The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-08-03
CURRENCY DEFECTS.
A New York Sun Writer Dis.
cusses the Recent Action
Of Congress.

Under the caption or Defects in the
Currency Act" Matthew Marshall in
his weekly financial article in the New
York Sun says in part:
The election of William ]. Bryan
would almost inevitably carry with 1t
the election of Democratic house of
representatives the first act of which
would be to pass a bill restoring silver
to free and unlimited coinage at the
ration of 16 to 1. How such bill would
fare in the senate can be guessed from
the fate of the bill to repeal the silver
purchase clause of the Sherman act in
1898. That bill was passed by the house
of representatives and sent to the sem
ate on August 2S, 1S93 The senate be-
ing silver by large majority, refused
for two months to concur with the
house, but succumbed at last to exec
utive pressure and allowed the bill to
become law on November 1. The
Republican majority in the present sem
ate is far smaller than the silver ma
jority was in that of 1893, and Mr.. Bry-
an would be able to subjugate it much
more easily than Mr.. Cleveland SUBJ
jugated that of the silverites.
Ill informed Republican speakers and
writer's boasted when the currency act
lished the gold standard SO firmly that
it could not be overthrown in six years
at least, and probably never. How little
this boast was justified by reliance upon
the senate has just been demonstrated,
and even house of representatives and
a senate together, opposed to silver,
could not prevent silver president
from suspending gold payments by the
treasury.
The new currency act was the result
Of a compromise, not so much between
conflicting financial views, as between
those of political exigency. The Re-
publican party had not in 1896 dared
ITO pronounce In favor Of an exclusively
gold standard, but held out a promise Of
bimetallism by international agreement
and though in the new currency act 1t
has reaffirmed the gold standard estab-
lished by the mint act of 1873, 1t has still
felt obliged to repeat its declaration in
favor of international bimetallism and
to maintain "the legal tender quality
as now provided by law Of the silver
dollar" While, too, the act provides
for the redemption in gold of govern
ment notes, 1t makes no such provision
for the redemption Of silver dollars or
of the certificates representing them.
Nor does 1t define the word "coin" used
in the government bonds issued pre-
viously, as meaning gold coin only. The
result is that the 500, 900 more or less
of silver dollars already coined, the
100,000,000 still to be coined out Of the
bullion in the treasury purchased un-
der the Sherman act, the $36,000,000 ma
tional bank notes assumed by the gov
ernment, principal and interest of about
100000 Of government bonds, and
the ordinary expenses Of the govern
ment, are all unaffected by the new act
SO that the secretary of the treasury
may, without violating it, offer to the
public creditors in payment of more
than two-thirds Of their claims money
not convertible into gold at par on de.
mand. Should he do this 1t would, al
those claims, amount to a suspension OF
gold payments. and the usual conse-
quences of such suspension would fol.
low. 1t IL true that the bill makes Il
'the duty" of the secretary to main
tain the parity with gold of all forms CT
money issued or coined by the United
States, but no penalty Is declared fol-
a failure to perform 1t, and Its perform
Sance could be enforced only by thu
slow and doubtful Irocess of impeach
ment. The case 10 similar to that OF th'
act Of 1873 requiring legal tender notel
to be reissued. That act has been dis
regarded by all the secretaries OF tn