The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-02-04

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corresponding coin Of gold. And there
is no creditor Of the Unite States and no
creditor Ia the world, public or private.
who has any objection TO recely wing the
coined silver dollar OF tho United 3 iatesl
OF to-day. Z q Y X x
But this resolution does nut propose to
deal only with THAI. This resolution
calls on Congress 10 restore the coinage
OF; silver as 1t existed under the law OF
1887. Where IL the philosopher wise
enough to know what the valtie would
be of the Sproposed free silver dollar
when emitt bv the mlnts OF the Unitel
States under q law for Its unlimited
coinage at an obsolete ratio? There was
not q man connected With the last presi.
Dental campaign that had wisdom
enough TO know what that value would
be. "a x Y, 8, +
The Intent OF the resolution, that was
before the house, could Il have been
made law, was not 10 honestly pay the
debt OF the country In the silver dollar,
OF to.day. The attempt 70 make It APP
pear that the Stanley Matthews resolu.
ton OF lists, which Nas voted for by
many Republicans who are now opposed
to the Teller proposition, was OF the
same intent Is not supported by history.
The phrase ITO restore TO their coinage
such silver coins" SC, was understood
by Congress In 1878 to refer to the stand
ard silver dollars proposed by the Bland
Allison act, which was then pending and
shortly atterward became a law, the In
tent being that the government should
coin, not free and unlimited, but on Its
own account, in limited numbers, and
maintain at q parity with gold, precisely
as IT Is doing now.
There Is no warrant in tho history OF
Legislation that any one contemplated
payment In silver at the time the gov
eminent contracts were made. Such an
idea would have been absurd In view OF
the fact that less than sGOoO,o0o had been
coined In the United States in all the
years OF It's history UP 20 that time, and
owing to the scarcity OF them, even then,
with, free coinage laws on the statute
books. every silver dollar was worth
more than a guild dollar and was only
kept as curlo or relic. *,
Going little further than the question
OF the Register calls for, but as having
an important bearing on the subject, the
1ntellgencer may be parioned for quot
ing some more from Mr.. Delivers
speech in answer to favoriteS silver
proposition that nobody Is In favor OF a
settlement OF the public debt with gold
except the bankers and brokers and the
money power and the inquiry as to
where The sound money people get their
Inspiration for their treatment OF the
bonded Indebtedness. Speaking for the
Republican. inspiration on this point, Mr..
Dolhver said: Is
They get It from the history and re-
cord OF the times when the debt was con-
tracted. as Interpreted In the first Inau-
gural address OF Ulysses s. Grant as
President OF the United States. who was
elected upon platform requiring the
| government OF the United States to
make good is promise. to pay Its debts in
dollars which every human being at that
time understood to be the gold coin dol
lars OF the United States. What did
General Grant say? FL.
TO protect the national honr every
dollar OF government. indebtedness
should be paid in gold. unless otherwise
expressly stipulated In the contract"
Now. ask these gentlemen, will any
man rise and state what bond issue OF
the United States, made to provide mon
ey to carry IN the war. contained the
express stipulation that 1t was to, be paid
Otherwise than in gold?
When 1 was speaking a moment ago.
the Democratic party on this floor, with
Its irrelcvent applause, nearly ruined my
speech undertaking to interpret the
meaning of General Grant when he used
the words In his first !naugural-"unless
otherwise expressly stipulated In the
contract'-which had the honor tn
| read. twill take me less than a min
ute to read for the benefit of the house
the Interpretation OF those words put
| upon them by General Grant himself. I
read from letter Of his 10 Mr.. Wash
burn, from Paris, in ISIS, contained in
the North American Review for August.
1897:
THE whole Democratic party cried It.
self hoarse over the outrage upon the
constitution when the nation In its des-
peration adopted the 'lesal-tenGer note
Now the whole party seems to be willing
to issue an unlimited quantity OF this
money In spite Of their previous declara-
ton, In spite OF the solemn. promise that
| above a certain amount-s400,0 900. 600
should not be issued. in spite of the SOL
cmn obligation that those issued should
be redeemed In coin. understood at the
time to be gold coin."
There never was an idea on the part of
any one at that time OF an intention to
pay the government detot in deprecated
money. and all the financial legislation
carefully guarded the credit OF the gov
eminent. There was no attemp. to dis
honor the country, and the man who
voted for the Stanley Matthews resolu-
tion did not see in Il an attempt 10 pro-
vide for the free and unlimited coinage
OF silver at the ratio Of sixteen to one.
with the silverin a dollar worth burt A
cents. thus virtually repudiating one
half the debt for there were no such con-
di;ions then.
| Ren,nrka bic Series Of Suicides.
The attempted suicide of Miss Lucy
Taylor. the daughter OF a government