Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-04-29
THEY KEEP RIGHT AT 1T.
The Programme Proposed by the
MassaeAusetts Reform Club.

reform CLUB.
II anybody supposes that the rascaIs
bent on absolute control of the ctrcuIa-
ton medium are letting up il. their
plans in the least they are woefuIly
mistaken. There is no doubt but that
the wolves in sheep clothing in the west,
who have pretended to be for himetaL
ism, and for retention of the noninter-
est-bearing money of the people, and
ended in coming out openly for retire
ment of the green backs, are acting in
concert with 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 acct
dent of possessing one of the latest cir
cuIars 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 resolution inclosed, which
is as follows:
Resolved, We demand some safe plan he
adopted whereby our legal tender paper
and silver and our silver certificates shall
be slowly withdrawn, and gold, gold GER
uhcates and bank notes gradually take
their places.
I'VE are opposed to any currency system
whereby one party to a 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 accent
since recent experiments show that such
a system creates distrust of all money
contracts.
I'VE 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 esta blishment 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 SOUND
financial system, under which all artificial
hindrances TO prosperity shall be removed"
The clubs circular passing the resO-
tuition says that our legal tender cur
rency gets it's sole value in the promise
to redeem it in gold! (this applying to
silver as well as to greenbacks); that
Secretary Carlisle, by his declaration of
last summer, has settled it that silver
will be redeemed in gold on demand.
or when necessary to maintain its
parity with gold. 1t is declared that
the wea, ness of the governments prom
Use to redeem is that the government
has mo cash capital" Their notes,
therefore, are like the "mere promise
Of insolvent persons" for the govern
ment has no cash in it's vaults to pay the
obligations! Owing to this the notes
have now become irredeemable, as in
fact they have really been for the past
Is 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 sayings
banks and the moneyed institutions,
and Injuries pensioners and wage-earn-
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 surplus in the treasury would
not necessarily afford government any ad-
ditional means of procuring gold Govern
ment cannot add to it's stock of gold by use
of the taxing power, because the payers
of taxes can always get from government.
by presenting it's demand liabilities for
redemption, the gold which government
asks from them. In time of need. there
lore government can procure goa 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
Not only on this the argument goes
on, but government has recklessly bound
itself to deliver on demand 500. 0O0, 900 more
gold than IT owns. and to deliver beside
this, at various dates during the coming
rs years, $450. coo of gold for interest on
the public debt, although il has deprived it
self by it's laws of any sure means of pro-
curing this gold. BY forcing us to use
It's notes and silver Sollars the basis
of contracts, government deters capital
lists from enterprise. lessons the demand
for commodities and 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 all it's wickedness, the club sug-
gests the following cure for these mis-
cradle and costly blunders:"
Government can easily add 500. 000. 0oi
per year to its store of gold by sale of It's
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 or expan-
sion of the currency. in seven years time.
substitute legal tender gold certificate
which we call new greenbacks'-for all
the legal tender currency which IL Is now
bound to redeem on demand, and 1t can
sound footing. yearly charge OF % cents
per head of our population would be the
whole cost of this reform
''Since our banks have $5,oOOOOO,Oo0 OF
banking assets-mostly short notes OIL
solvent people-if these banks should issue
even 81, 900, 0O0, 600 OF notes redeemaole 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
ernment; and, even IL these bank notes
were 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 Satis-
faction of debts"
Such is the scheme disclosed by this
eccident-for the free coinage press
wauld be the last to be taken into the
cot.nsels of such "reformers. If the
country was startled four years ago,
when the Cleveland scheme of repeal
of the Sherman law was first preached,
what must it think at the calm piracy
of the Massachusetts, Reform club,
which is thus disseminating the cold
blooded proposition of selling bonds for
gold, on which to base a currency, which
at present costs not cent of any man S
money, and which commands the entire
confidence of the country, always eX-
cepting the sharks who would still fur
ther control the nations life blood, and
substitute the banks for the govern
ment.
Four years ago they found willing
- II ,,e;J,, Junad the nRODIa.