Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-03-24
ONE RESULT OF FREE COINAGE.
The sixteen 10 One Policy Would
Rankrupt the Nation.


Ever since the national government
was established individuals who have
suffered property losses by reason of
the acts of its agents have been apply
ing to congress for relief. Their claims
have been pressed by congressman and
by lobbyists. An enormous amount of
money has been paid out in n hundred
years on account of private claims, a
large percentage of which, it may be
stated, were exaggerated or fraudu-
lent.
So successful have these claimants
been that every man who can make
out a shadow of a case against the gen
eral government makes application for
relief, confident that if he keeps at
it long enough he will be sure to OBJ
tain redress. He expects his repre-
sentative to take up his case and work
for him. If that representative seems
to take no interest in the matter, then
the claimant and all his relatives and
friends began on him.
Suppose congress were to change and
debase the money standard in the man
ner demanded by the Chicago platform,
thus enabling those who owe gold
value money to force on their creditors
dollars whose actual value, as measured
by the old standard, would be less than
half face value, then millions of men
and women would be damaged direct
lv to the amount of billions of dol
lars.
The indirect damage need not be con-
sidered, enormous though they would
be. But there would be a direct pc
cuniary loss falling on depositors in
savings and commercial banks, on per-
sons who had sold real or personal prop
crty on time or who had loaned money
in any way, and on all beneficiaries of
life insurance policies. Each of these
would be deprived by the ,act, of the
government of a portion of his prop
erty.
The first act of these sufferers would
be to apply to congress for relief.
Among these applicants would be many
men who voted for the congressman
who changed the money standard and
thus deprived so many citizens of their
property. They would be sorry for
what they had done when they felt
the effects of the policy they had ig-
norantly indorsed.
There would be so many of these
claims that it would be impossible to
introduce a separate bill in each case.
It would be necessary to lump the
cases. There would be bills Ito in
demnify bank depositors for losses sus-
.,:x l., 80 : l. ,lo, nf
tary standard" to indemnify mortgage
holders, and bondholders, and life in
surance policy holders.
The persons in whose behalf these diff
ferent bills were introduced would not
ask for a restoration of the gold stand
ard. They would simply ask congress
to appropriate enough cheap money to
pay them for the property they had
been deprived of by the change of stand
ards.
A single claimant sometimes nearly
drives congressman wild. 1t is easy
to imagine what the stare of mind of
representatives and senators would be
when each of them had several thou
sand men at his heels begging for the
passage of relief bills and threatening
vengeance at the polls if the matter
was not attended to quickly.
What would the free silver democrats
in congress do? What would free silver
democrats outside of congress advise
| them to do? Many of those congress
men would feel that it was hardly safe
| for them to return to their districts II
| indemnity measures were not adopted.
But to settle all these claims would
| call for appropriations amounting to
| many billions, If the losses footed up
$1,000, ,000,0 900 in gold value money, then
| it would be necessary to appropriate
| $16,000,0 900, 900 in cheap silver dollars to
| cover the losses. That sum would have
| to be obtained by the sale of cheap sill
yer "rclief" bonds, and the taxes would
| have to be increased considerably to
raise the money with which to pay the
| interest on them.
| So if the free silver democrats were
| to come into power and carry out their
sixteen to one" policy their represen-
| tatives in congress would straightway
find themselves in pretty pickle. They
| would be besicgcd by legions of men
| claiming compensation from the gov
ernment for damages inflicted by it.
| On the other hand, the magnitude OF
those damages, which could be MADE
good only by selling vast quantities OF
bonds ''in time of peace" and taxing the
entire community heavily to pay the in
terest on them. would appall congress
| men. Those senators and representa-
tives who voted for free silver with 6
light heart" would feel differently after
the damage claims were pressed OF
then..-Chicago Tribune.
| OThc Dingley tariff law during Feb
ruarv produced revenue of more thar
million dollars day. For the frs
seven months of its operation the tota
customs receipts were S115,SlS,7 ISL
| 1rainSt $3.50 ~: n3S for the same period