The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1897-04-30
10 KEEP RIoHT Il b..
glhe -FrosFamsiie Proposed Sy.=fte
Massachusetts Reform Club.


Massachusetts Reform Club.
If anybody supposes that the raseals
bent on absolute control Of the eiFcala-
ton medium are aetting up in their
plans in the least they are woefully
mistaken. There is no doubt but that
the wolves in sheep clothing in the west,
who have pretended to be for bimetalr
ism, and for retention of the noninteT-
est-bearing money Of the people, and
ended in coming out openly for retire
ment of the greenbacks, are acting in
concert with a general plan for assumP-
ton Of all the powers Of the government
at present in the hands Of the people.
The Press has become acquainted
with some part Of the plan by the acci-
dent Of possessing one of the latest cir
euIars of the Massachusetts Reform
club" of Boston. The club asks for ac-
ton by all the business organizations,
in passing and sending to members Of
congress a resolution Enclosed, which
is as follows:
Resolved, We demand some safe plan be
adopted whereby our legal tender paper
and silver and our silver certificates shall
be slowly withdrawn, and gold, gold GER
tlficates and bank notes gradually take
their places.
I'VE are opposed to any, currency system
whereby one party to q contract has the
choice Of the kind of money he shall tender
when the choice is denied to the other
party of the kind of money he shall accept,
since recent experiments show that such
a system creates distrust Of all money
contracts.
We sympathize with the south and west
in their dissatisfaction at the lack of
banking facilities in their sections, and
favor such legislation as will encourage
the establishment and successful opera
ton Of small banks with local capital and
local knowledge OF credits.
we invite all patriotic organizations, OF
whatever kind or party, especially In those
sections where financial depression has
brought most suffering, to cooperate with
US in an unremitting campaign for sounC
financial system, under which all artificial
hindrances to prosperity shall be removed.
The clubs circular passing the reso-
luton says that our legal tender cur
rency gets its sole value in the promise
to redeem it in gold! this applying to
silver as we'll as to greenbaeks); that
Secretary Carlisle, by his declaration Of
last summer, has settled it that silver
viii be redeemed in gold on demand,
or when necessary to maintain its
parity with gold. 1t is declared that
the weakness Of the governments prom
Use to redeem is that the government
has mo cash capital" Their notes,
therefore, are like the 'meTe promise
Of insOlVent persons" for the govern
ment has no cash in its vaults to pay the
obHgatiOns Owing to this the notes
have now become irFedeemable, as in
fact they have really been for the past
16 years! Then the changes are rung
on the possible effects of the govern
ment failing to pay its notes on de-
mand. 1t results in the decline of
the dollar" brings on commercial and
industrial panic, cleans out the savings
banks and the moneyed institutions,
and Injuries pensioners and wage-eaTn-
ers! In passing, this sledge-hammer
blow is given the tariff prosperity
makers:
Under existing laws and conditions gov
eminent obtains practically no gold from
customs duties and little from voluntary
exchange of gold for currency of other
kinds. An increase of revenue and the
presence of a surplus In the treasury would
not necessarily afford government any adj
ulti0nal means OF procuring gold. Govern
ment cannot add 10 It's stock Of gold by use
Of the taxing power, because tile payers
Of taxes can always get from government,
by presenting its demand liabilities for
redemption, the gold which government
asks from them. In time of need, there
Iore, government can procure gold only
by borroWing-that Is to say, by the sale
OF its bonds on such terms as the owners
OF the required gold may demand"
mot only on this" the argument goes
on, but government has reckiessIy bound
itself to deliver on demand SO0, 600, 900 more
gold than it owns, and to deliver beside
this, at various dates during the COMING
Is years, S450,0G0 600 of gold for interest on
the public debt, although it has deprived it.
self Dy its laws of any sure means Of pro-
curing this gold. By forcing US TO use
It's notes and silver dollars as the basis
Of contracts, government deters capital
lists from enterprise, lessons the demand
Tor commodities aud services, lowers prices
and materially reduces our incomes, caus-
ing losses to our whole population to the
amount of thousands Of millions Of dol
lars"
Having thus discussed its unholy pur-
pose in allits wiekedness, the club sug-
gests the following cure for these mis-
cradle and costly blunders;"
Government can easily add 500, OO,O0)
per year to its store of gold by sale of its
bonds, getting half this amount from the
annual product Of our own gold mines
and half from abroad. BY this means it
can without either contraction OF expan-
sion of the currency, in seven years time,
substitute legal tender gold certificates
which we call new greenbacks' for all
the legal tender currency which 1t is now
bound to redeem on demand, and 1t can
thereby put its finances on a perfectly
sound footing. A yearly charge of % cents
per head Of our population would be the
whole cost Of this reform.
Since our banks have $1,000, &c., goo Of
banking assets-mOstly short notes of
solvent peOple-if these banks should Issue
even Sl,000,0000l0 of notes Tedeemable in
gold, and secured by first lien on the as
sets, their notes would be, humanity speak
ing, perfectly good and far surer of prompt
redemption than the promises of our gov
eminent; and, even if these bank notes
we're at any time irredeemable, no change
would occur in the value Of contracts, be-
/ cause these notes could not be forced, by
the legal tender act, on creditors in salts
| faction of debts"
Such is the scheme disclosed by this
accident-for the free coinage press
would be the last to be talken into the