Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-09-17

The reason for this was because the
government received them in payment
of its own obligations, and because it
did that they were good as gold.
The silver dollar under free coinage
will be worth gold, too, if the govern
ment receives it in payment OF any
debt due it. It cannot be anything
else, for it will pay any obligation to
the government as well as gold. Then.
if it is good enough for Uncle Sam it
ought to be good enough for the indi'
vidual, for how can the latter be better
than the former. A government can
rot be better than those who create it.
There is no earthly use Of Senator
Sherman trying to fool the people by
saying thatwhat makes the silver dollar
good is because it is redeemable in gold,
when he knows better. He has been
in the public service nearly all his life,
is the greatest exponent of republican
ism and always listened to with great
interest as the expounder of republican
faith, but this does not give him I'M
sue on which people are seeking the
truth. He cannot holster up the gold
standard by lying about the silver dol
lar. The people want the truth this
year, and will be on the lookout for
| men who misrepresent the facts, and
call them down.
The government. however, much it
desire. is absolutely unable, beca use 1t
has not got the gold and cannot get it.
to redeem silver dollars and all other
! Mr.. Foster. Mr.. Harrison's secretary of
4 the treasury, surrendered the right to
redeem greenback and treasury notes
in silver. this question of redeeming in
one coin alone would never have come
up TO disturb our financial system and
create trouble and annoyance to the
| government. Sherman knows that it
is simply a physical impossibilIty to
redeem all our money in gold.
/ There are, according to his Columbus
ispeech, il circulation $1,000 900 stand
ard dollars, 1881 900, ,000 silver certifl-
Gates. S95 900, 600 treasury notes OF
1890, 1925, 600. 600 in greehacks, max
ing an aggreat of over $703, 600, 900 to
be redeemed in trife over 800. O00, ,0oG
gold iii the treasury. Does Sherman
think be can fool all the people by say
ing the reason why one form of money
is as good as smother is because it if
i OIL h To H n<
government cannot do this if It wanted
to, because it IS absolutely impossible
. for the reason above given.
Thea. he said in the same speech
, that the real destruction of silver. was
not accomplished in 1878, but before
that by something which Jefferson die
in 1906, or which congress did in 1S34
or 1858. It can be asserted with abso
law full and complete legal-tendel
money with rights of coinage equa
with gold. From 1892, when the first
coinage act was passed, to 1873 ther.
S States mint was not open to the free
and unlimited coinage of silver into
full legal-tender coin. There never
: was a day when any debtor or any per
son having payment to make could
: not obtain the means for the discharge
! of his obligation by procuring silver
r bullion in any Of the markets of the
world and taking it to the mint to be
coined into standard money equallS
valuable as gold for the satisfaction OF
r the demand of any and every creditor
This privilege is the essential element
. of double standard. To secure this
right IS its sole purpose, and in thi.
t consists its whole value. Take away
/ this privilege and. whatever other lega
provisions remain, the double or bi
! metallic standard is destroyed and
ceases to be of any consequence oi
value.
. This is the kerne of the whole siive
question, and no one knows it better
than Senator Sherman. No one knows
. better than he that from 1892 to 1873
: this privilege was never denied to any
J debtor. No one knows better than he