The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-02-25
VIFQUAIN D!SSENTS.
Says the State Journal is Wrong In It's
Opposition to Teller Resolution.

Journals; In yOnr Issue or the NTH
instant, under the caption Of In 1878"
you recognize that the public debt is
| payable in coin at the option Of the
government, but you add that it would
not be the proper capcr' to do so
now for the reason that the silver dol
lar is worth only forty cents. l do not
very well understand what you mean
by proper capcr.' but presume you
mean e2spedient, in as much as q little
further on you say that it would be
bad policy to pay the public debt in
coin, and that our public credit would
suffer il we lived up to the law"
Strange commentary indeed on the
part OF a republican about a law Of the
land enacted by his own party!
beg to disagree with you. l claim
that SO long as we live by the law of
the land in this matter as in all mat
tiers, our public credit and good faith
as citizens cannot suffer. and to prove
1T l need only cite the sale OF bonds by
the last Cleveland administration.
They were sold at q higher premium
than any ever sold before even though
carrying lesser rate Of interest, with
both capital and interest payable in
coin, congress having refused to change
the word coin into the word gold. In
spite Of the refusal the public credit
has not suffered, and all this too,
while the legal ratio was sixteen to
one.
= The national credit.
as well as the national honor is safe in
the custody Of the people; but yet the
people are precisely in the mood to re-
main the dnpes Of the gentry control
ling the ten acre lot Of hellGom that has
Wall street for axis. They are tired
and disguised unto death OF the mono
poistic servitude that Expresses them
for the benefit OF the favored few, and
they draw q line between the national
credit and that Of our speculative
financiers. This is as it should be.
The favored few have an indebted
ness OF outstanding stocks and interest
bearing bonds amounting to at least
five billions Of dollars held in Europe
five times the amount of our national
debt-evcry cent of which. capital and
interest is payable in gold. 1t was
necessary to have it SO specified in the
bonds in order to float them easily
abroad. 1t takes two hundred and
tifty millions of dollars to meet the
annual interest Of this debt, not speak
ing Of the necessary millions to secure
the sinking funds. This makes {; vast
amount OF gold, and it became nee
essa1y to manipulate our public sys-
tenn OF finances in such a manner as to
permit the concerning Of gold; hence
the gold monopoly; hence again the
gold standard. Bimctallisln would not
allow the corncring of such d urge
amount OF gold as is required by the
favored fcW. AS a natural conse-
quencc there being a very large de-
mand for gold. nearly onehalf Of the
total stock Of gold, the gold dollar was
enhanced, thus disturbing not only the
legal ratio, but reducing the prices of
all the products created by labor. AS
q result we see fabulous fortunes in
the hands of the few. the very favored
few; and much more misery among the
many than there could be under binet-
aillsm; that there ever was under
bimetalliSn y y
Our silver dollar today is the same
identical dollar that commanded a
premium OF three per cent over gold
in 1878, and if it's purchasing power
has diminished it is because the pq1r-
chasing power of the gold dollar was
increased by the felcniouS infamy that
demonctlZcd silver. 1t has been de-
monctlZed to serve the purposes have
above described, and do you not think
that the private interests benefited by
1he dcmonct.Zatlon ought to carry the
consequent burdens. instead of MAX
ing the industries Of the country carry
them, as is contemplated by the legal
lzatiOn OF the gold standard? And all
this too, in view Of the fact. in spite of
the fact that great portion of the
stocks and bonded indebtedness OF cor
porations and trusts is fictitious, that
is to say: the result of the watering
process. as all reading and intelligent
men Of the country, and ours is 4 read
ing. and intelligent people, even though
torbearing TO an extreme degree.
very well known. No! it is not
right; and by putting this and that to-
gether we sec that the gold standard
is to be solely for the benefit OF those
who in the hour of our country's dire
distress, furnished it money ut the
rate. of forty cents on the dollar; and
these arc the men whom it is claimed
have the honor of the nation. its rcpu-
heart! Derision! y :: i
The Morgans, the Vandcrbilts, the
Goulds, the Rockfcllcrs, the Astors.
the Havemcyers and all. have the
right to do all the wish with their i'll
gotten riches. but they must provide
the means or the maintenance of the
par value of their stocks and bonds
and not ask the people to 90 it Tor
them. If they need gold to meet their
obligations let them find it. hut do not
let them grind it out Of tile toiling
millions. the people. 1t may prove is
astrous; it is surely dangerous.
The petty thieving that has been
done by some Of our city officials is as