The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-07-21
THE INEVITABLE RESULT.
Act of March IA, 1900, Right In Line
with Republican Policy of
Contraction.


The act of March IA, 1900. it seems
to me, is the logical and inevitable re-
suit of the success of the party which
has adhered to the financial policy en-
gineered by John Sherman for so many
years with an eye single TO the COM
plete demonetization of the more use
full half of constitutional legal tender
| coined money. Republican monetary |
legislation has ever been shaped with |
an eye single to the limitation of the |
right Of the people to have steady |
increase in the circulation of the money
OF the people which alone is available |
in the payment of all debts under the
laws of tender. 1t has always sought
to expand the volume of money that is
not full legal tender In the payment
of debt.
The parity" clause of the Sherman
law was an absurdity, with mischiev-
Gus design cloaked under it; the ''pari-
| ty" clause of the act of 1898 was sim
ply intended to shake the public faith
in the standard silver dollar as re-
demption money, or money that was
legal tender in payment of debt. She
handspring of all the movements
against silver has been the purpose to
enhance the purchasing power of each
money unit by reducing the volume of
primary money. That was the under
lying and unacknowledged motive be-
hind the adoption of the gold standard
in England. as it has been in this and
other countries.
In the fifties. when the mines of
| California and Australia were pouring
their golden streams into Europe and
America, Chevalier and others. in ad-
vocating the demonetization of gold,
boldly announced as a reason therefor
that the rapid augmentation of the
volume of primary money meant a re-
duction of the value of the money unit
The truth of the theory that the value
of the dollar (Which is only it's pur-
chasing power) depends primarily
upon the total amount of redemption
money. found no one to dispute it until
it became necessary to the success of
the gold standard doctrine to throw
doubt upon it; and then all the wiles
of casuistry were brought TO bear to
persuade the public that the volume
of money has nothing to do with its
value or purchasing power. The in
} sincerity of this contention was evil
dent enough to the thoughtful mind !;
and the acts of those who made the plea
belied the assertions they were con-
stantly offering to an imperfectly in
formed people.
The "endless chain" was instituted
-, by Secretary Foster on October IA,
1891. 1t annulled in effect the laws of
congress making the silver dollar a
redemption dollar; and it was by the
surrender of the governments option
to pay the greenbacks and treasury
a notes in either gold or silver that the
national treasury had its vaults opened
> to the money changers and harpies
From 1878 to 1891 the $346, ,O0O, 900 green.
g backs had occasioned no trouble what.
ever. During that period they had
I drawn from the treasury only 1884,
t 100000 gold. The chain was not end
8 less so long as the silver dollars stood
= in the path of the gold raiders.
n The fears excited by the present ex
traordinary powers placed in the hand'
a of one man by the new currency Law
a are doubtless well founded; yet, will
+. all the authority vested in him by law
,. / cannot see wherein he can do nor,
4. mischief than was done by Secretary
/. Foster, not only without warrant o
!. law but in plain violation of its lettel
:, and spirit
Secretary Fosters work was prac
tically indorsed and made permanent
: by the policy of Cleveland and Car
Isle, and Secretary Gage has made lit
tie secret of his intentions, from tn,
first, to carry out to its bitter end thu
s. policy inaugurated by his predecessor
/. and carefully planned by John Sher
" man long prior to the act of 1890
, the ultimate extension of the endles
h chain of redemption in gold to boil
q silver. dollars and certificates.
;. The Sherman law of 1890 was DRAFTED
= with this end in view. 1t prepared tn
way: (D for the discontinuance of sill
YER coinage; and (2), for the rulin.
which Secretary Foster made by whicl
- greenbacks and treasury notes wer
J. practically made gold obligations. Il
y law, the silver dollar has been redemp
tion money since 1878; in fact, it ha
a been robbed of its redemption funC
q tions since October, 1891. AS betwee
a silver dollar which is not none,
in the full sense of the word in fac
and law, but depends upon the gol
n dollar for its circulation and value, an
l. the paper dollar which derives its puI
e. chasing power from the self-sam
source. see little 10 choose from.
The difference which the value @
sr silver as commodity imparts is abou
p counterbalanced by the greater cheaI
c. ness and convenience of the paper cul
at rency. Under the policy of the go'
ernment, since 1891, both have bee
pseudo moneys; the act of March l
Or 1900, only ,egalizes an already exis
ting evil Tie whole scheme is full {