The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-02-12

"This is the position taken by al
administration running upon n platforr
that declares in favor of bimetallisr
by international agreement subporte
by thousands of voters who conscien
tIously believed tho republican part
was really IN favor of the use of bot.
metals, and supported on the stump b.
speakers who argued that the republi
cnn party vas the. true friend of siINe
and would shortly restore it TO its for
mer place.
LET us see what is this contrac
which the president Of the United
States says we must discharge in tn
'best money known to The civilized
world, and which the pending resolu
ton declares is payable mt the OptIor
of the government in silver dollars o
the coinage of the United States con
tanning 4I2H grains each of STANDARD
SILVER. l know / thrash ove old straw
when | recur to the history of oul
bonded Indebtedness, but in the ligh
of the presidents statement as to oul
duty in the premise, it is well to lool
back n little and see what the premise
is.
III CAa "SAO l59bNhI pay oCA1 II
lawful money, and were bought witt
greenbacks worth at the time from &C
to Go cents on the dollar in gold. When
refunded, they were made payable il
coin, and when hat word was inserted
in the obligations of the United States
the bondholder got something better
than he bought-sOmethiug more than
he had any right to expect. But we
did not stop here, and In order that
there should be no mistake congress
determined to definitely fix the mean
ing of the term com and declare the
comparative value OF the different coins
In which the bonds should be paid.
cit would almost seem hat the
legislators of that day, with prophetic
vision, looking down the vista of years,
saw the b%ondholder ct the end of the
nineteenth century greedy and overfed
demanding not only his pound of flesh
but the hearts best blood to sweeten
the dainty morsel. So congress, in the
~refunding act, provided that the bonds
should be paid In coin of the then
standard value, and every bond of the
United States today bears on its face
these words: sRedeemable- : = = in
coin of the standard value OF the
United States on said July ID, 1870.'
''There could be no ambiguity about
this. The purchaser knew what he
was contracting for, and notice was
given him on the face of the contract.
The relative value of the metals might
change, the relative value of the coins
might be changed by law, but the
~ INDIAN Tho oanfraaf
was a thing fixed by law that no change
could affect.
"What was the standard value of the
on July II. 1902 Mark you,
this was three years before the demon
citation act of 1878. In 1870 the
minis were open to the coinage of both
and The value of the COINS
liked by law was the ratio of 16 to l.
''In the light of these facts, what
apology can be made for the declaration
Of the president, or. what excuse for
his conduct be gwen, except that
like his secretary of the treasury-he is
determined ro commit the country
more thoroughly TO the gold standard
md remove, SO far as possible, all
aud fears on that pointP'
this policy of the president is
likewise the policy Of the majority
members of this house, what objection
:an they make to the resolution nov
usP
"poes 1t purport to change any law
any policy of the government fixed
by law? Is 1t the violation of any
or does 1t repudiate any con-
On the contrary, l confidently
affirm that no lawyer will tarnish his
will soil its ermine by declaring that
his resolution contains aught that Is
not now the written law of the land.
"But, Mr.. Speaker. there is another
in history we should keep in
mind IN considering this declaration oi
The president that our bonds must be
paid In the best money known to the
,ivil ,zed world. During the last admin
when Mr.. Cleveland desired
sell sixty-Lwo millions of bonds he
called upon congress TO change the
so that he might issue bonds
-edeemable in gold instead of 'coin of
The standard value of July II, 1907
[n support of that request q statement
was maui THAI " sum % OhobkC 1
he United States would receive &c.,
300, 900 more for that Issue.
"Congress refused, and I believe
wisely refused, to consent to the
and we paid, according TO Mr..
and his secretary of the
reasury, SIG, 1000 for the privilege
If writing 'coin' in that issue instead
If gold II a like amount was paid
or The same privilege on the other two
millions issued by the last
administration, then We have paid
practically $40, 900, 900 since 1892
'ather than change the words 'coin of
he standard value of July IA, $780,
nto 'goId coin of the United States of
he pre- weight and fneness.
"ThIs privilege we have so dearly
the president proposes to give
out of the ~fullness of his heart
md the love he pears the poor OPP
bondholders. What right has
he president to give away the patri-
nony of the people, and what right
Ias the bopdholder 10 demand any
UGH charityP Who 10 the reputation
st, the man who stands upon the con-
ract or the man who denies II; the
nan who offers TO pay his Obligations
0 the fullest farthing or the man who
emands double the sum denominated
q the bondP
s'Can the bondholder be heard to
ONE INTO court suing upon the on
while repudlating the measure of
ecovery provided for in the instrument
n which he suesP He dare not stand
pom his legal rights, and SO be threat
the nations honor. He comes, not
s a creditor, with legal execution, but
> a blackmailer, ready to give tongue
D SANDER if his demands are not conn
lied with. And this is the man In
hose interest laws are to be set aside,
romises broken, and the people who {
Imported you in the last campaign on {
he faith of your blmetallic plank be-
!
1.-THE republican pretense of bimetal-
sm by international agreement is a 4;
aud, has always been a fraud, and !
under the declaration Of the presl-
and the secretary of the treasury :
would seeem that yon wOnld no y
attempt to deceive the people.
ut II recent interview, appearing in .
le Washington Post of January 80,