Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-05-06
Official Paper of County.
OUR CANDIDATE IN 1900
Financial Facts Worth Remem.
bering.

Financial Facts Worth Remem-
bering.
If foreign Governments can deter
mine what kind of money the people
of the United States shall have the
clause in our Federal constitution
that confers upon Congress the power
ito coin money and regulate the
value thereof is obslete. 1t is de-
ceptive and meaningless phrase.
When the Republican party in its ma
tional platform declared in favor of
bilnetallism, upon the condition that
other sovereign states would consent,
and that without that consent the
United States would maintain the
single gold standard, it in plain and
express terms conceded that, SO far as
money is concerned, its creation and
regulation do not exist in the Ameri-
can Congress. President Mckinley
at the millionaires' dinner declared
that the language in which promise
to pay money was made was merely
a technicality, and that it meant that
when the day of its maturity arrived
the best money known to the COM
mercial world must be forthcoming.
If this was the true doctrine it was
an act of extreme folly to provide
the weight and tineness of the coin in
which Government bonds should be
lt Y, OF INV Nv nd 1,,
provision in every bond. 1t is not the
material of which dollar is made
which is the measuring unit, but the
dollar without reference to the ma
terial The dollar may be made of
any material which Congress may Sc.
lect. Who cares what yard stick is
made of, if it is three feet long? 1t is
the prerogative of every independent
sovereignity to make it's own measure
of value, and it is the right and duty
debtor and creditor to be governed
accordingly.
1t is a humiliation and disgrace
to allow creditors to demand, or re-
qulre debtors to pay, in money better
than the lawful money of the country
where the debt is payable. If all the
commercial countries were to adopt
the same measure of value, it would
facilitate trade and commerce, but as
the creation of money is pre-eminent-
~ an act of sovereignty, every nation
must decide for itself of what material
and how much shall constitute its
legal tender. After all the currency
bonds had been sold foreign investors
were anxious to know in what kind
of money they would be paid. In
reply to the numerous inquiries Mr..
Chase, then Secretary of the Treas
ury, said he had no authority to de-
eide, but the United States had uni
formly paid its debts in coin, and he
presumed that all the currency bonds
would at their maturity be redeemed
in coin. The National Republican
Convention that nominated General
Grant the first term declared that the
public debt should be paid according
the letter and spirit of the laws under
which it was contracted.
The sfve-twenties, which consti-
tuted the larger part of the bonded
debt, We're made payable in the law.
full money of the United States. The
greenbacks were made convertible
into bonds at par, although at large
discount. The charge was made that
II Grant and a Republican Congress
were elected the bonds would be
made payable in coin. This accusa-
ton was yehemently denounced as a
campaign falsehood.
John Sherman declared that q
bondholder who demanded a better
money for his bond than he paid for
it was an extortioner and a repudiat.
or. Thaddeus Stevens, the Boanerges
OF the Republican party, said in his
place in the House of Representatives
that If the Republican party proposed
coin payment of the currency bonds
''he would vote for Frank Blair fol
Vice President if meaner man was
on the ticket for President than Ho.
ratio Seymour" He declared that
the change would add 5000, OOO,OO OF
debt to an already overtaxed people.
Grant was elected, and the first bill
he approved was denominated IAN
act to strengthen The public credit
which provided that all the bonds OF
the Government should be paid in
coin. Poor Stevens was saved the
modification of seeing party sur.
render to the money power. He died
few days after making the speech
from which we have quoted.
We we'll remember an incident
which occurred that will be interest
ing. An English manufacturer Of
great wealth was making u tour in
this country at the time of the pass
age of the act to strengthen public
credit. he expressed great surprise.
He said: During your great war i
purchased 100000 of your bonds.
They cost me $50, 900 in coin. / have
been paid promptly the interest in
coin. had no doubt that your cur.
rency would be as good when the
bonds were due as when purchased,
and was willing to run that risk, as
was receiving large coin interest.
Now, with magnanimity and gener.
.osity without parallel, your
Congress says I shall have coin nav