Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-19
THE NEW POLICY.

| congress in which he served notice on
the country at large that he would as
| often as the bond gobblers gold gamblers
| and treasury raiders desired, issue more
| bonds. In that message he laid down the
| policy by which the endless chain was
| forged, and then called the attention of
the country to the chain in the hope that
| the people would take fright and petit
| tion congress to grant his demand en-
! braced in the same message for the re-
! tirement of the greenba cks and treasury
notes. That he had already adopted that
| policy was not news to people who had
kept up with his administration of the
| finances of the government, but his pub
| lie proclamation, which could only mean
| come on We gold raiders and loot the
| treasury, Barcus is willing" startled the
| country. But for the fact that the point
has been reached where the public is pre-
| pared to expect anything but demo-
cratic policy at the hands of the Cleve-
| land administration the latest announce
ment of Secretary Carlisle would have
| startled the country more than did the
| contents of the message spoken of above.
| Through the medium of letter to a Ken
| lucky sympathizer Mr. Carlisle an
nounces it as the policy of this admins
tration to redeem standard silver dol
lars and silver certificates in gold If
demanded by the holders of them. Such
an instantaneous change is sufficient to
arouse suspicion in the public mind. On
July l the secretary sent out a circular
numbered 123, in which it was announced
as the policy of the administration that:
Gold coins and standard silver dollars
being standard coins of the United States
are not redeemable. Silver certificates
are receipts for standard silver dollars
deposited, and are redeemable in such
dollars only
Now, in the middle of September just
six weeks since the issuance of the circu-
lar setting forth the above policy, from
his quiet summer retreat in Bar Harbor,
Me-, Mr.. Carlisle writes to a MIR. James
Z. Helen of Louisville, KY, an open let
ter, in which he proclams the following
as the policy of the administration with
regard to the standard silver dollars and
silver certificates.
1T is not doubted that whatever can
be lawfully done to maintain equality in
the exchangeable value of the two metals
Will be done whenever it becomes neces-
sary, and although silver dollars and sill
Yer certificates have not, up to the pres
ent time been received in exchange for
gold, yet, If the time shall ever come
when the parity cannot be otherwise
maintained. such exchanges will be made.
1t is the duty of the secretary of the
treasury and of all other public officials
TO execute in good faith the policy de-
cIared by congress, and whenever he
shall be satisfied that the silver dollar
cannot be kept equal in purchasing power
with the gold dollar, except by receiV-
ing it in exchange for the gold dollar,
when such exchange is demanded it will
be his duty to adopt that course.
Barring Mr.. Carl!sle's personal change
on the financial question was there ever
such violent change made in so short a.
time as the one the administration has
made within the past six weeks with re-
gard to it's policy toward the standard
silver dollars and the silver certificates?
The question, what does this mean?
naturally arises. Why has this admins
tration determined upon policy that
will make the raiding of the treasury
gold reserve SO much easier and the
further issuance of interest bearing
bonds in time of peace SO much more
certain than it was already? Why has
Mr. Cleveland ordered Mr.. Carlisle to in
form the bond spectators and treasury
raiders that all they have to do to force
| this administration to redeem silver dol
| lars and silver certificates in gold or
| demonstrate beyond actual trial that the
| claim put forth heretofore by Mr.. Car
| Isle that refusal to pay gold when
| gold was demanded would at once de-
stroy the parity of the dollars and send
| gold to premium is not well founded
| is to march up to the Office OF the United
| states treasury with a roll of silver GER
| tifieates and demand their redemption in
| gold? Mr.. Carlisle has simply announced
| to the public that every dollar now in
| circulation except the gold dollars are
redeemable in gold on demand, and that
| it will be the policy of the present admin
istraton to redeem them on demand.
Having set forth at length in his open
| letter to his Louisville friend the reasons
| why the government is bound to so re-
| deem the standard silver dollars and the
| silver certificates from the standpoint of
| the administration and proclaimed that
| the government would promptly do so We
may expect to discover pretty soon that
| silver certificates and silver dollars are
being gathered up by the banks as the
| greenbacks and treasury notes have been
| treated heretofore, and by the time the
November election is over ]. Pierpont
| y
| hooters will be able to force a bond issue
| before the returns are well in. The claim
| heretofore put forth by Mr.. Carlisle that
| silver had not been demonetized and that
in reality We were enjoying the benefits
| of genuine bimetallism because of the
fact that we are using over $500 100000 of
| standard non-redeemabe silver dollars
is knocked into smithereens by the proc
lamation of the new policy of the admin
| istration. The announcement at this
time of this new policy is fortunate for
the country. 1t will materially aid Mr..
Bryan in his campaign. 1t will urge the
| people on to renewed efforts in their de-
| termination to free themselves from the
domination of few English and Amerl-
| can bankers,
| Senator Falkner does not misjudge the
| temper of the people when he says, in
| speaking of this new policy:
| Il have no hesitation in saying that if
| this is the policy to govern the United
=