Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-12-20
A REAL STATESMAN.

lAOOAt VI NGW L uttANGIGu IL SDbtEu
on the pending Currency bill that
was masterpiece OF sound logic
There was nothing bombastic about
it, nothing demagogic, 1t was plain,
sound commo n sense, based on the
immutable laws of honest business
and honest money 1t was a warning
to the Democratic party TO avoid the
shoals of fiatism and give the PEG.
pie laws that would stand the test
of honesty.
He received high praise from all
classes except those Democrats wh1
are under the influence of Bryanisni
And it is a fact, remarkable as il
would seem, that practically the en-.
tire party is in that category. After
all that has been said and done, after
all the troubles that have come TO
business because of fiatism, after all
the misery, all the poverty, it IL
most remarkable, we repeat. that a
great party, composed of nearly half
of the people, sh5gld be so blinded
as to support a measure that must
inevitably lead to national disaster
There is but one, way to account
for this hallucination and that is that
the Democratic party today Is com.
posed of adherents of Bryan. There
is no question of the fact that there
are many men in the Democratic
party who do not worship al his
shrine. but they lack the courage Ia
asser, themselves PARTY regularity
s. the shlbboleth which holds then
y 5oraaee Bfyan dominates gg
son. wpn issues his ediets ubne
the 'poeA Seblnd taq .hfope IS no.
visible.
All this vas exposed by senator
Root. II was made so clear that the
leaders Of the party were compelled to
come forth and deny the charge. II
Is a pitful spectacle to see not only
the Democratic party, but all Of the
people tied to system Of finance
that has been proven unsound and
that viii inevitably lead to ruin.
II was shown that the financial
word Is hound together in such man.
ner that a disaster in one nation is
felt in all others 1t was shown
that from four to seven billions OF
our securities are held by the people
of other nations and that at the
first sign of alarm. those securities
will be thrown upon the market and
that we viii be drained of gold with
what all thinking men have feared.
a panic
Discussing this phase of the situa-
ton, Mr. Root said
IF we enter upon this career Of in.
fation, we shall do it in the face of d
clearly dlscernible danger, which
though clearly recognized, will result
in a dreadful catastrophe Bold al
ways leaves the country in which tho
amount Of currency exceeds the legi-
innate requirements OF business, This
is an memorable law Putting it an
other way, gold always leaves the
country Of low prices You can kill
people who are engaged in business;
you can destroy business utterly, but
these inexorable. economic and natur-
al laws.
"Whe7 confidence is LOST you can
raise the rate OF Interest 50 the roof
and not bring in "a dollar Long be
fore we wake up from our dream o.
prosperity through an inflated curreu-
cy the sources Of gold, which would
keep us from catastrophe will have
lost their confidence and no rate o.
interest will tempt it,"
He argued that the fipancia sound
mony-quesUon had been settled in
1896 and again in 1900, had been re-
pudiated by the people. And yet
there is scarcely a msu in eithe.
house Of Congress that has the cour
age to say to the controlling pow
err Fiatism and guarantee OF bank
deposits. are exploited IN the pro
posed bill OF the Ilttc~, he said.
The serious side of this pr,posi
eion is that it seeks to give the cred
ii OF the United States to every specu
lator promoter. or blackPuard whr