La Junta tribune., 1898-02-19
THE ISSUE is MADE.
T WILL BE GOLD AGAINST
SILVER.
Sspubascans Must Stand BY th hi- Int.
tration aud Its Policy of Financial
Rsform-Tarin Question Is Settled By
DlnEiey DIIl.

The Congressional issue OF 1898 has
now been Joined. BY their espousal
u the Teller resolution in the Senate
ma then in the House the Democrats
lave forced the fighting. Every mem
Der OF the Democratic party in the
House. except McAleer of Pennsylva-
liza and Elliott OF South Carolina. voted
.or the Teller resolution; every Re-
publican except Linney and White.
both OF North Carolina. voted against
i. This practical unanimity sets the
.wo parties In array along the line OF
his question: Shall the United States
lie and steal?
For many years Congress thought 1t
'ufhcient. in providing for the issue OF
oonds by the government. to promise
o pay in legal-tender coin, but as early
Is 1870. when the great refunding act
of the Grant administration was
passed. the form of obligation was
changed 10 "in coin OF the present
standard value" At that time the val
les OF the two kinds of standard coins
gold and silver. were the same, al
most exactly. So far as there was any
Inference the silver dollar was more
'aluable than the gold dollar. but prac-
ifcally they were the same. and the
pledge o! the government at that time
was to pay interest and principal In
'oin OF equal. value. That promise has
been renewed from time to time in
t,,Fa nd
implication. but definitely by specific
reference to the obligation assumed in
the act Of 1870. The actual adoption
of the Teller resolution, in the pres
ent state OF the gold and silver mar
kets, would have made every govern
ment bond Issued under the act OF
1870. or any subsequent bond act, both
lie and steal. The proposition. as
the national debt now stands. is to
steal from the bondholders fully $780,
100000. and that In face OF the fact that
zach bond declares to the holder that
he shall be paid in full in coin worth
the same as the standard coin OF the
United States was worth July "A. 1870.
There has been Just one parallel to
this proposition on large scale. In
the days when Spain was at the zenith
Of its prosperity and the mines of
Mexico and Peru were at the height
of their output King Philip undertook
10 debase the coinage and make every
new piece Of money minted lie. 1t
was the most gigantic swindle ever at
tempted up to that time. 1t would
have been robbery. perpetrated upon
Ill who received the coin in payment.
rhe plan was concocted in secret. and
was to have been put into execution
,landestinely. 1t was frustrated. The
King was at disadvantage He want
ed to use those coins in making pur-
rhases. not In paying debts. But the
Teller plan is to take advantage OF
those whom we already owe. These
,redtors are at the mercy Of the Amer
lean people. II the United States should
-epudiate Its entire debt, and not mere
ly half Of 1t. who is there that could
stop it? All the world would point
the finger of scorn at US, and brand
is as liars and thieves. As Corea be-
came known as the hermit nation, SO
he United States would become in the
ayes OF all the civilized world the rob-
ber nation. 1t is upon this issue that
the Congressional campaign OF 1898
will be waged throughout the country.
It is deeply disgraceful to have such
IN issue raised. but the Republican
party is not responsible for 1t. The
Democratic party forced the issue. and
the Republican party has repudiated
population, and invites all honest men
10 join in demonstrating to the world
that the United States, as a nation. is
neither liar nor thief.