The record-union., 1898-01-25
VIII Be Convened at Indianapolis,
Indiana, To-Day.
Expected That There VIII! Be a Large
Number Of Delegates Present.
Judge Robert S. Taylor of Fort
Wayne Speaks to a Large Audi
ence Regarding the Plans of
the National Monetary Com
mission.

mission.
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 24-The gen
eral interest in the Monetary Conven-
ton which meets in this city tomorrow
was shown by the large number of
delegates who arrived to-day. At =
O'Clock this evening fully 100 delegates
had registered at the headquarters in
the Denison House. and nearly as many
more came in on the night trains. The
convention will begin at ) o'clock to-
morrow afternoon.
There appears to be 20 doubt that
the report of the Committee ON Reso-
lutions viii cordially indorse the plan
of the commission for currency re-
form in its entirety. This was the
tone of the interviews which were OBJ
tained to-day from the delegates.
Judge Robert S. Taylor of Fort
Wayne one of the members of the
Monetary Commission, spoke tonight
at the Columbia Club before a large
audience regarding the plan of the COM
mission.
Mr.. Taylor discussed the plan recon-
mended by the commission He said
in part:
THE duty imposed upon the commits
sion was to formulate any monetary
scheme it could think of-one suitable
to the habits and wants of the Amer
lean people, and capable of adoption
without inconvenience in the process.
1t was the belief of the commission
that the most serious evil of our pres
ent situation is the uncertainty exist
ing in regard to the standU'd The last
election was verdict against the sill
yer standard, but nothing has been done
to carry that verdict into effect. The
question of international free coinage
is impossible. No nation, except France,
has indicated any willingness to unite
in such a scheme. Moreover, the
changes which have taken place since
1896 have made it impossible. The
whole world could not bring gold and
silver together in value at the ratio
of 16 to l; and the moment we leave
the ratio we are all at sea. 1t is time
to put that dream behind us. and face
the situation as it is. With the present
enormous gap between gold and silver
nearly 36 to 1.-The least uncertainty
as to whether our future standard is
to be gold or silver creates an intol-
cradle condition.
The first thing recommended by the
commission is an explicit declaration
by law that the Government will main
tain the gold standard in the payment
Of its own debts; that all its obligations
now existing or hereafter created shall
be paid in gold. Such a declaration
would, in itself go far to relieve the
existing uncertainty
The next recommendation is that
there shall be a complete separation of
the purely fiscal functions of the Treas
ury Department. consisting in the coll
lection Of revenue and the payment of
expenses. and its monetary functions.
The gold reserve should be transferred
to a division OF issue and redemption.
and there maintained by surplus reve-
nue. when it exists. and by the sale of
bonds when necessary. This would pu,
at rest all anxiety in regard to the
payment of Government notes. AS
things now stand the maintenance of
gold payments by the treasury depends
upon tingencies-chances of peace,
war, crops, trade and elections. Will
lam Mckinley and Lyman ]. Gage
could send the country to a silver basis
WITH lOui WI ihS--Slti-piy Wy dpii-
ing to Assistant Treasurer Jordan. at
New York. Pay greenbacks in silver
There is no danger that they will do
it, but their successors might
After outlining the position of the
commission in regard to silver currency
and the substitution of national bank
notes for greenbacks. Mr.. Taylor closed
by saying:
The Republican party is called to
face a tremendous responsibility. 1t
espoused the cause of sound money in
1886. Sound money now means the
gold standard We are bound to have
either the gold standard or the silver
standard There is no other alterna-
tive. and the silver standard for us
means all that is unsound and dishonest
in money The pledge of the St. Louis
platform in reference TO international
bimetallisn has been performed We
have tried and failed. Senator Woicott
admits the imposeibility of the under
taking at this time The free silver
lists must go it alone. To a sound
money man it is a conclusive demon
stration that we must not only keep
the gold standard, but strengthen and
fortify it against all possibility of as
sault. In that great work the Repub-
lican party must lead. The gold Dem
ocrats are a remnant OF Israel destined.
perhaps. to be the seed of a great party
to come: but they are too few to carry
elections now. There is great body
of Independent men who are friends or
the cause, but they can do nothing ef-
fectively. except through the instru-
menta ity of he publican party. once
mere the fate of the country is in Its
hands