The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-02-04
Mckinley Rot.

There is another duty resting upon the
National Government to coin money
and regulate the value thereof This duty
requires that our Cover nment shall -regu-
late the value of its money by the highest
standards of commercial honesty and
national honor. The money OF the
United States is and must forever be un-
questioned and unassailable If doubts
remain, they must be removed. If weak
places are discovered, they must be
strengthened.
Nothing should ever tempt us-noth-
ing ever will tempt us-to scale down the
sacred debt of the nation through legal
technicality. Whatever may be the lam
guage of the contract, the United States
will discharge all of its obligations in the
currency recognized as the best through
out the civilized world at the times of pay
ment. Nor will we ever consent that the
wages of labor or its frugal savings shall
be scaled down by permitting payment in
dollars of less value than the dollars
accepted as the best in every enlightened
nation of the earth.''
These are fine phrases and a happy
arrangement of words, but do they con.
tain any sense? 1t may seem like pre-
sumption to ask such a question consid-
ering they were delivered by the President
of the United States, nation standing at
the head of the worlds great nations.
But do they? Let us analyze them and
see. Mr.. Mckinley but two or three
years ago, it must be remembered, was
considered very ordinary person, by no
means was he thought great statesman
by anybody. The first paragraph reports
the President saying, This country re-
quires that our Government shall regulate
the value of its money by the highest
standards of commercial honesty and
national honor Now, what does all
this mean' There is not word in the
constitution which prescribed that the
Government shall coin money and regu-
late its value 'by the highest standards"
or commercial honesty" How shall
this imaginary "highest standards" be
determined, and what is Commercial
honesty" that the government is to
search out and regulate the value" of its
money bye This is simply an arrangement
of fine sounding words, which means
nothing and does not contain one particle
of sense.
All that the government did or had
power to do was to declare that 37I4
grains of pure silver with one tenth alloy
added should constitute United States
dollar, and that 1922 grains of gold shall
have the same value as money in the
United States. That is absolutely all that
the government did or could do in its
regulating the value of its money. There
is not a word in reference to highest
standards" or Commercial honesty u"
mentioned. Every country makes its
own money and prescribes by law the
mode that business shall be transacted by
the medium of that money. If the money
is made of gold or silver it ceases to be
money when it gets beyond the bounds of
that country and sells in the markets at
the price of the metal it is composed of
and the government has no control in the
matter.
The money ofthe United States is today
and always has been "unquestioned and
unquestionable" There never has been
any questionable money but bank money.
1t is worse than folly, it is crime for
President of the United States to speak of
the national money being questionable
by inference as he does.
Who questions the money Of the United
States except the leaders of the Presi-
dents party? The plain people never
do. He is full of innuendoss, such as if
doubts remain" as though one solitary
cent of the money had ever been in doubt.
His plain intimation is that there had
been a doubt of its soundness and pei
haps there is still doubt of that kind
hanging over the nations money.
A President that talks in such man.
ner about the national money ought to be
impeached and expelled from the office
he is not fit to fill. IF weak places are
discovered they must be strengthened.
What sense is there in such language
applied to money? 1t is the language of
an engineer speaking of bridge or some
structure occupying an important posi-
ton, and not the language ola statesman.
How can the legal tender, the lawful
money of tie nation be weaker than the
nation itself? The Presidents dark hints
and innuendoes about the government
money is the language of tory to our
republican form of government. And
what are we to infer the President means
by his dark hints of scaling down" the
sacred debt of the nation? Sacred"
is good, especially when it is remembered
that this debt cost when contracted from
IS to 60 cents in gold on the dollar and is
now worth about 100 cents. The currency
this debt is to be paid in is to be "recog-
nized as the best throughout the civilized
world" There is no such currency any
where in the world. Every nation issues
its own currency and it is nowhere recog-
nized as currency outside of its own
country; no more than citizen of one
country is citizen of another eopntry at
one and the same time. What the Pres
ident means, but lacks the candor to say
so, is that gold being the dearest metal
money is made of because it is the
scafcest, therefore the government should