Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1901-02-21
MONEY POWER ALERT
TIGHTENING THE CHAINS THAT
MAKE MEN SLAVES,
And Money tho Master-Silver Dollars
Are Gradually Being Put Out of Cir
culation - Another Endless Chain"
scheEe-secretary Cages Propositis-.

From the Commoner: Secretary
Gage recently appeared before House
committee and urged the enactment of
a law specifically requiring silver dol
lars to be redeemed in gold on demand.
He argued that, as the legal tender
law makes silver the equivalent Of
gold, the government might as well Of
fer to furnish gold in exchange for sill
yer as to allow silver to be presented
in payment of revenues. To use his
own expression:
1.-THE government might just as well
face the situation and meet this silver
with its right hand at the front door
as to take it with the left hand at the
back door"
And this is the reasoning OF a fnan-
cier. He sees no difference between a
credit money and a standard money; he
thinks it matter of no moment that
his plan reduces the quantity of basic
money and increases the quantity of
redeemable money-or, in other words,
contracts the foundation and expands
the super-structure.
But of this later. 1t is WORTH while
to point out at this time that the ar
gument now made by Secretary Gage
is similar to the argument which led
to the custom of redeeming treasury
notes in gold, although the practice of
redeeming treasury notes in gold sim
ply surrendered the governments op-
ton to select the coin and did not con-
vert a standard money into a credit
money. After the custom of redeeming
in gold was established the financiers
pointed out that the redemption and
reissue of treasury notes formed what
they called an endless chain for the
draining of the treasury. This argu-
ment was used with great effect in Sc
curing the repeal of the purchasing
clause of the Sherman law. AS soon as
that legislature was accomplished the
financiers set to work to secure the
retirement of the greenbacks as well as
the treasury notes on the ground that
the greenbacks also constituted an
endless chain when redeemed and re-
issued. Now that the greenbacks and
treasury notes are in process of retire
ment an attack is to be made upon
the silver dollar.
The argument that worked so well
against government paper is now to be
used against coin. The present law
does not require the redemption of sill
yer dollars; a bill containing such a
provision passed the house a year ago
but Republican senate was not will
ling to go on record as favoring such a
measure at the beginning of presiden-
tial campaign, so the matter was left
to executive construction.
Now that the election is over the Re
publican leaders are little more bold
and will probably make the law specific
in requiring redemption.
Next will come the demand for the
retirement of silver dollars by an issue
of bonds, or for withdrawal of their
legal tender qualities.
AS a reason for retiring silver we
will be told that a silver dollar redeem
ed and then re-issued forms another
| endless chain. 1t will be pointed out
that there is no limit to the amount of
gold that may be drained from the
treasury if silver dollars are paid out
again after they are once redeemed. The
same argument made against the
greenback and treasury note will be
repeated against a redeemable silver
dollar.
The redemption of the standard sill
yer dollar is the first step toward its
! ultimate retirement and those who
are opposed to its retirement will not
be induced to aid in making it re-
| deemable. When the gold standard is
| complete, gold will be the only legal
tender money and bank notes the only
paper money. Until this end is reach
ed the financiers will deprecate any
agitation of the money question dur
| ing campaigns and will spend the years
between campaigns urging legislative
enactments in furtherance of their
plans.