Iron County register., 1898-03-10
The Currency Question.
Mr.. RAwLlNs, OF UTAH.
short and sharp ON the Teller Res

Mr.. RAWLINS, OF UTAH.
Short and Sharp ON the Teller ResO-
luton.
The senate having under considers
tion the resolution submitted by Mr..
Teller, and reported from the commit
tee on finance by Mr.. Vest, declaring
that all the bonds of the United States
issued or authorized to be issued under
certain acts of congress are payable,
principal and interest, at the option of
the government, in silver dollars of the
coinage of the United States containing
412h grains each of standard silver,
Mr.. Rawlins, of Utah, said:
''The issue upon which we are to vote
is quite clear. 1t is whether we shall
pay the money as provided in the con-,
tract, or, to use the expression of those
opposed to the resolution, pay in the
best money. What they mean by 'the
best money" is that money which has
the highest purchasing power. They
do not mean the best money that was
in circulation at the time the contract
was made. They do not mean the best
money at the time of the passage of the
L
the best money in circulation now.
They mean by that expression the best
money which may exist at the time of
the maturity of the obligation.
''The policy which the bondholders
would have adopted is, therefore, that
of contraction, to make the money in
which the bond is to be paid better and
better, in accordance with sort of
geometric progression. They started
with lawful money of the United States,
which they succeeded by their influence
in changing into coin, then the best
money. Later they stopped the coin
age of one of the metals, and thereby
virtually destroyed the option by TAX
ing away one of the objects upon which
it might be exercised.
"They propose now to take another
step and make if better money by con-
verting all forms of money other than
gold into bonded debts, these, too, to
be paid, N accordance with the amend
ment to the resolution offered by the
junior senator from Massachusetts
(Mr. Lodge), in the highest money"
The proposition is that the money can
not be too good; it must be better next
year than this year, and better the fol-
lowing year than the previous one.
Whereas now we can get so much
money for so many bushels of wheat,
or so many pounds of cotton, or so
many acres of land, they would have it
multiplied indefinitely, if their logic is
sound, between now and the time when
the bonds mature. Instead of paying
them in money in accordance with the
terms of the contract, it is to be paid in
the very best money, that money hav-
ing the greatest possible command of
all commodities and property.
'But I want to call the attention of
the senate to the fact that the best
money for the bondholders in that
sense means the worst possible indus
trial condition of the people. 1t can
not be that the people must be made
slaves to preserve their honor.
''The issue presented by the amend
ment offered by the junior senator
from Massachusetts,, and by the decla-
ration of the president of the United
States is, whether these bonds are to be
paid in the best money, the money hav-
ing the highest command over all the
property, over every effort of the peo-
pie to exist at the time the obligation
natures, or whether we shall perform
our contracts in accordance with the
spirit and the terms of them by paying
in a currency of the same purchasing
power as when the contracts were
made.
''It is idle to attempt to confuse this
issue with any question of parity. Sen
ators speak of debased currency. De-
basement of the currency can only have
one meaning, the diminution of pur-
chasing power. An increased purchas-
ing power means better money in their
estimation.
'But one other suggestion in this line.
The republican party claims that it is
in favor of bimetallism and will do
everything in its power to promote it by
international agreement. Bimetallism
by international agreement means in
effect to double the primary money of
the world. That means, other things
being equal-the demand for money be-
ing the same-to debase the money to
the extent of one-half.
Payment in gold and silver, de-
based currency, under a system of in
ternational bimetallism, must logically
follow. They deprecate payment in
currency except it is blessed with the
benediction of the governments of Eu-
rope"