Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-02-24
LYMAN ]. CAGES VIEWS.
THE COUNTRY'S MONETARY SYS-
TEN DON'T SUIT HIM.
The Greenbacks should be Permanently
Retired and Bank Note Circulation Insei-
tuted. Everything Rede enable I'm Gold.
Silver . Standing Menace to Business In
terests.

Il
Silver Standing Menace to Business In
Serests.
Mr. Lyman J. Gage, the new Secre-
tary of the Treasury. with great can
dor and courtesy makes his position
quite clear on financial affairs, as fol-
lows:
Our whole monetary system is the
resultant of makeshift legislation and
unscientific compromises. It is time
that reform began.
I'm my opinion, the greenbacks
should be permanently retired. The
silver purchased under the Sherman
act should be gradually sold and the
treasury notes redeemed and cancelled.
Some well guarded system of bank
note circulation broader and more
elastic than the present national bank
act provides should be inaugarated.
'Such bank notes should be redeem
able at a central place, and be redeem
able in gold only.
"Silver certificates, which form near
ly one-ffth of the circulating medium
of the United States, are dangerous.
By their use a volume of inferior mon
ey has found an abnormal use. They
are the most perplexing features in
the much involved problem of our ma
tional finances
"There is no reason why the govern
ment should act as warehouse man
for either gold or silver. Such func-
ton is outside its proper limit of &C.
ton.
''But we are faced by a condition.
The enormous amount of $500, 0O0, 600
of silver represented by 1898, 600, 900 in
silver certificates, added to the $780,
100000 purchased by the government
under the Sherman act, constitutes a
standing menace to every business in
terest.
"To sum up, the defects of our pres
ent currency system are:
81. Confusing heterogeneity. which
needs simpliication.
2. The greenback controverts the
principle of paper money, viz: That
every note injected into the commercial
system should represent an existing
commercial value
''3. The treasury note is standing
evidence of foolish operation-the
creations of a debt for the purchase on
a failing market of a commodity for
which the purchaser has no use; it lies
open to the just charge of being both
idiotic and immoral.
"4. The national bank note merely
conforms to the true principal of paper
money, but the unreasonable require
ments for security paralyzes its eff
cheney and operate to destroy its elas-
ITCHY.
SIS. The silver certifica ties encourage
the use of silver to larger extent than
is consistent with the safe preserva-
ton of that metal on parity with
gold"
''Would national commission help
to promote reform?"
"There is reason to hope that it
would be of great service in that dir
ection. Such a commission, if rightly
elected. would throw a food of light
upon these insolved questions The
information it might gather would be
Of immense value to all our people,
and would guide us to wise legislation
Emotion and sentiment are not safe
guides in matters of science A clear
apprehension of true principles will
lead to correct action.
Reaction will be slow, but it is COM
ing, and it will be of long Duration
Such being the views of the man
chosen by Mckinley for secretary of
the treasury it would seem that the
money invested by our English cous-
ms in the late presidential campaign
was we'll invested. If Mr.. Gage carries
out his plan and retires all kinds
OF money except gold, supplemented
by national bank notes redeemable in
gold, it looks as though we had surren-
dered to England without any further
legislation on the money question and
were ready for annexation.
England has control of the bulk of
the gold of the world, and the people
are under contract to deliver to her
from one hundred to one hundred and
fifty thousand millions of the precious
metal.