Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-12-07

party in the last campaign and says Of
these United States notes, Nobody is
obliged to redeem in gold but the gov
ernment" Now where does President
Mckinley find the law whereby the
government lis obliged to redeem in
gold?' There is no such lay and Pres
ident Mckinley must surely know it.
These notes are redeemab,e expressly
in "coin," and although this question
has been carried to the highest court,
iii. has never yet been decided that "coin"
means :" Id" One of the ablest men
that ever presided over the Treasury
department, Daniel Manning, was con-
| fronted with this question of redemp-
ton of these United States notes The
I holders demanded gold. Secretary
Manning said he would pay partly in
| gold and partly in silver to begin with,
! and that if they presented any more
notes in bulk for redemption he would
| be compelled to redeem them all in
| silver. And at that very instant the
| raid on the gold reserve by the Wall
street sharpers stopped. And to stop
! a similar raid on the gold reserve, Nc
Kinley's Secretary of the Treasury has
only to pursue Manning's plan, which
he is fully warranted in doing, since
the law says, simply, that these notes
are payable in ''coin," which may be
either gold or silver at the discretion of
the Secretary of the Treasury. McKin-
ley's aimless talk on this subject is but
rehash of President Cleveland's. end
less chain" argument. 1t will be re-
called that Mr.. Cleveland took the re-
markable ground that all of our cur
rency was redeemable in gold on de-
/ mand, not excepting cur silver certii-
Gates which declare expressly on their
face that so many SILVER DOLLARS
are deposited in the treasury of the
United States against them. This was
no more nor less than a rank disregard
Of plain law in the interest of the gold
ring of Wall street and London, which
took advantage of it to the tune of
forcing $260,000,000 of bonds from the
government during Cleveland's term.
That Mckinley should re-adopt this
plan shows that he lacks inventive gen.
ius in creating an excuse to avoid meet
ing the currency question fairly and
squarely.
His remarks regarding that will O. the
wisp-international bimetallism-and
his claim that it is not hopeless, are
rather peculiar in view of the fact that
the labors of the Wolcott commission
were abruptly terminated by orders
from Washington. In view of Eng
lands emphatic refusal to entertain the
proposition, the Presidents hopeful re-
marks appear somewhat foolish. Evil
IDENTIFY they are meant merely to hold
in line these Republican partisans, who,
while they believe in bimetallism firmly,
prefer to stick to their party as long
as it holds out the faintest shadow OF
hope in that direction.
The President, of COURSE, has good
word to put in for the national banks.
The banks were McKinley's friends in
the late campaign. He recommends
that they be allowed to issue notes to
the face value of the bonds they have
deposited, and that the tax on their
circulating notes be reduced to one-half
of one per cent; also, that the minimum
of capital on which a national bank
may be established be reduced to $780,
900. This recommendation, while good,
80 far as it goes, it not accompanied
by any other for the protection of the
people when the national banks should
feel inclined to draw in their circula-
ton, which they are prone to do on the
first sign of hard times or a panic, a.,
though at such times money is most
needed in the channels of trade in order
to avert those very conditions.
The President talks periodically,
learnedly and sympathetically of Cuba
and the brave Cubans, who are with
such grand heroism battling for their
homes and liberties against Spanish
oppression, outrage and deviltry. But
that is ALL The President talks and
then he stops. He has nothing to rec
ommend Despite the brilliant prom
Use of his party's platform, despite his
own glowing account of what he would
do when he assumed the reins of Office,
despite Ibis repeated promises to end
the war by a decisive demand or by
recognition of the belligerent rights of
the Cuban patriots, he has done moth
ing but follow promise by procrastina-
ton and representation by promise,
while civilization has been continually
outraged and the American people
shocked and rendered indignant by
SPANS barbarous and inhuman warfare
upon the Cubans-not warfare. but ex-
termination and murder. Mckinley
asks that Spain be given another chance
to subjugate the island whose riches
she has been plundering for so many
generations He asks Congress to do
! nothing until it is seen how the Sagasta
pIap of So-oalled autonomy will work