Evening journal., 1896-07-18
d. Honeatr opnraanIon9

IL Honesty Opprossion1
just at present there is good deal OF
talk about the debtor and the creditor
classes among Democrats. In a recent
article we suggested that our financial
matters could be better settled outside Of
politics. for It is evident that a financial
system which fuctuates by every turn In
the political field is an unsafe one. When
gold and silver were at parity by the
ratio OF to l0 there was no difficulty
rs to what was honest money. Silver
was just as much honest as gold and ths
financial laws Of our country were based
upon that fact. Now that silver has de-
preclate d In value We are presented with
a new aspect Of affairs and many debtors
think they can take advantage OF 1t by
paying their debts In the baser metal
The history of the world goes to show
that financial legislation has never sue
ceeded In placing value upon money
There has always been q standard Of
some kind superior to the lat OF ruler 8
or the edicts of legislators In modern
times this standard has settled itself
into gold which has been the aoknow-
lodged basis for money value throughout
the world for many years. As already
stated, gold and silver were at par In
this country upon the ratio established
nearly sixty years ago ard legally they
still remain so. But this legality does
not affect the result as matters now
stand any more than has heretofore the
determination of governments upon the
same matter.
Z The question Is can q man honestly
pay his debtF, which were contracted at
time when silver WAS relatively as val
liable as gold. In silver now, when that
metal Is not worth in the market one
half as much as goldi Ia reply It seems
evident that he can legally do so and as
long as the United States government
maintains silver at par with gold, he can
do 30 without injunng his creditor. Bat
suppose this government should forsake
gold MS q standard what would be the
resulti Apparently creditors would be
forced to receive the payment of their
debts In a curren cy, the value Of which Is
only one-hAlf OF that in which they were
contrf cted.
Some Of the sound money papers assert
that the cause Of the present uprising Of
the silver men In the country Is to be at
tributed to the desire among Southern
and Western debtors to be able to pay
their debts IN a debased currency. IL Ii
we'll known that both the West and the
South have been built up by capita
loaned TO them by the north and the east
money loaned to them at the full golC
standard-snd Jet the debtors Of tn,
South and West are said to desire to re
pudiAte this fact and to wish a hnRncia
status which viii enable them to DO so
We do not believe this charge. Th,
people OF the West and South are as hon
est as any other people in the world
They have suffered more than other SEQ
tions Of the country. through the fnan
eiAl embRrrassments which have exlstel
for the last three or four years, but the,
have not repudiated their debts nor
they intend to do so. 1t is clear tha
political sgitAtion Of the financial subjec
has done much harm to all sections o
the country and II It were possible to TAX
this question once for all out of politics
1t would eventually settle itself as
slways has done, upon blsis satisfa,
tory to all.
The masses Of the South and West al
as honest as those OF the North and Eas
bat they have fallen into the hands
dsmagogues who are using their dis
content to advance their own politic
fortunes.