The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-02-01
Leads all Oer North Carolina Da08 BOt News anQ Circulation

OF 1ntereSt, but also to make 1T easy
to obtain loans in exigencies which are
sure sooner or later to come to every
nation. A nations honor and credit.
| may say to gentlemen on the other
side, who applauded SO jubilantly when
the pending resolution was brought into
this hall-are among its most priceless
possessions, aye, its title deed to perm
anence and prosperity. Gentlemen ON
the other side who so exultantly applaud
ed under the impression that they were
hitting the hated holder of bonds issued
by the government to fund the debt in
Cured in defending and saving the
Union i'll its years of adversely and
peril, were in fact hitting and discredit-
ing the credit of the nation, which
stands for every citizen high or low,
rich or poor, and whose flag is the en-
blem of freedom and civilization.
"Mr. Speaker the sting and dishoner
of the pending resolution, like the sting
of the deadly snake, is in its tail. And
that sting well nigh harmless twenty
years ago, under conditions then ey-
listing. is made deadly by the canged
conditions of to-day. The deadly 'ail
of this resolution reads as follows:
'That to restore to it's coinage such
silver coins as a legal tender in the
payment of said bonds (meaning prdc-
tically all bonds of the United States
now outstanding), is not in violation Of
the public faith nor in derogation of the
rights of the public creditor"
The declarations of the movers and
supporters of this resolution in the SEN
ate during its recent consideration in
that body, throws a food of light on
what is meant now by the phrase, ''to
restore to it's coinage such silver COINS
"a phrase which, in 1873 was with
good reason interpreted by many who
supported "a similar resolution to mean
something vitally different from what
it must mean now.
"This brings me- proceadAd Mr..
Dingley ito the considera ion of the
vital question as to whether the govern
ment has the moral right; in other words,
whether it would be an act which the
moral sense of the wOr.1 would regard
as in accordance with honor an good
faith, for the United States TO pay its
outstanding bonded Indebtedness III dol
lars of so materially less value than
the dollar which has been the practical
standard of value since 1884, barring
the war reconstruction period, and which
has been the legal and practical stand
ard of value since 1870, and the dol
lard in which our bonded Indebtedness
has been paid thus far, paid by every
administration from Lincoln TO McIxin-
ley to wit, the dollar equal to value to
25.S grains of standard gold. applause }
More than three-fourths of the out
standing bonds, were as matter of
fact issued and sold after 1878. when
the silver dollar was dropped from the
list of coins. Now, in view OF these
facts, would it be good faith for Con-
gress, now that silver has so greatly
deprecated, to restore its free and un-
limited coinage at the ratio of 16 to l.
by this country alone, when the market
ratio lis 33 to 1, and nhen use such dol
.ars to pay the bonds which we had
sold for gold under such circumstances z
| do not think it would. | fear that
many of you are resting on the expec-
tation which you have that nothing of
this kind be done and are excusing your
vote for it on the unworthy idea that
YOU are playing politics.
IF so, / beg of you not to trife with
the honor and good faith of the ma
ton for any such miserable end; for
rest assured, such an expression of
opinion as to the sense of honor of the
people of this country contemplated by
this resolution under existing cOndi-
tions would seriously injure the credit
Of the country and tend to weaken re-
viying confidence. 1T is because / be-
lieve (as does every scientific bi-metal-
list in the world outside of politics.,
that 16 to ] free and unlimited silver
by this country alone would make the
United States a silver m0nometallic
country, like Mexico and China, and
would give us silver basis that would
obstruct our trade with gold standard
countries that now take 80 per cent Of
our exports and prove a serious
menace to our progress; and because
believe that it would seriously injure
our credit and standing as a nation
that / appeal to the gentlemen ON this
side of the House to maintain the pledge
which the Republican party made at
st. Louis to keep All our currency,
whether silver or paper as good as gold
and preserve inviolably the public faith
and credit; and to gentlemen on the
other side of the House to
maintain the standard of value which
Jackson's administration gave the
country Ga years ago and the honor
and good faith of the nation so care
fully preserved by the fathers of the
Democratic party; and to take the OPP
portunity offered by the resolution now
before the House to show to the
country and world that the good name
of the nation is safe in our hands. PRO
longed Republican applause.)
The appearance of Mr.. Bland of
Bland dollar fame, to whom Mr.. Bailey
yielded ten minutes, was greeted with
applause. The course of the President
and Secretary Gage, Mr.. Bland said, in
pressing the gold standard upon the
country had driven the bi-metallists in
Congress ito introduce and insist upon
the passage of this resolution. Every
Republican who voted against this reso
luton, he said, violated the st. Louis
platform, and voted against the coinage
of silver in any form, free or limited.
Mr.. Bland created great applause ON
the Democratic side by reading from
the record the votes of Messrs. Hopkins,
Grosvenlor and other prominent Repub-
licans against the bill to pay the bonds
of the United States in gold which was
voted upon in the last Congress at the
time the last administration negotiated
the $2G0000,000 loan.
Nh. SsyTanson Dem Val in SunnOrt