silver coin was then
as now the silver dollar of 4l2t grains
of standard, or 3711 grains of pure Sill
yer. In either gold coin OF silver coin
or silver coin of this weight and ~fineness,
all our Indebtedness both as to princi-
pal and interest is legally payable. Nor
does honor require that the government
give the option of payment to the credi-
tor, that the government shall always
pay the creditor in the dearest coin.
When the bonds were issued, the
terms of payment of interest and prin.
cipal we're well understood 1t is true
Mr.. Sherman when Secretary of the
Treasury during Mr.. Hayes's admins
t%ration, stTove to secure the payment
of the bonds in gold. In the spring of
1877 he stroye to interpret the statute
of July IA, 1870, SO as to make the
bonds payable in gold. In 1873 the
coinage of silver dollars had been sus-
pended and in 1874 the legal tender
quality of the silver dollars previously
coined was restricted to payments of
less than five dollars. Thus silver had
been demonetized, and in 1877 gold was
the sole standard of value, for the Bland
act, providing for the purchase and
coinage of silver and remoneti2ing sill
yer coin was not passed until the fol-
lowing year. Thus, in 1877, when Mr..
Sherman was preparing for the issue of
bonds to refund older issues authorized
during the war and then about to fall
due and to accumulate gold in anticipa-
ton of the resumption of specie pay
ments, the standard and the sole stand
ard coin of the country was the gold
dollar of 25.S grains standard gold.
Anxious to stipulate that the bonds
about to be issued should be made pay
able in gold, Mr., Sherman tried to get
an Interpretation of the law of 1870 to