Evening journal., 1896-10-19

Idle Many of her best financiers charge
this stagnation to monometalism.
At a recent meeting Of the Interna-
tional Monetary Standard Association
in London. Mr. Greenfield, governor OF
the Bank of England Mr. Samuel Mon
tague. tho head of the greatest bank
ing house in London except that OF the
Rothschilds, and Mr.. Thomas Suther-
land the great Greenock ship-owner,
urged return to the double standard
and the latter strongly denounced the |
gold standard as the chief cause of the |
worldwide depression in trade.
Pinched by dire distress, compelled |
to look these alarming conditions in the |
face. the wiser fnanciers Of England /
are turning away from the mistake of /
monometalism and looking for relief /
to the reconciliation Of silver again.
In the light of these experiences II |
has been fitly said that "the silver adj
vocates at Washington are fighting the
battle of labor all over the world"
The nations of Europe that, like the
enthusiastic member from Maryland |
(Mr. Findlay), thought gold was king, !
and like the Israelites Of old made unto
themselves golden calf and fell down
and worshiped IL as their supreme
financial deity, are learning the lesson
that there is safety in the old ways,
and are eager to find their way back
again into the beaten track of bimet-
allism.
It is a significant fact that this bat
tie for the wage-earner is specially
urged by Wall street syndicates, banks.
bondholders and capitalists, and chiefly
by those who toll not themselves Their
anxiety is aroused for labor, and for
this purpose they are unwilling that
silver shall be coined and money be-
come abundant and cheap upon the as
sumption that they would have labor
paid in gold. They object to the pay
ment of labor In the silver dollar OF
371M grains of pure silver, but with
one accord insist upon the coinage and
circulation Of the subsidiary silver coin
of half-dollar quarter-dollar, dime and
! half-dime denominations which have
only 345 3-5 grains OF pure silver in the
| dollar, or about 26 grains less than the
! standard dollar. OF this subsidiary coin
there is now in circulation in the
United States the sum OF 1904 III,
and with this coin the labor of the
country is quite uniformly paid
Then what a sham is this objection
TO the coinage Of the silver dollar!
From their standpoint il Is not how
est to coin and use the BIN grain sill
YER dollar in payment of the national
and individual debts and bonds. but il
II is honest to coin and use in payment
of labor that which has twenty-six
grains less of pure silver in the dollar
Need i say their theory is a gold
standard for all, their practice cheap
silver for labor, dear gold for their
larger transactions, and gold made
dear by this very exclusion of silver?
The success of that theory depends on
the supposed ignorance in the masses
OF laborers of the simplest economic
principles.
This tender care of the wage-worker,
and the proposed betterment of his
condition by making money scarcer
and higher, looks like a huge Joke in
which American capitalists were ex-
perimenting upon the qualities of our
national humor.
But there is pathetic side to this
humor, voiced in the piteous destitu-
, ton of the laborers of Europe now
groaning under the gold standard sys-
tenn, that may we'll check unseemly ex-
perimcnts and stay the consummation
oflike results here. Until the laborer COM
plains that he is injured by the super
! abundance Of silver dollars, and has
more than he can profltably use, is II
! not amazing that capitalists should ex-
pend so much energy in this self-as-
, sumed and vicarious work?
! SCALING DEBTS OR REPUTATION.
It is objected that further coinage of
silver dollars will result in scaling
public and private debts, which is re-
I pudiation and dishOnor. This is the
key to the situation, and states the
d real question on the side of capital
The lender fears the effect upon his se-
T curities. The labor mask now drops
q from the financial face, and natural
3 features are disclosed.
- Every honest man instinctively
e shrinks from reputation of his debts
:. and our people pride thmeselves on
+ honestly meeting national obligations
I This position is therefore adroitly
e taken. II shows the mastery hand o,
i the wary and all-powerful moneyed in.
e terests, which in the past have sc
(. nodded legislation that lands, stocks
j. money, and wealth have in constant
!. course passed from the many tOthefew
l. and by which colossal individual for
:, tunes have been largely creatures o.
# legal enactment.
h This is the ola battle-cry. Is 4
r true?
e Would either public or private debts
II be repudiated or scaled down by pay
u ment in the dollar of 371A grains o.
u pure silver?
u The public debt was created by act
o of Congress, which prescribed the con
IS ditions of the respective loans and ln'
kind of money in which they were pay
s able.
Il Act Of February 25, 1862, authorize,
l. what were known as 500 bonds. Tn,
= interest was payable in coin.
d The loans under acts of February II
r 1862; July IL. 1862; March 3, 1868 $500,
, O00,OO0 March 8. 1864. $780, 900 600; Jun,
Ie 80, 1864. 100000 900. were all payable il
ie coin. The loan under act of March 3
II 1865, 5000 100000 was payable in coil
st or other lawful money-that is, green
backs.
In all these acts coin, not gold, wa
IS prescribed. The silver dollar was
ne pafn and full lpco 1-fapda With GOLD al