Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-07-31
The Financial Situation.

We would like to ask our friends
who are the advocates of the gold
standard how they expect to main
tain the present system of redemp-
ton without doing one of two
things. 1t would seem they must
continue to issue bonds every few
months in order to get the gold to re-
deem with, or they will be obliged to
reduce the amount of money in circu-
lation, until the purchasing power of
the dollar is greater than the bullion
value of gold, either one of which
will certainly be very Objectionable
to the majority of the people; either
one OF which must be detrimental to
the prosperity of the country, the
former being system getting deeper
and deeper in debt, the latter is a
discrimination against the debtor,
which includes the majority of the
poor or common people, and in favor
of the creditor, or wealthy people
generally.
Those who have noticed the
amount of gold kept in the treasury
for the redemption of paper currency
kno ", that for the last eight years,
or from the beginning Of Harrison's
term in 1858, that it has constantly
been growing less, and at the end of
Harrison's administration it was vlr.
tually reduced down to the $4,000
900 limit: The increase in treasury
notes of 81, 100000 per month under
the Sherman act of 1890, while moi
more of an increase in our circulation
than would keep pace with the popu.
lation and business of the country,
yet 1T became necessary to repeal the
act, in order to stop the drain on the
little reserve that was left in the
treasury; and now, after nearly three
years of contraction and selling
bonds, there is talk of another bono
issue in the near future. The amount
of money in circulation according to
figures taken from gold standard
publication, was diminished $94, 900,
900 from July LIST, 1896 to July 1, 1896
being nearly one fifteenth of ou
circulation.
1t may be said that restoration o
the Mckinley law would replenisl
the treasury sufficiently, but thi
country has been gradually manu-
featuring and producing more an
more of such products as were form
erly imported, SO that the duty unde
high tariff would not be as much a
formerly; and if it would, why did tn
gold kept for redemption continu
to decrease all through Harrison's &C
ministration, which includes the hig
tariff under the Mckinley law, and t
increase, the tariff would, in man
cases prohi bit importation.
The Mckinley law took the tart
, off of sugar and reduced the revenu
very materially. 1t may be said tina
a high tariff could be placed upo
sugar which, would bring in larg
, revenue, but that would be very muc
the same as direct tax, only that
= would cause the poor to pay just 9
much tax to the support of govern
ment as the rich, which would b
:, wrong in principle.
!, While the free coinage of silver c
rather the fear of it, caused by til
. agitation (and by eastern capitalist
threatening panic, in order that til
people may be held to system thu
is in the interest of those who's
property consists of money an
credits) may have a tendency to dt
Il press business and cause gold to hid
s (Which may be going on at the pre-
J. ent time) to some extent, the bad e
fects of which we will have whetht
we have free coinage or not, yet til
is only evidence that gold is easil
cornered and can be withdrawn /
the cooperation of few of the lea,
ing money centers and thereby fore
bond issue for the purpose of r
5. demption.
D. 1t might be admitted that L
s->-