The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-16
GOLD STANDARD LAW.

The conference bill which passed beth
houses Of congress by a vote which re-
corded every Republican in its favor
and owes its enactment to western Re
publican senators, representing free sill
yer constituencies" as a New York
gold organ triumphantly exclaims, was
not critically reviewed by the chief ex-
ecutive.
Within five minutes from the time it
was presented by Representative Over
E;reet Of Indiana Mr. Mckinley affixed
his official signature thereto, very ap-
propriately with a gold pen provided
for the occasion.
Mr.. Mckinley knew that the bill suit
ed Wall street and so it had to suit
him. No objection he might have rails
ed would have resulted in anything ex-
cept possibly, a visit from Senator
Hanna, after which the bill would have
been signed anyhow.
A synopsis of the law as passed may
be Of interest:
It commits the country positively to
the gold standard, and redeems the
pledges of the Republican party By
its passage the discretion now vested in
the secretary of the treasury of redeem
ing government obligations in silver, if
he should so elect, will be taken from
that official and he will be firmly bound
by law to redeem all obligations with
gold. The secretary Of the treasury is
required TO set apart as a reserve fund
4 = "A a. N IL l..
demption purposes exclusively and
notes redeemed for gold are not to be
reissued except for gold. The secre-
tary is authorized TO sell per cent
bonds whenever necessary to maintain
the reserve and the money so received
is not to be used to defray current ex-
penses. Provision is made for small ma
tionai banks, and for the refunding sale
Of per cent gold bonds to run for
thirty years. Simply as a concession to
few Republican members of congress
from western constituencies a section
has been added providing that the act
shall not be construed to preclude the
establishment of International bimetal-
lism whenever the nations of the earth
agree 10 il.
OF this last section Representative
Overstreet, the author of the bill, ex-
planned as the vote was taken, that
every principle contained in the house
bill had been preserved in the confer
ence report except those relative to the
taxation of national bank franchises.
The establishment Of the gold standard
into law was still its all-important and
essential feature"
Representative Snodgrass, of Penn
sylvania. asked if under this bill pri-
waite obligations were made payable in
gold Mr.. Overstreet said that private
obligations will partake Of the charac-
ter of the public requirements in Obn-
cations"
Representative Williams Of Illinois
asked if there was anything in the bill
(which might be considered an en-
couragement to international bimetal-
lism." Mr. Overstreet replied: This
bin holds out not the slightest hope Of
international bimetallism under present
conditions. l say frankly that this bill
will make It practically and absolutely
impossible ever to have international
bimetalism at the ratio of Is to l."
The Literary Digest sums up the SEN
timent on both sides as follows:
The paragraph in regard 10 internation-
al bimeiallism is referred 10 by the gold
papers as "a sop TO the Silverites.'' This
section will work no mischief" says
the Philadelphia Ledger Qnd- Rep). be-
cause There IS no prospect whatever that
che leading commercial nations viii at
any time essree 10 a coming ratio for
gold and silver" Mr. Bryan however.
says OF this section: "rhe action Of the
Republican party In amending the cur
rency bin a. a last resort so as 70 revive
the promise OF international bimetallism.
is a confessiin that the gold standard Is
not satisfactory, and no Republican ed
i-0r can explain that amendment except
by acknowledging that il is an attempt
10 thrust fraud upon the American peO-
pie"
Does any silver man in Utah or in
Idaho believe that the best way to
serve them is to sell them out-that
the way to help silver is TO betray it
and to affiliate with the party of gold?