The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-06-05
LIVE ISSUES.
Horrors of the Gold Standard.

Senator German offered an amend
ment providing for the issuance of
100000, 900 of short time bonds,
the proceeds of which to be used to
obtain money to meet the appro-
priations made by the bill. Sen
ator Sherman denounced the prop
osition and argued that the country
was more prosperous than ever be-
fore and that all that was needed
was more taxation. After consid-
cradle controversy between Senators
German and Sherman as to the
shortcomings of both old parties, in
which each appeared to speak the
truth when he disparaged the other
ones party, Senator Stewart made
the following remarks:
Mr.. Stewart. Mr.. President, l
like the amendment of the Senator
from Maryland [Mr. Gorman] with
a Slight moditi alton. We have in
the Treasury impounded something
over 800, 100000 of current money,
which is doing the world no good.
1t is a surplus. The country is suf-
fering for the use of that surplus,
and I wish the Senator from Mary
land would modify his amendment
so as to issue 100000, 900 of green
backs to take the place of the
$1OO,OOO,OOO of greenbacks that are
impounded, unlawfullya as contend.
That would do something toward
relieving the country. But I am
opposed to borrowing money and
paying interest on it for the pur-
pose of producing contraction and
hard times.
I am totally at variance with the
Senator from Ohio Mr.. Sherman
in his assertion that this country is
rich and better able to pay taxes
than ever before. Never in the
history of this country has it been
so difficult for the people to pay
taxes as it is today. Never in the
history of this. country were bank
ruptcies increasing as they are now.
Read Bradstreet's report for the
last three months, and it presents
an alarming situation as to bank
rupts, suicides. insane people, Grim
inals, tramps-everything indicat-
ing distress in the country.
That we are on the road to bank
ruptcy is to me as clear as day.
We are travelling the road that
Turkey travelled before she reached
the goal of insolvency. We are in
the tracks of Spain while she was
spending her patrimony. We are
following the example Of bankrupt
Italy. We are agreeing to deliver
gold when we have not the gold to
deliver. We are borrowing gold to
pay interest on obligations as those
nations did. 1t will be but a short
time before we are in the same sit
uation. We are issuing bonds not,
they say, to carry on the govern
ment, not for the purpose of raising
revenue, but there are two things
to be accomplished by the issuance
of bonds. One is more debt, more
taxation, more boarding. There
ought to be some way to get that
money out of the treasury. 1 know
of no way except by liberal appro-
priafions. Now is the time to pass
your appropriation bills to relieve
the country, and put $4,000, 900
Of idle none into circulation. We
have no other way of doing it.
But to those who think that we
are not on the road to bankruptcy
let me point to the situation. Our
fixed annual foreign obligations are
estimated, at the lowest figure, at
$4OO, 100000. We are not selling
enough of our commodities all told
to pay for what we buy abroad.
We did not do so during the last
year. How are we to meet the
fixed obligations annually9 By
more debt. The government is bor-
rowing money to pay its portion of
these obligations and to supply gold
to the gold gamblers. Private cor
porations are borrowing money.
We are piling up this debtannually,
and no man points out any legisla-
ton whereby the people of the
United States can get out of this
difficulty. The Senator from Ohio
says more taxation. Will putting
more money in the treasury relieve