The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1898-01-12
THE "ENDLESS CHAIN"
Mckinley Knows it is Clearly a
Fraud.

endless chain can be broken in either one
of the two ways without retiring the
greepbacks, and John Sh. rmgn Pointed
out both of these ways on the 10Th of
March, 1878, to the committee on fins nee
in the United States Senate. His inter-
view WAS printed at the time ut the Gov
eminent printing Office. Following are
extracts from it. which we give for Pres
ident Mcliinley's Information and in
struction. 1t will be remembered that
on the following January the resumption
act would take effect. There was u prop
osition before Congress to repeal the re-
sumption act LIT fore it should take effect.
1t was upon that subject that the COM
mittee had Secretary Sherman before it.
Senator Jones ask q him whether he FL
vored taking away the legal tender quail
ity from the greenbacks on the first Of
the following January, when resumption
| should begin. Mr. Sherman answered in
the negative, and said: 81 am in favor of
maintaining the legal tender currency"
Aud now for Mr.. Sherman's two RENE
dies for the endless chain. He said.
"As matter of course there is some
| risk i'll resumirg,and we have got TO take
that risk. If we take 1t Oh the first Of
January, we have get 10 strengtht IL our.
selves as much rs possible, but the risk
is greatly exaggerated. Some fl ture Con-
/
that may arise from financial panics or
adverse trade by authorizing temporary
suspension of specie payment. or tenn
pOrnry issue of notes rs il is done by the
Bank of England.'
We should have little doubt about
the wisdom of these utterances but for
the fact that we know from great New
York papers that John Sherman was at
that very time the greatest fiuancier on
the face of the earth, or that ever existed
in ali the tide of time. / he thinks "a
temporary suspension of specie payment
a good eXpeuient for stopping the work
ing of the endless chain who shall gaiusay
him? His second remedy was brought
out by n question from Senator Iiayard.
Observes:
"Senator Bayard--You speak OF re-
sumption on II bimetallic basis being ca
sier DO you make that proposition ire
spective of the relative values of the two
metals rs we have declared them?
Secretary Sherman! think so. Our
mere right to pay in silver would deter Il
great many people from presenting notes
for redemption who would readily do so
If they could get the lighter and more
portable coin in exchange. Besides, gold
coin can be exported, while silver coin
could not he exported, because it's mar
kct value is less than its coin value
Mr.. Sherman was the head Of the
Treasury Department. He was in the
prime of his life. He had already been
the greatest tinancier on ealth ever since
his decentralization of silver in 1878.
Carefully read and reread the words
we have quoted from him. "Our
mere right to pay in silver would, he
said, prevent people from seeking redemp-
tioa for their notes. He said they would
be very glad to get the lighter aud more
portable coin, because they could export
il, while silver could not he exported: but
we would check redemption by giving
them silver. How lear and low simple
this remedy for the endless chain. The
Enquirer has been advocating it ever since
John Sherman proposed IT, Hi" proposal
of 1t was no youthful indiscretion. Does
anybody deny that he was then the ablest
financier in the land?
The best thing the President can do is
TO keep his fingers carefully away iron.
the bn2Z-saw of the greenbacks. Let him
recommend Il bill to carry out Sherman's
idea above quoted. 1t could read some
thing like this:
"Be it enacted, etc. That 'cur mere
right TO pay in silver shall he exercised
whenever notes amounting to more than
one hundred dollars shall be presented
for redemption. And the Secretary of the
Treasury is hereby forbidden to redeem
such notes in the lighter and more port.
able gold coin because, the same can be
exported and is only wanted for that
purpose"
There is no "repudiationn in that, and
no anarchy" 1t is Sound money"
doctrine from the great sound money"
APOSTLE. John Sherman.
There is another bit of wisdom which
Secretary Sherman gave the finance com
mttee on the occasion referred to. He
told them CT the favorable ef ect of the
act restoring silver COINAGE, which Cor
gress had passed about two months be-
fore. He said:
"In the first place; the silver bill salts
fled strong public demand for pimetal
lie money, and that demand - no doubt
largely sectional. No doubt there is a
difference of opinion between the west
and South and the East on this subject,
but the desire for the remonetizst ON of
silver WAS almost universal. In a gov
eminent like ours it is always good to obey
the popular current, and that has been
done, l think, by the. passage Of the sill
yer bill.
Remember that, President Mckinley.
Always "obey the popular current" and
you know there is unpopular current in
favor of retiring the greepbacks. Again,
he testified to the wisdom OF using silver
for the redemption of greenbacks. He
said
Presumption can be nj maintained more
easily upon double standard than pom
n single standard. The bulky character
of silver would prevent payments in it.
while gold being more portable, would
be more freely demanded, and / tbilk
resuin ption can be maintained with less
amount of silver than of gold alcne.''