The San Francisco call., 1898-12-29

vice and a lack of true courage. MT. Bryan says that the fundamental or scientific basis of independent free coin age at sixteen to one consists in giving to the debtor the option to pay debts in either coin that if he have this op- ton he will pay in the cheaper metal, and by thus increasing the demand raise the price and draw the value of the metals together, and keep them at a parity; but if the creditor have thS option to demand the payment in gold this, by increasing the demand, draws the value of the metals apart. This proposition has not been proven to De sound, but it does not require discus sion here, fer we find MT. Bryan, III his celebrated Chicago convention speech, stating that it is not the pur- pose of the free silver advocates to pay gold debts in silver. Right here we have a paradox There are several thousand millions of private debts in the United States, written payaple specifically in gold If these debts are not payable in silver (and 1t Is admitted they are noD then it is impossible that the debtor as to this enormous indebt- edness should have the option. The op- tion remains with the creditor and upon MT. Bryan's own statement or dlc- Urine this must draw the metals apart, send gold to a premium and tnereby suspend it's circulation and place us at once upon a silver basis and contract the currency by the amount of gold in use. The country has decided against free coinage of silver and has Justified the position taken by the National Re publican party upon the question Of coinage. Free silver men frequently urge that gold and silver are equally recognized as money by the constltu- tion. A limited amount of silver can be used as money at the present ratio without driving out gold, but no coun- try where there is independent and un
 limited free coinage of silver is able to maintain gold in circulation as money. Such countries have silver monometal- lism. This would be the case in the United States The conclusion is ir- resistible that the cause which pro- duces this must operate alike in all countries regardless of their volume or commerce As such free coinage would therefore drive out gold the constitu- tion, in recognizing gold and silver, must have contemplated the use of sil- yer in a manner which would keep gold in circulation as money and experience has shown that this can only be done when gold is the standard.
 Upon the question of maintaining the national banks of issue the Democratic
 
 who favor abolishing such banks as banks of issue favor a return to the system of issuing currency by State banks The Chicago platform of 1896 was upon request of MT. Bailey of Texas purposely modified in committee so as to permit this construction and the Democratic Legislature of Georgia has recently authorized the issue of currency by State banks and directed a test of the national tax which prevents such issue This is retrograde policy. As between the Republican policy fa- voring national banks of issue and such Democratic policy the Republican poli
 cy should be supported. AS to issues of additional greenbacks redeemable upon demand, such policy must con- template a suspension of specie pay
 ments or perpetual increase in bonds issued to obtain means for redemption. We have had abundant opportunity to observe tha such legal tender notes which any holder may present to the treasury at once for redemption con- stitute an endless chain which com- pels the Government upon occasions to constant issue of bonds and purchases of gold to keep the pledge of redemp- ton. This is bound to occur as often as there is the least suspicion that such legal tenders may not be equivalent to gold There can be no doubt that the legal tender notes have for a long time been maintained at a parity with gold only by the policy of the treasury to pay gold for legal tenders upon de- mand therefor. This action of the treas ury is warranted by the express policy of the law as declared in the act of 1893 to maintain the parity between gold and silver and it is not apparent how this policy can be safely changed while such legal tenders remain out standing and subject to such redemp- 1 tion. As to such other schemes for the issue of money as do not contemplate coin redemption they could not be law 1 fully adopted without an amendment to 1 the Federal constitution. The legal ten i der cases at utmost have only decided that when the Government issues it's promise to pay in coin 1t may impress l legal tender quality upon such a prom l ise. Such system of money cannot be l adapted to the competitive system of