The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-10-21

81 ,6OO,OOO 900 Of money with which
they can legally discharge their debts,
will only have at the highest es-
innate $500, 900, 900, because the bank
notes, which it is proposed to have
the banks issue in the place Of the
currency destroyed, cannot, as / said
before, constitutionally be made a le-
gal JeRder.
Do the people realize what this
means? / hardly think they do. II
means, however, that in times Of panic
and distress, all debtors can be placed
at the absolute mercy of their credi-
tors. 1t would mean at such time
as this the contraction of the whole
circulating medium of the country.
down to what was alone the amount
Of legal tender money, viz, 5000, ,0O0,-
900. Such, in a measure, was the way
in which the old system of bank cur
rency operated, excepting that the
notes OF these banks were redeemable
in either gold or silver. Yet in every
commercial crisis there was a complete
suspension Of specie payments by
these institutions, and an immense
contraction of the currency followed
by the discounts that were made upon
these bank notes.
II these old banks could not main
tain specie payments on both Of these
metals, pray tell me how these modern
ones expect to do it on only one Of
them. In time Of crises, and you
would have them more frequently
than you have ever had them, every
bank in the United States would be
forced to suspend. Their notes, unless
some provision is made to sustain
them, would be in a great degree
worthless, and the only legal tender
money, viz, gold, would be impossible
to obtain, and this could not help but
bring such ruin and disaster as this
generation has never experienced.
Silver For Subsidiary Coins.
The next proposition, TO use silver
only as subsidiary coin, means that the
legal tender function is to be taken
away from all of the present silver
coinage, including the silver dol
lar, and the same reduced 10 mere
token money, such as our halves and
quarter dollars, and made a legal ten
der for some limited sum like five or
ten dollars. It must mean, too, that the
silver bullion, which amounts TO mil
lions upon millions, now held in the
treasury, shall be placed upon the
open market and sod for what it will
bring.
The next proposition, viz, that the
government shall call in and cancel
the outstanding paper money, can only
be accomplished in two ways, either
by directly exchanging government
bonds for this paper currency, or SELL
ing government bonds direct for gold,
and with the gold redeeming the out
standing government paper. This Is
so, because this currency now belongs
not to the government but to the indi-
vidual citizen, and if it is called in and
destroyed something must be given in
return for it. This currency as it now
stands is made up OF $346, 900 of
greenbacks, about $3.50 ,OOO, 900 of silver
dollars and silver certificates, and a
hundred and forty-odd millions of what
are known as the Sherman coin notes,
amounting in all to something like
81, 1,0O0,00O,000. l speak in round num-
bers only.
The greenbacks are, by law, re-
deemable in either gold or silver, at
the option of the government. Each
one of the silver certificates and Sher-
man coin notes have silver dollars de-
posted in the treasury for their re-
demption. In addition to this, there
is $1OO,OOO,OOO in gold, which is known
as the gold reserve. thus we see that
while the government has outstanding
about 81 1,0O0,O 900 of paper money, ii
has deposited in the treasury for its
redemption very nearly $S00,000000 In
coin.
If the "soundness" of paper money
depends upon the ability of the issuer
to redeem it in metal, what bank in
this country ever did or ever can thus
hold sSO0,O0O,O 900 to redeem $1,000, ,000,-
900?
The people themselves have never
Rt any time questioned this govern
ment money. The people them
selves have never demanded It's re-,
demption in any large amounts
Nowhere have we heard that it wa.
dangerous, except in the temples o
the money changers. They say tha
1t is all bad money, and they propose
to destroy IT, and in it's place thu
banks are to be given power to ISSUE
good money.
Destroy Their Redeemer.
1t is a fact not to be lost sigh
of, but one that should be distinct!
remembered, that none Of these new
bank plans propose that the banks
shall be compelled to redeem thei
own notes over their own counter
either in gold or anything else.
few years ago we hear this sug
gested by some magazine writer's, bu
they have in some mysterious wa!
been silenced. These bank people
my friends, l wish to state to you
never will agree to the passage OF an,
bank bill which viii compel them t
redeem their own notes in gold alon
over their own counters. This re
sponsibility - "ver will assume
Why the banns uU" ' not redeem
their notes in any kind of coin, bu
in these miserable greenbacks. The
now wish to destroy their own re
deemer. You (the people, are thei