Smyrna times., 1896-02-05
GIVE US SOUND MONEY.

paid and paid well, to legislate for the
people; and to pass wholesome laws
that will secure prosperity and happi
ness to those that they are employed
to serve. The weeks are wasting away
with little done, and very dull propec-
for anything of Importance to be done
The people should speak out, and il
that way make themselves heard; and
demand such legislation as is so mucI
needed.
l want to call attention to some
points in this craze, as it is called, OF
the ''silver question" Why do people
speak of silver being demonetizedt
They argue as though they really were
persuaded that we had no silver money
Don't everybody know that we have
silver money, and that in immense
quantities; much more than can be go
into circulation, and that millions O.
silver dollars are stored in vaults il
Washington. And this silver money
is a legal tender in payment of al
debts. The outcry is not merely fo1
more silver money, but that there shall
be free coinage allowed to the miners
and possessors of silver bullion at 6
ratio to gold that would require but
fifty cents worth of silver for a dollar
This would answer them little purpose
unless the Government would make
the fifty-cent dollars a legal tender in
payment of all debts. Do the people
understand this?
Is there any sane man that wishes to
be compelled to take deprecated
money for his dues. Those men that
have bullion on hand and that have
mining stock would no doubt like to
have the bulk of the people robbed and
ruined to enrich themselves. And
people that are deeply in debt would
like to see their creditors compelled to
take deprecated money. But would il
be right? Is that wise legislation that
destroys the obligation of contracts
and legalizes dishonesty?
1t may be supposed by some of these
cranks that the Government could in
that way raise the price of silver, and
keep it up to double its present value.
Don't we all see that the Government
has its hands full now to keep up the
parity with what silver coin we already
have. Is it in the power of any Gov
ernment to fix the market value of any
thing? If it is, let them try their hand
on wheat and corn.
We have had so much experience
with tender laws and the upsetting of
values and violation of solemn con-
tracts, and that when it did the Gov
ernment no good, that / would think
that no more such legislation would be
tolerated until there should come up
a generation of idiots. If there is rea-
son to believe that more silver money
is needed, let them propose to put a
dollars worth of silver in a dollar.
Then there would be little if any OBJ
lection to it. But no one proposes
that. In fact they do not want that, as
there would be no speculation off of
other people in that.
If the size of the dollars would pre-
sent an objection, let the silver be
coined in half dollars instead. In
time of war people seem to think that
any legislation can be put up with, no
matter how wrong nor how much dis
aster and ruin is caused by it. But we
have no war now. 1 will not now 90
back beyond our own time and the ex-
perience of some of our own people.
Some time after the close of the Civil
War Congress provided for the issue
of what was called Trade Dollars.
The amount authorized was six mill
ions and they were made legal tenders.
After a time Congress repealed the
legal tender clause and repudiated
their own money. They would not
take for their own Government dues
the money that they had put out upon
the people. They could have recoined
it all into what was called Bland dol
lars and had some surplus silver. This
vast amount of money was on the
hands of the people to sell to the
brokers for just what they could get.
In that one transaction the loss to
the people must have been more than
million OF dollars, as the discount at
the brokers' was % per cent. Men do
not think of the Government repudi-
ating its own issues
A few years before the war broke ont
the State of Pennsylvania provided for
the issue of bonds with interest at
per cent. payable half yearly in gold.
1t was expected that these bonds would
run long time, and it was designed
to obtain church funds and entailments
that could remain as a permanent in
vestment. While all money was alike
and equivalent to gold, they paid the
interest promptly in gold. But as
soon as we had deprecated paper
money they passed law to pay the
interest in this deprecated paper; and
when greenbacks had run down to
about fifty cents to the dollar they
then passed a law to pay all these
bonds off in this deprecated paper,
borrowing the greenbacks for the pur-
pose. We cannot sue a State. but is
defalcation by State any better than
by an individual?
The law authorizing paper money of
many descriptions during the war be-
tween the States was not only made a
legal tender for all debts, public and
and private, but with penalty annex
ed of forfeiture Of the entire obliga-
tion in case this deprecated paper was
refused. Some obligations contained
a stipulation that made them payable
IN coin. But all contracts whatever
their age or particular stipulations
were over-ridden and disregarded in
this craze for cheap money. It was
robbing and plundering the people on
grand scale, and doing the Govern
ment no good, but simply taking from
rightful owners and legalizing a kind
of wholesale robbery. If the money
had gone down to tan cante "a tl,o al