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


any bonds payable by their terms in
gold coin or in silver, either principal
or interest, Before the war the obi
cations of the government contained
no statement as TO the kind Of money
in which they should be paid, and none
of the war obligations contained any
such provision, except two special
classes, which were payable by their
terms in lawful money. 1t has always
been understood that bonds should be
paid in coin, and an attempt to make
them payable in deprecated green
backs was severely frowned upon by
the election of 1865, when that issue
among others was on trial. The dis
parity between gold and silver at the
Is TO / ratio is a somewhat recent oc-
currence in economic history, and so
the laws of the war period and preced-
ing time did not need TO consider it.
The financial system of the country,
greatly to the nations detriment, has
been for years resting upon the per-
missions of the past. The Popnllstic
statesmen who have secured control OF
the United States senate, effectually
throttle any attempt al financial re-
form. and hence, our bond issues must
be made at the terms that seemed wise
in 1870, our gold reserve kept where it
seemed best in 1882, and the very
authority itself to issue bonds, is pre-
served by these old laws, and if. neces-
sary could not now be extorted from
the reputation senate.
-.
The Democrat platform made at Chi
cago, insists that free coinage shall be
undertaken "without the aid or consent
of any other nation" Who has talked
of 'consent?" 1t is not consent but
concurrence that the bimetallists deem
necessary. Independence means isola-
ton. International agreement means
the strength of union among the great
commercial nations in sustaining "a
common standard for their vast and
indispensable trade relations. Perhaps
the Populist convention will go To a
logical step further and demand that
the producers of the United States fix
the price of wheat, corn and cotton
'without waiting for the aid or con-
sent" OF Liverpool or any other mar
ket? 1t would be quite as sensible and
Just as effective as for this country to
seek independently to fix and sustain
the price of silver at twice its market
value or cost of production.
Nv
The demand OF the Chicago platform
NAV be defined as, 1.-THE right of any
one to deposit silver Of any kind at a
mint of the United States and have
every 37l4 grains OF pure silver (now
worth in it's uncoined state about 80
cents) made, free Of charge, into a coin
of the United States and stamped one
dollar which dollar shall be full
legal tender at its face value in the
payment of debts and obligations of all
kinds, public and private, in the United
States. No provision is made for main
tanning these dollars at par with gold.
I'm fact, any such provision would be
impossible with unlimited silver coin
age. The immediate result OF such
legislation would be the destruction of
the parity, the separation of our cur
rency between gold and silver, and the
withdrawal OF gold coins from circula-
ton and use as money, producing an
enormous contraction of the currency.
~.
II seems to be pretty we'll understood |
that Mayor Bricker will be the Demo
free silver candidate for representative
in this district, although they do say
that Attorney Hubbell is willing to try
il once.
~
The free silverites tell US that the
prosperous times we had in Harrison's
administration were delusion. We
only wish, II that is the case, that we
had some more OF the "delusion."