Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-04-08
yationa, Bimetallistl

much. Nay, IL would be Just as true
IL we only had two dollars all told. He
may have had in his mind those great
economic thoughts ID, ''every dollar
worth 100 cents" money good the
world over" "monev" as untarnish-
ed as the American flag" and various
others which never found lodgment
in the brain of any economist OF re-
pute living or dead. Ideas thus ex-
pressed are simple clap trap, and
mean nothing.
Bot he says that the value of our
money must not further be threat
ened." This is just as hard to COM
prehend as the declaration that it lis
all good now" How can the financial
system be revised without some
change being madeS And how can
any change be made from money
that is ''sll good now" without that
happy condition being disturbeds
Perhaps, though, while it is already
good, he would have it made still
better. But again. Does he mean
that the proposition to coin silver at
10 to / is such a threat? II so, he
surely owes to the country an expla-
nation of why he voted for free coin
age in 1877, and offered to do it again
in 1890.
Then he says that it should be put
upon an enduring basis, mot subject
to easy attack nor its stability to
doubt or dispute" According to that
we must infer that it is not now on
an enduring basis, because lift were
it would not be necessary to put it
there. 1t must also be that it is now
subject to easy attack, u for is it were
not there would be no occasion to
protect it in that regard. Finally its
stability" must be in doubt and
dispute" because otherwise he would
be seeking to guard against some.
thing that does not exist. So, this
sentence clearly implies that there is
something wrong, but what it is he
fails to inform us.
Then he proceeds to say that ''our
currency should continue under the
supervision Of the Government If
that shot Is 'med at the silver men
say that the government should not
only supervise" the currency. but
absolutely control it. The only |
men who challenge the proposition |
are the gold men, who insist that the |
Government should go out of the |
banking business" and allow the |
banks to control the currency. These |
men are his own supporters. So in |
this case he seems to have taken the |
wrong pig by the ears However,
he is not pulling it very hard, for he |
probably means nothing more than |
that if the banks issue the currency,
the Government may occasionally |
inspect their books.
He next proceeds to say that the
several forms of our paper money
offer "a constant embarrassment to !
the Government and a safe balance
in the Treasury" This is slightly out |
of line with. the previous statement
that our money is all good now" If
it is all good" it certainly can not
embarrass anybody, unless the en-
barrassment come from not having
enough of it.
Nevertheless he thinks it nesessary
to ''devise a system which, without
diminishing the circulating medium
or Offering the premium for it's con-
traction, will present q remedy, etc.,
etc. Here is an admission that the
present system is both embarrassing
and dangerous, and that he wants a
new one; but it is unaccompanied by
the remotestjntimation of what kind |
OF substitute he would have. Would |
he have the Government go out of |
the banking business" by retiring
all Gouernlnrnt paper money, or
would he have the "banks go out of
the Government business" by retir-
ing their circulation We expect to
nd isn k1
future events. Perhaps it is for
shadowed by statement ascribed to
Secretary Gage that the greenbacks
should be withdrawn.
1t is gratifying to know that he
does not want the circulation dimin-
ished," but ID is difficult to see how it
is to be prevented If the greenbacks
are retired. 1t is equally difficult to
perceive how they can be kept in |
circulation without constantly ''em-
barrassing the Government and
threatening the treasury balance so
long as nothing but gold is. deemed
fit for their redemption. The truth
is that President McKinley's political
friends have created all the condi-
tions of which he complains. He
admits that we have none too much |
money, for he says it must not be di-
minished. Hence the silver men are
not open to criticism because OF the
silver legislation of the past. Indeed,
Mr.. Mckinley helped enact every
line of it. But his gold standard sup
porters have forced the interpreta-
ton that all government currency is
redeeInable in gold alone, and this is
I,r - I,D l - 81
of which he speaks. There has never
been run upon the Treasury that
would not have been stopped in six
hours if the Government had exercis-
ed it's option of redeeming in silver.
oh" exclaims the banker, that
would never have done Gold would
have gone to a premium at once.n
Well, suppose il had. Our silver,
greenbacks, SHERMAN notes. and
national bank notes would have con-
tinued to do the business of the
country just as they had been doing,
and the bankers would have paid the
premium, instead of compelling the
taxpayers at large to do so, to the
tune OF $262 300, 900 in borrowed gold.
He also fails to explain how ''more
revenue" is to remedy this evil. The
revenues are not payable in gold un-
less it be at the option of the payer.
While it is true that the expenditures
of the Government have overrun the
receipts during the last three or four
years, that fact Is not the cause of
the trouble. The Government was
at all times in funds to meet every
item of expense. If there had been
no run upon the gold reserve by the
presentation of government paper
for redemption, there would have
been no bond issues, no increase of +,
the interest bearing debt, and there
would still be falr-sized balance in
the Treasury. More revenue may be