Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-08-27

such a critical period as we have had
in the last two years, my judgment is
it would have been very disastrous
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS TO BLAME.
II do not agree with the Secretary
that 1t was wise to follow a bad pre-
cedent, but from his answer il will be
seen that the fault does not lie with
the greenbacks and the treasury, but
rather with the executive officers, who
have seen fit to surrender q right
which should have been exercised for
the protection Of interests of the peo-
pie, This executive action has already
been made the excuse of the issue of
more than $50 million dollars in bonds,
and it is impossible to estimate the
amount Of bonds which may hereafter
be issued il this policy is continued.
"We are told that any attempt up
on the part Of the government to re-
deem it's obligations in silver would
put premium upon gold, but why
should it, The bank Of France ex-
erclses the right to redeem all bank
paper in either gold or silver, and yet
France maintains the parity between
gold and silver at the ratio of ISL to /
and retains in circulation more SILVER
per capita than we do in the United
States.
1T may be further answered that
our opponents have suggested no fea-
sible plan for avoiding the dangers
which they fear. The retirement of
the greebacks and treasury notes
would not protect the treasury. be-
cause the same policy which now
leads the Secretary Of the Treasury
to redeem all government paper in
god when gold is demanded will re-
quire the redemption of all silver dol
lars and silver certificates in gold, If
the ,greenbacks and treasury notes are
withdrawn from circulation.
THE OPTION OF THE SYSTEM.
"More than this, if the government
should retire its paper and throw up
on the banks the necessity of furnish
ing coin redemption, the banks would
exercise the right to furnish either
gold or silver. In other words they
would exercise the option just as the
government ought to exercise now.
The government must either exercise
the right to redeem it's obligations in
silver when silver is more convenient,
or it must retire all the silver and sill
yer certificates from circulation and
leave nothing but gold as legal ten
der money. Are our opponents will
ing to outline financial system which
will carry out their precepts to legiti-
mate conclusions or will they continue
to cloak their designs in ambiguous
phrases2
"There is an actual necessity for BIZ
metallism as we'll as theoretical de-
tense Of it. During the last twenty
three years Legislation has been cres-
ting an additional demand for gold,
and this law-Created demand has re-
suited in increasing the purchasing
power OF each ounce of gold. The
restoration Of bimetallism in the Uni
ted States will take away from gold
just so much Of the purchasing power
as was added to it by the demonetiz-
alton Of silver by the United States.
The silver dollar is now held up to the
gold dollar by legal tender laws and
not by redemption in gold, because
the standard silver dollars are not
now redeemable in gold either by law
or by administrative power.
FREE CoIrAeE's CLAIMED RESULT.
eve contend that free and unlimi-
ted coinage by the United States alone
will raise the bullion vale Of silver to
its coinage value, and thus make sill
yer bullion worth 81 20 per ounce in
gold throughout the world. This
proposition is in keeping with natural
laws, not in defiance of them. The
best known law of commerce is the
law of supply and demand. We rec
ognize this law and build our argu-
ment upon 1t. We apply this law to
money when we say a reduction in
the volume Of money will raise the
purchasing power of the dollar; we
also apply the law Of supply and de-
mand to silver when we say that q
new demand for silver created by law
will raise the price of silver bullion.
Gold and silver are different from
other commodities in that thew are