Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-09-09
IT'S QUESTIONED.
OUR CURRENCY rs SOUND FOR
THE MOMENT ONLY.
There iS no Law Requiring the President
TO Borrow Money to Maintain ne Gold
Standard and he has no Legal Right
to do 90.


that ''all our money is good and that
''the soundness of our currency is mo-
where questioned. 1t says:
Our currency is sound for the moment
because men pledged to the gold stand
rrd have control OF it. It is not sound
as a system, because an administration
pledged to the free coinage of silver
could force the country to silver basis
under the laws now on the statute
books. MIR. Cleveland maintained the
gold standard by increasing the debt.
Under like circumstances, by refusing
to borrow money, Mr. Mckinley might
send gold to premium and range the
United States with Mexico and China
as silver country. In view Of such
state of facts it is folly to talk of our
currency as sound.
The first step toward currency reform
an acknowledgement Of the fact that
our currency needs reforming.
The plain meaning Of the foregoing
is that there is no law requiring the
president TO borrow money in order to
maintain the gold standard, and that
Mckinley might not do as Cleveland
did
If there is no law making it the duty
of the president to borrow money to
maintain the gold standard, then clear
~, as a legal proposition, there is no
law giving him right to do SO. Har-
per's Weekly declares that under the
law as it now stands the country could
be forced to q silver basis.
What is meant by that? Simply that
the government has right to redeem
its paper money with silver, and coin
more silver from the bullion in the
treasury whenever it is need for re-
demption purpose. Whether or not
Harper's Weekly is correct in its con-
clusion that such course would send
us to silver basis, IL isunquestionably
sound as to the right of the government
on both points. The law makes the
silver dollar full legal tender in all
cases Except where otherwise express
ly stipulated in the contract" This is
the provision of the Bland-Allison act
of February 2S, 1878, and it is still in
force. There is no stipulation in favor
of gold for the payment of any form of
government paper except the gold GER
tificates issued on special deposits OF
gold coin and bullion. So the govern
ment has the undoubted right to re-
deem with silver every bond and every
piece of paper circulating as money
with the single exception named above.
Having the right, the duty necessarily
follows in all cases where the interests
of the treasury require 1t, because to
decline to do so in any case to that ex'
tent deprives the silver coin gifts legal
tender quality and nullifies the law.
To say the silver dollar is full legal
tender, and at the same time declare
that certain classes of creditors may
decline to receive 1t, is contradiction
in terms.
If it be said that the law declares II
TO be the ''pollcy of the government
TO maintain the parity Of its gold and
silver coins, It may be said that with
out any declaration it is the policy Of
the government to pay every debt hon
estly. Therefore man who has d
claim against the United States for ser
vices rendered or supplies furnished,
has just as much right to demand gold
as the owner of bond or other paper
obligation has. II the president
through his secretary of the treasury
has right to assume that paying out
silver in redemption of greenback'
would cause the latter to depreciatC
and declines to do So he has An equa
right to assume that to pay out silver
in any other case in which gold is de-
manded would cause the silver to de-
preciate, and hence refuse to pay out
silver for any purpose whatever.
Neither our silver nor paper had actual
" deprecated any. 1t was arbitrarily
assumed that it would the moment gold
was refused by the government on re
demption of paper.
Accordingly, gold was paid out In ex
change for greenbacks and Sherman
notes whenever asked for. Then
whenever the gold reserve got down tC
what was assumed to be the danger
point" bonds were issued to replenisf
it. And, be II observed, this assumed
"dauger point" was being constantly
shifted. At first it was fixed at 500,
OOO, 900. Then It dropped down to 800,
OOO, 900; then to $50, 900, 900, and SIC, 900,
900, and $50, 600. 900 and $50, 900, 900, anC
finally to 81, OOO, 900, showing conclus
lively that those who were plunginl
the nation into debt either did no
know where the danger point was o.
were deliberately indulging IN falls
assumption.
Whichever be the case, the fact 4