Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-01-03

with the silver dollar had at the time the
act of 1870 was passed, which provided
for payment in coin of either metal. and
all that the gold dollar had when they
bought the bonds. They would have
received even more, rs the proofs are
that silver not only had not lost any
power over commodities but had slightly
gained, owing to the want of sufficient
money-volume to maintain the exchanges
of the world. This being the case, | ask
any gold-standard senator to answer
how the payment of the bonds, principal
or interest. IN silver chad the payment
been so made) could have inflicted the
slightest possible injury on the public
creditors?
The gold dollar had in 1870 a purchas-
ing power of say 100 per cent. The sill
yer dollar had precisely the same pur-
chasing power; it would buy precisely
the same amount and number of commo
dities in general as would the gold dol
lar. The purchasing power of silver
bullion remains the same today, in rela-
ton to commodities in general, that 1t
was then, while the gold dollar has
steadily kept rising III its rover over
commodities, until today it has a pur-
chasing power substantially 80 per cent
greater than it had In 1860, or $50 in
1893 to its 100 in 1860.
But this is no reason why the people
OF the United States, who had contract
ed to pay only 100 per cent of purchas-
ing power, AS that purchasing power
stood in 1870, should today be paying,
or be bound hereafter to pay. 30 per
cent more value than had been agreed
upon.
The determination of the officers of
the United States therefore to pay the
bonds in gold added enormously and
causelessly to the just burden of the
debt. Had the bonds been paid, accord
ing both to the spirit and the letter of
the contract, in either gold or silver, as
might have best suited the convenience
of the treasury and the interests of the
people, which were and are the interests
of Justice. an enormous amount of money
AN enormous amount of lcedlh-wOuld
have been saved the people of this
country.
MIR. STEWART. And they would nave
been out of debt.
Mr.. JONES of Nevada. Yes, they
would nave been entirely out of debt.
Not merely saved in the amount
%wrOngfully and unrighteously paid out
to the bondholders, but in the colossal
sums which have been needlessly lost to
our people, especially our producers of
wheat, cotton and other articles of ex-
port by reason of the unprecedented fall
in prices.
DOES TIE HONOR OF THE GOVERNMENT
REQUIRE HAT THE OND RE PAID
IN GOLD?
1t is said that the honor of the govern
ment would be furnished if it did not pay
its obligations in gold; hat its credit
would be DESTROYED, and that it would be
ranked among the nations that have
repudiated their lawful obligations.
The honor of the United States. Mr..
President, does not rest Upon the word
of Interested self-seekers and their caus-
tical defenders. 1t abides in the patriot
ism of the people who have never con-
scented to pay more than their honest
debts merely to receive the questionable
and interested rlaudits of their creditors.
The idea that a debtor must pay more
than he Justly owes in Order that he may
be on good terms with his creditor is al
idea worthy of the feudal ages, when
men upon Blended knees swore homage
to the lord of the manor. 1t is "A piece
of s%ycophancy and absurdity of which
the people of this country and of this
age will not be guilty. h republic
has never failed to meet its Indebtedness
and 1t is the only country in the world
that has never made default IN the pay
ment of its obligations. The most pow
erful governments of Europe have made
such defaults.
MIR. JONES of Nevada. Nr. President,
there is hardly IA nation on earth except
the United states hat has not at some
time paid its obligations or the interest
on them in "A money less valuable than
that in which it agreed to pay. The
people of the United States have scrup-
ulously guarded their honor by a faith
full observance of every obligation, not
only in the spirit. but in the letter. But
while the people have always maintained
their honor by observing Justice. the
officers whom they have chosen to
execute their laws have joined hands
with the creditors of the country in eX-
torting from our citizens, under the
name of honor and honesty, more than
the people had agreed to pay.
In disregard and in open defiance of
the law. these officials have aided the
, public creditors to loot the taxpayers of
the country. For the executive officers
TO interpret an obligation of the United
States in such IA manner a. TO pay over
To the creditors of the country from the
public funds a greater value than the
people contracted to pay, was "A gross
violation of the instrument constituting
the contract between the parties.
=. So far as concerns the essential fact,
which is the loss suffered by the people
of this country, it has had precisely the
same effect as if those officials had de-
liberately altered the words of the bonds,
so that Instead of agreeing TO pay 81 200
the United States had agreed to pay such
amount greater than 81 900 as gold has
appreciated in value-or about y per
cent per annum for the past twenty
years. Their reward Tor this consists of
the loud. interested, and obnoxious
praises of the cunning schemerS who
have used the officials OF the United
, States as tools to assist them in plumber
ing the public treasury under the plea