The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-10

James Bryce. the very able English his
torian. statesman and publicist. shows
a far better conception Of the question
OF annexation. and a much profounder
understanding Of the history and prin-
ciples Of this great republic than Nc
Kinley, Morgan n the entire gang Of
fanatics seeking to introduce 100. 900
half barbarians and some 1000 whites
gathered from the nations OF the earth
into the American Union.
The presidents entire remarks on the
financial situation are interesting and
worthy Of consideration by all readers.
He is very hopeful OF the robber tariff
as a revenue producer. but why il would
be hard to say. He is one of the ex-
treme protectionists who have never
considered for a moment the moral as
poets of taxation, and the great wrong.
oppression and iniquity in laying a sys-
tenn that robs one class to enrich an
other, and very much smaller class.
and that plays into the hands OF greedy
monopoly and fosters the grasping,
satanic trusts.
It is thirty-two years and a half since
the war ended. The sums that have
been taken from h American people
in that time in taxes Of various kinds
are beyond belief, and would
have bankrupted any other nation upon
the globe. The president you'd have
edited his readers If he had given ap-
-1~;ooo+o1xy %ho ~ of 4hoco fropnord
Gus taxes, when he was showing how
the public debt had been reduced. If
the American people only knew how
their public servants had robbed them
what huge taxes had been heaped upon
them-a great deal Of which was I'M
necessary and wrong.
The president admits that at present
there is an "evil" in the currency situa-
ton and he proposes to remedy it. He
does not find the 'evil'' to consist in
bad money, for he distinctly asserts
that all of the money is good-"every
dollar Of it is good" and tells why it
is good, because the governments
pledge is to keep it So" The truth is
gold, silver, notes are made good in
the same way by the governments
stamp, Endorsement, pledge. He says
the "p,adge will not be broken" But
he and his secretary of the treasury,
find q bad condition and propose to
remedy it. to remove the "evil." He
says the "evil" lies in trying "to MAIN
| tain the parity of our different forms of
money''-to keep them at par with
gold" In 1873, silver was higher than
gold, was worth 2 or 3 cents more than
| gold. The difficulty of maintaining has
come from hostile legislation against
silver and special favoritism of gold
| The evil complained of has become
| patent and fixed by a system Of un-
friendly legislation he indorses and his
| party is mainly responsible for. He
says to preserve the parity is very
costly. If it is "a burden upon the peo-
ple," as he contends, it is certain that
the friends of bimetallism are not re-
sponsible in any way for the results.
The presidents plan of relief, of
change, he makes plain. He wisely ex-
| presses fear against more bond issuing.
He may do this, for it is quite probable
that his tariff theory and it's expression
in the principles of high taxation un-
der the Dingley tariff, will fail to bring
in enough revenues to support the gov
eminent, even with the aid of a consid-
cradle increase under the internal rev.
enue tax, and the bond issuing will be
a positive necessity 1t will be dreadful
to have a republican administration
issuing bonds, having bond sales after
the bad way Of Cleveland, and after
d%enouncing it as the republican press
did nd the politicians. The president
states this, and it is bad practice:
mo body is obliged to redeem in
gold but the government. The banks
are not required to redeem in gold.
The government is obliged to keep
equal with gold all it's outstanding cur
rency and coin obligations, while its
receipts are not required to be paid in
gold. They are paid in every kind Of
money but gold and the only means by
which the government can with GER
tainty get gold is by borrowing it. It
can get it in no other way when it most
needs it.
1.-THE law which requires the govern
ment, after having redeemed it's United
States notes to pay them out again as
currency funds, demands a constant re-
Punishment Of the gold reserve. his
is especially so at times of business
panic n when the revenue are insult
ficient to meet the expenses of the gov
eminent. At such times the govern
ment has no other way to supply its
deficit, and maintain redemption, blu
through the increase Of it's bonded debt,
as during the administration of my pre-
decessor, when 1922. 315, 400 Of AZ per
cent. bonds were ssued n sold and
the proceeds used to pay the Expense Of
the government in excess Of the reve-
nues n sustain the gold reserve.
While it is true hat the greater part
of the proceeds of these bonds were
used to supply deficient revenues. a
considerable portion was required to
maintain the gold reserve"