Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-01-03
THE SILVER QUESTION:.
Confined from last week.


hF'' vs. Wv 10 80 f,@'
the beginning of the late war, this ma
ton has been subjected to IA series of
rObberies, amounting in the aggregate to
"a vast sum. through its congressman in
their law-making capacity. and the eX-
ecutive officers of the government, in
Guiding one or more presidents and sec
~retaries of the treasury. This has all
been under the rule and through the di-
rect inspiration of the money power.
Bur much OF the work was done by tools
and dupes of this power, without whose
assistance the rule of this power for
shorter or longer time would have been
impossible.
The scope of this pamphlet has been,
in part, to call attention to the manner
in which the peoples representatives
have betrayed Il trust imposed on them,
by paying or agreeing to pay for more
than the contracts called for, to the ma
tons creditors of which they themselves
were a part. But the magnitude of the
stealings, and the terrific consequences
of the peculiar methods through which
they we're made are so wildly portrayed
i'm the great honest speech of Senator
John p. Jones of Nevada, upon the re-
peal of the Sherman act, so called, in
October, 1893, that we quote the fol-
lowing extracts
1t appears in the full text that sew
eral attempts to beat the nation failed,
but the whole series of laws passed
makes a pitiful display of the sacrificing
of a nations trusts, by those elected to
look after them, and teaches that the
great body of the nation must look after
their own interests. personally, if they
would not have them given away.
Mr.. Jones said:
All discussions of the silver question
have arisen out of the claims of the hOl-
ders of United States bonds to be paid
the principal and interests of the bonds
i'm gold. yet there is no debt of the
United States, that by the will or con-
sent of the people or of congress w@s
ever made payable in thar metal. Where
by the terms of the bonds any mode
of payment was prescribed, the words
used were either "lawful money, which
would mean coin or paper, or else the
word '%'coin''. which would mean either
gold or silver. The word gold" was
never used.
= = = = +
THE REFUNDING ACT FIXED THE STAN
pARD OF THE COIN.
The act of July II, 1870, providing for
the %Tefunding of the national debt, auth
oriZed the secretary of the treasury to
issue certain classes of bonds therein
named 70 the amount of altogether some
81 .j00.O 00. 900, "reieemdbie in coin o He
present StdHddrd c%dlue." These bonds
when issued had printed upon them the
folio ing statement:
Tins bone is issued in accordance with the
provisions OF an act Dt Congress entitled Gan
act to authorize the retunding of the national
debt" approved July II, 1879, amended by an
act approved January ~, ISL, and Is redeem
able at the Treasury OF the United States
after stating such number OF years rs APP
piled to the various descriptions OF bonds
whose issue was providek tor IN the act in
coin Of the standard rdiue Cfthe UnHed Suites on
S0M Jaly II, IS7O.
On the date of the passage of this act
of July If. 1870. the standard coin of the
United States consisted of Il gold dollar
and IA silver dollar; the gold dollar con
tanning Pos grains of standard gold and
the silver dollar 1928 grains of standard
silver.
No change which the government
might afterward make in the stan.
dard or character of its coins could de
prive the creditors of the right in thi,
act guaranteed to them of payment in
coin of the HeH STANDARD cdiUc. But
neither could any executive officer law
fully deprive he pcOpIc Of he UHitc,
Suites of the option in this act secureG
IN HcDt. to paw in coin of either gold OF
silver of the then standard value.
rs II r. 81 Il - Il # g. u rs \ y
Should the United States, before the
maturity q. those bonds. provide "A new
coinage of gold and silver in which tho
dollar should consist of but one-haif OF
ihree-fourthS the number of grams OI
pure metal of either gold or silver con.
tanned in the standard CONS of July II
1870, then the creditors could rightly de,
cline to receive such coins in payment
and their legal rights could not be over
ridden or preiudiced by any such alter.
alton of the standard. SO. on the other
hand, if the laws of the United State,
should later provide for a coinage sys
tenn in which the dollar of gold should
contain "A larger number of grains OF
gold than that which was the standard
/ of july II. 1870, or the dollar of silver q
larger humble: of grains Of silver. no in
Justice could be done the creditors by en-,
forcing the bond according to its terms re.
quirlng payment in the smaller dollar
which was the standard on July If
1870; and it would be then. as it alway,
has been, the Imperative duty of the ex.
ecutive officers of the government tC
carry out the law according to its plain
and unmistakable terms.
After the passage of the demonetiZa,
ton act by the United States, gold and
silver bullion, as was foreseen by the
creditors, began to part company. In
this process no change took place in the
purchasing power of silver. The change
that took place. as has been demonstrate
ed time and again, was in gold. whicl
was rapidly approaching i'm value h\