The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-02-13
Our Washington Letter.

k0SAloOOA A44OOA0A1 . oROOOAA 0h tAA0
proposed bond issue is rightly
regarded as the contribution of
master mind to the monetary liter
ature of the day. He began by
sharply drawing the issue that was
being made between the single
gold standard attended by an
unlimited increase of our public
debt and the rehabilitation of sill
yer to its place, under the consti-
tuition, of primary money. He
declared that the persistent effort
to destroy bimetalism in this coun-
try is ssnot only fatal stab at the
best material interests Of all our
people, save and except the few
who control the gold of this coun-
try, but is moreover a dangerous
and oppressive encroachment upon
their constitutional liberties" He
cited Daniel Webster to the effect
that congress had not the legal
power to demone,ize either metal
and showed that all our financial
authorities of all political parties
from the trainers of the constitu
tion down to the war period agreed
that the constitution requires the
coinage of both metals. The sen.
ator compared the foreign debt
contracted under bimetallism be-
fore the civil war, the foreign debt
accumulated during the war and
the four succeeding years, and the
foreign debt since the practical
adoption of the gold standard
through the decentralization Of
silver at the commencement oil
the war our foreign debt was a
bagatelle, substantially nothing.
| The costs of the war swelled it so
that in 1869 it had reached the
enormous figure Of 81 ,465.G00, 900.
In the natural order Of things it
should have been gradually re-
duced since that time but since
the demonstration Of silver our
| foreign debt ,sstead Of bclng
reduced, has swelisi until it has
reached startling and portentoEIs
figure, being variously estimated
at from 1885 100000 to $5,5a5,-
o0o,00O alter allowing all credits,
GLOW is it," asked the senator. liz
an impassioned period, THAT this
| vast sum Of debt has within the
past 25 years been placed as a
mort gage IN favor Of foreign cred
itors-nearly all of whom are cit
izens of Great Britain. on the
labor, the efforts, the resources.
the homes-yes, l might add, the
liberties of the American people ."
While he stated that other causes
contributed to the result he added
that 'sno one cause, nay, all other
causes taken together were SO
potential factor in this fearful
work of riveling upon the necks
of the American people the foreign
chains of Industrial. commercial
and monetary slavery, as the sim
gle one of the effort to destroy
bimetallism and sustain, uphold
and perpetuate in the interest of
Great Britain the single gold
standard"
The senator declared that in his
Iopinion there are two remedies to
be applied to this deplorable con
dition: First. the encouragement
and upbtfilding OF OUR merchant
marine, and secondly, we must
legislate to increase the value Of
our export commodities SO as to
enable as to meet, reduce and if
possible wipe out the debt which
today makes the people Of this
country virtually slaves to the
money lenders OF Great Britain.
The senator called attention to
the dire effects of the bond issuing
policy, how it operates with espe
clal hardship when the gold is
obtained from our people, because
it thereby contracts our circulat-
ing medium, depresses prices, par
alyzes business, and increases the
public debt. He quoted from able
political economists TO show that
bimetalism was the only true pol
licy for an enlightened government
looking TO the best interests of all
its people. He excoriated the
present secretary of the treasury
for enforcing gold policy far in
advance of any ever entertained
or practiced by any gold standard
government on earth, by not exer-
cising his legitimate prerogative
by refusing to honor demands OF
gold intended for export in return
for obligations expressly made
payable in coin.
: The senator called attention to
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