The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1896-07-24
CONFUSION COMPOUNDED.


How Can the Democrats Reduce Taxes,
Stop Issuing Bonds and Yet A ccumu]ate
Reserve Fund.
The democratic national platform
reads thus: o..
We hold that tariff duties should be levied
for the purposes of revenue. such duties TO be
SO adjusted as to operate equally throughout
the country and not discriminate between
class section. and the taxation should be
limited by the needs of the government hon
estly and economically administered.
We are opposed to the issuing Of interest
bearing bonds of the United States in time of
peace, and condemn the trafficking with bank
ing syndcates, which in exchange for bonds at
an enormous profit to themselves supply the
federal treasury with gold to maintain the
policy of gold monometallism.
Congress alone has power to coin and issue
money. and President Jackson declared that
this power could not be delegated to corpora
lions or individuals. We therefore denounce
the issuance OF notes as money for national
banks as in derogation of the constitution, and
demand that all paper which is made legal
tender for public or private debts, or which is
recoverable for dues to the United States and
shall be issued by the government of the
United States and shall be redeemable in coin.
At the outset, it may be remarked
that the democrats have laid them
selves open to the identical mode of
attack they used against the populists
in regard to paper money, as crystal
lied in the query: ''How are you GO
ing to get it into circulation?"
But the most pronounced absurdity
connected with the above is the i'm
piled contradiction in the declarations
and demands. Under free coinage, all
metallic coins are the property of the
owners of the bullion from which they
are coined. This being the case, if the
government reduces taxes and issues
no bonds, how is it going to accumu-
late reserve fund of ''coin" upon
which to base an issue of paper money?
Specie redemption is the basic and pro-
life cause of bond issues and so long
as we retain the one we must continue
the practice of the other.
Again, paper money, redeemable in
specie, is practically useless and pow
erless to help, emasculated of its
money essence, the absolute, standard
money entity.
Hon. Amasa Walker says in his
money Problem page 6: Every
paper dollar, unless a specie dollar is held
deposited for its REDEMPTION, displaces
gold and silver coin, and in SO far di-
minishes the demand for the precious
metals, and in so far reduces their
value. A mixed currency, wherever
it exists, forms the standard of value
as truly as does a coin currency where
it alone exists.
Bearing in mind this fundamental
monetary principle, it is easy to see
that the democratic platform is purely
for hard, or metallic money, the pro-
vision for an issue of a governmental
paper money being nullified by the
declaration that such money should be
redeemed in coin" The national
bank bills, which the democrats de-
nounce, are really an addition to the
money volume, there being no coin
held for their redemption; but the pa
per money the democrats propose to
issue would not increase the volume
of money in circulation, because for
every paper dollar issued and put in
circulation, there must be a coin dol
lar taken out of circulation and held
for its redemption.
By the way! At whos1 instigation
and why was the paper money plank
of the democratic national platform
amended SO as to read and snail oe
redeemable in coin?'
The democratic nominee for presi-
dent, Mr.. w. j., Bryan. was the princi-
pal speaker at the Cook county I'LL
silver convention, held on May 4, 1895,
at Chicago. and he thus explained what
is meant by free and unlimited" sill
yer coinage:
.sNow what is free coinage? Why,
people talk as if free coinage was a
process by which the government
would buy silver at certain price. 1t
is not. We have the free coinage OF
gold now. That simply means tsat it
you have a piece of: gold bullion you
can take it to the mint and have it
converted into coin and the coin will
be handed back to you. Now, what