The Penn's Grove record., 1899-01-27

sent coinage ratio between our present
gold dollar and silver dollar and has
been law since 1887. Richard Croker,
the Tammany chief say 1G to l is dead.
That is, no more silver dollars shall or
should be coined, just like II present
silver dollars. William J. Bryan,
Charles A. Towne, Senators Henry M.
Teller, r. +. Pettigrew and j. X. Jones
and other leaders say 16 to l is not
dead but will be the issue in 1900.
is "sonnd money dead? What is
''sound money!" 1t is making all the
money gold and bank notes, and have
silver for change only. Ultimately the
policy is to make gold-of which you
see so little-the only money with
which one can legally pay their debts.
The McCleary-Gage bill before Con
gress was withdrawn three weeks ago,
by the Committee on Banking and Cur
rency and last Saturday a new bill was
reported to the House by the commit
tee on Coinage and Weights and Meas
ures. This bill proposes to make the
gold dollar of 25.S grains the unit OF
value and the government is obligated
to pay all its debts in gold only. When
the Treasury has not gold the Treasur-
Ell is authorized to sell bonds TO buy
gold-no matter how much other mon
ey may be in the treasury. No more
silver dollars are TO be coined. The pa
per money issued by the government,
known as g~reenbacks and treasury notes
are TO be exchanged for gold and des-
troyed. Silver dollars are to be ex-
changed for gold. They are not now
by law as many believe. If the Treas
urer has not gold just sell fat bonds TO
the bankers for gold who will o get
the gold back in deposits OF for interest
on the bonds.
The bill also authorizes national
banks with S25, 900 capital. There will
be plenty of government bonds then for
the people to pay interest on by being
taxed. The bankers can deposit S25,-
900 worth of bonds in the U. 5. Treas
ury, and get $4,000 of bank notes to
loan to the people and at The same time
draw interest On the bonds and also the
notes when loaned. The people will
then be taxed to pay the p or j per
cent. interest on the bonds and will pay
6 per cent. to get the bank notes
sound rag money-with which to make
their necessary exchanges. The green
backs and treasury notes now in eXis-
tence, which it is proposed to destroy,
draw no interest now, but the bank
notes which are to take their place will
cost the people double interest as long
as one is in circulation.
Instead of taxing the banks for the
use of bank notes l per cent. as
now, the new bill will reduce the tax
on the sound rag money patriots to ITO
of l per cent.
The greatest issue to-day in Congress
as we'll as among the people is whether
the government paper money shall be
retained in circulation and more silver
dollars coined just like our present sill
yer doliars-in addition to the free coin.
age of gold which all parties believe in
Or whether the issuing of all money
shall he by banking corporations, eX-
cepting..gold, TO meet the increased
needs of the people in commerce and
industry. The issue is just as much
alive to-day as in 1896.
16 to l is not dead, and will not be rs
long as their is a bank note or govern
ment note that cali be replaced by the
coinage of a silver dollar-constitution-
al hard money. The gold standard.
bank policy is one of the most infam-
GUS schemes ever invented whereby or
ganized men of wealth can legally
shave the producers of real wealth, and
transfer to their use property without
labor. 1t will give banking corpora.
tions full power to expand and contract
the volume of money and thus raise
and decrease the price of all property
and products at will. 1t will give them
control of all commerce aud industry
and the constitutional right of the
Government 'to coin money and regu.
late the value thereof" will be a dead
letter.