Iron County register., 1899-12-07
GOLD STANDARD MORALITY.
Tfneks and Schemes OF the Repuh-
Iican Method Of Finan-
cierinE.

It has come to light that the God and
morality party is not in perfect accord
with itself on a question of high finan-
cia1 morality. There is agreement upon
the general proposition that there can
be no real financial morality without the
gold standard, but after that there is
divergence. The nature of the differ
ence can best be understood from q
statement of facts.
In accordance with the general prin-
| ciple that the honor of the nation, its
credit and its financial well being de-
mand that all obligations of the United
| States shall be paid in gold unless other
wise expressly stipulated in the con-
| tract, and that all possible doubt upon
| that point shall be removed, the house
caucus committee has framed a bill de-
| claring plainly that gold is the sole
| standard of value in this country and
that all bonds and other pecuniary obli-
cations, except as above stated, are pay
able in gold.
All that looks very direct and straight
forward. Upon the general principle
| laid down there should be no objection
TO it. But we hear that the thrifty re-
publicans of the senate do object very
| strenuously. They say that if they
should concur in the passage of a house
bill containing a radical gold standard
provision they would destroy one of
the best means of refunding the debt
at lower rates" Therefore they "pro-
pose to apply the gold standard to fu-
ture issues and provide at once for new
gold bonds at low interest rate which
could readily be exchanged for the pres
ent high-rate, short-time coin bonds"
So the house will virtually pass the rad
ical gold standard bill, but the senate
will prudently modify it in such wise
that the holder of existing bonds will
think it prudent to exchange them for
new ones expressly payable in gold.
That is to say, it is very immoral and
dishonorable to pretend that existing
bonds may be paid in silver, and in order
to establish the national credit and re-
move all suspicion of a disposition to re-
pudiate the just obligations of the ma
ton it is necessary to pass bill declar-
ing that all the bonds are payable in
gold. AT the same time it is entirely
moral so to frame the bill as to make
holders of those bonds think they are
liable to be paid in silver, and therefore
that the best thing they can do is toex-
change them for new ones which are ex-
pressly payable in gold.
In other words, the republican posi-
ton is that the existing bonds were in
tended to be payable in gold, and that
this is so certain that it is grossly i'm
moral so much as to suggest that they
can be paid in silver without dishonor;
get it is entirely moral to scare holders
into surrendering them in exchange for
others bearing lower rate of interest
but expressly payable in gold by play
ing ON their fears that the old ones will
be paid in silver.
Itwould seem that in taking this posi-
ton the republicans give away their
ease as a matter of morals altogether
and take their stand on the lower level
of policy. If existing bonds are unques-
rionably payable in gold it is morally
wrong to pretend that they are not in
order to frighten holders into giving
them up for less than bonds so payable
are worth, and if they are not so payable
all the republican outcry against those
who have proposed to pay them in silver
has been mere hypocrisy. If the senate
scheme is to be adopted it will be in or
der for the republicans to descend from
their high moral horse.-Chicago Chron