Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-04

sstance, and are using every power of
appeal, duress and threat of business op-
preston to continue the running of the
endless chain for the purpose of in
creasing our bonded debt. To continue
the grind of that cruel chain they now
claim that all our paper issues, including
bonds, treasury notes and national bank
notes are redeemable by the govern
ment only in gold
If any of these obligations are re-
deemable in gold alone, all of them
equally call for such redemption. What
do they amount to?
The public debt statement for July,
1896, says they are:
Interest bearing debt. ........ $4S7, 1854, 250
Debt on which interest has
ceased. ................ 1,633,610
Debt bearing no interest. ..... 3,315, 04
National bank notes.. 229, 61S, 1896
Gold certificates. Observation-Disclosures. 40, 1856, 1888
81, 492, All ,O69
Secretary Carlisle, pressed
by what he calls logic and
moral duty, has at last dis
covered that all our silver
coinage is also redeemable
in gold. This adds to his
estimate of our gold
debt..... ................. $4s4,529, 0S9
For this redemption we have
in the treasury, gold COIN. 106,65l, ia
Gold bulliOn......... SO, 264, 0S6-S139, 825, 1856
$199, S25, 1856
Deficit. ........... .......... 81 ,7S7, 09S, 006
Where is this gold to come from to pay
this debt? When all this Is redeemed
we would owe, in bonds, as much as we
owed in 1SS6-ten years ago-without
dollar in the treasury with which to pay
it. We can see in these figures the wrong
and absurdity of changing our coin con-
tracts ostensibly to meet pharsaical pre-
lenses of honor, but, in fact, to meet the
demands of the banks for more bonds.
Injustice has no kinship with honor!
If war should come, and our commercd
should be interrupted If we were COM
PEELED to fight it's battles on a gold basis,
the flag would go down in disgrace, and
our independence would be threatened,
If not destroyed.
The plan adopted in the act of 1873 to
prevent the payment of our bonds by
forcing the country to the use of gold
as the only legal tender money-the
money of redemption, was not to change
the face of our obligations, so that they
would be payable in gold coin. They
were not bold enough to attempt that
act of outrage openly, and they resorted
to the plan of destroying the legal ten
der standard silver dollar by refusing
coinage to it, so that such dollars could
no longer be had with which to pay our
.'coin" obligations.
This fraud succeeded in the black act
of 1873.
A mean and paltry delusion was prac-
ticed in that act in the invention of a
new coin, called trade dollar" to take
the place among the laboring people and
small dealers of the legal tender standard
silver dollar, which was destroyed by
that act
This dollar could not be used to pay
bonds, or the interest on them, or any
public debt, or private debt above the
sum of SIS, because it's legal tender power
was limited to that sum. Here the toilers
and tax payers were placed by this law
in a class distinct from the bond holders
in the money provided for them, and dis
elimination was made against them in
the money they were compelled to receive
df 1t was less than $50 fer their labor
and productions. They were compelled to
pay gold for taxes, on any demand above
IS. The purpose and spirit of this class
legislation, as to money, Is expressed in
that cold and heartless declaration of
the boilers at indianapolis, that "the ex-
perience Of mankind has shown that gold
is the necessary money of the large af-
fairs of commerce and business, while
silver is conveniently adopted to minor
transactions" The poor must have
limited coinage" of "cheap money" with
"safe guards" to keep it's legal tender
power down to the grade of their minor
have gold, with unlimited legal tender
power. A scarce money metal for a few
favored people. An American lawmaker
Is unfit for his place who can get his con-
sent to degrade the money that the toll
ers must use. as the price of their labor,
by giving the people they toll for differ
ent and more valuable coin for boarding
and speculation, thereby cutting off the
laborer from the chance of laying up his
wages so as to own something later in
life. What sort of a democrat, Is he who
could stand on that platform and look
the people in the face? That was done in
the act of 1873. under which the COMPETE
ton of labor with wealth was no more
than struggle between the slave and his
master. A cheap trade dollar was created
by that act for the "minor transactions"
Silver was thus driven out of competition
with gold in the power to pay debts
above SIS, or to purchase property above
S. in value. OF course 1t ceased to be
useful in all transactions that looked be-
yond days supply for common fami-
,ly, or the small dealings of the poorer
classes. Silver was, in fact, destroyed.
In order to induce the coinage and cir
culation Of these cheap trade dollars. tx
grains above the weight of the standard
dollar which was then destroyed, they
were made to weigh APO grains of stand
ard silver, instead of 4121a grains, and
their coinage was made free to the peo-
pie. will read the free coinage provision
of that law:
ANY owner of silver bullion may de-
post the same at any mint, to be formed
into bars, or into dollars of the weight of
420 grains troy, designated in this title
as trade dollars, and no deposit of silver
for other coinage shall be received"
This broad right of free coinage for the
trade dollar given by this act of 1873, is
followed by the following section, design
ed and intended to make 1t ".oheap dol
lara dollar robbed of its power as
mopey--for cheap people. the toilers who
l.Ye today On WHAT they earned In money
on seste,Siay:
Section 1885, The silver coins of the
United States shall be legal tender at
their nominal value for any amount not
=xetaadinp 81 In any one Daymentn