The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1900-01-20
A CERTAIN STANDARD.
salient Features of the Currency
Bills Tint Are Now before
Congress.

The passage of one of the currency
oils before congress will be the log,
ical result of the last presidential cleo.
ton, the election of 1898 and of the
course of events. The real issue was
between gold and silver standard in
1896. With n timidity which ill BELTS
great party, many republicans were
reluctant TO declare for the gold stand
ard, but the convention did so by a
decided majority, with the proviso OF
one more attempt to bring about inter
national bimetallism, which, at that
Time, no one who had watched the
lrift of sentiment in Europe and had
weighed the effect of the doubling of
the output of the worlds gold mines
believed had the ghost of n chance. 1t
is fair to say that the issue in 1896
vas between the gold and silver stand
ard, since there is not an intelligent
nan who has any information regard
ng the history of coinage in his own
md other countries who will not con-
ess TO himself that free and unlimited
coinage. at the ratio of sixteen to one
would bring the country to silver
standard as soon as it should be
he silver standard in defeating Mr..
Dryan in 1896. Two years later six
zen to one was made the leading issue
n the congressional elections. Again
he country, having to choose between
The gold and silver standard stood for
gold. The democrats in the east, ex-
cept those controlled by Tammany,
we're elected upon platforms which as
sumed that the question of standards
had been settled. The party standing
COR the gold standard won states which
voted for Mr.. Bryan in 1896, indicat-
ing that the sentiment in favor of the
gold standard had grown because of
the. good results that followed from
the decision of the country in favor
o. that metal.
Such being the case, the republic
ans in congress, by virtue of their
pledges, were in duty bound to estab-
lish the gold standard beyond ques-
ton by requiring that all the obliga-
tons of the government shall be paid
seem unnecessary, since the United
States has had gold standard since
1884, when, under the influence of
President Jackson, democratic con-
gress changed the coinage ratio, maxi
ing the silver dollar worth more in
trinsically than the gold But while
the gold standard has been in force
practically, it has not been fixed By
law in such a way as to prevent the
president from putting the country on
a silver basis by declaring that all
the obligations of the United States
should be paid only in silver. The peo-
pie having declared in two general
elections in favor of the gold stand
ard, the congress elected on that is.
sue would be recreant to duty and uIl
mindful of the voice of ma iOrity of
the voters if it did not place the gold
standard where it cannot be set aside
except by an act of some future con
Cress. Giving what has been the prac-
tice of the government for S. years
the payment of its obligations in go!d
the force of law and placing the gold
standard on a secure basis are the
salient features of the currency bills
before congress. The bills simply
make certain what has been the prac-
tice of the country. They do not
change the character of u dollar of the
money now in use.--lndianapolis Jour