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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1905)
The Commoner. WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER. Vol. 5, No. 6. Lincoln, Nebraska, February 34, 1905. Whole Number 314 CONTENTS . A Few Question Answered Let the Battle Begin, TJnsaee Banking Investigation Arbitration -' Parties a. Necessity Mail Contracts News op the Week:- Week at Washington WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT, MR. PRESIDENT Investigation-Arbitration The amendment of the treaties was not "a stop backward,", , as President Roosevelt described it, ahdtliei;e is'iio reason why the friends of artf!5 -.7 cianuu euuuiu u uiauuuruBtsu. jn aosomce mon-'W'H arch can :of , course, act more quickly than ah, executive who is controlled by a constitution and compelled to consult a co-ordinate branch of the government, but speed is not the only thing to be considered. The framers of our government well understood the relative merits of the various forms of government and chc ?o to ri3k the evils of delay in order to secure the greater safety that comes with popular government. Arbitration transfers the settlement of a question to the decision of foreign 'nations and what action demands more serious consideration? To transfer to the presi dent the power to decide such questions without consulting the seiate would arouse so much oppo sition and cause so much uneasiness that the arbitration movement would be likely to be re tarded rather than accelerated by the adoption of the president's views. One serious mistake would bring a revulsion of feeling that might jeopardize the cause of arbitration. It is possible, "however, to provide for the im partial investigation of any international dispute, leaving the final submission to arbitration to be a matter of treaty. The president might be author ized to enter into an agreement to submit any and every international dispute to The Hague court for investigation. When the court reports upon the facts and presents the real issue between the parties, tnen tne parties can decide intelligently whether it involves a proper question for arbitra tion or affects the integrity and honor of either nation. Such an investigation would," in most cases, remove misunderstanding and bring about a reconciliation and public opinion would exert a powerful influence in harmonizing aay differences which might be found to exist. Such a plan would do more to promote peace than the plan embodied in the treaties submitted b the president. If such a plan Lad been in operation the Russian Japanese war might have been prevented. It is quite certain th-' a preliminary investigation by an impartial board would have prevented most of the international wars of the last haif century;-and would be still more effective in the future. The president ought to be satisfied to start the investi gation leaving thq arbitration treat to be made with the concurrence of the senate, after the fact3 are ascertained, and the senate, without any im pairment of its rights and powers could delegate to the president the power to enter into any agree ment that he might think proper for full and impartial investigation. Will this plan bring the president and the senate together? i .i ,. , , , z ip&vata 'sx.&ijr "2"xp Js55 rz - t w. "14 -z-!s--wrs!ae?X2M-- THE TIME HAS COME TO STRIKE A FEW QUESTIONS ANSWERED .1 A reader of The Commoner asks a number of questions. While it is not possible to answer in the columns of The Commoner all of the questions that pour in from its many subscribers, the edi tor of The Commoner desires to answer them as far as time will permit. The answers will be found following the ques tions. 1. Why was silver dropped from free coinage in 1873? Answer. No satisfactory reason has been given, and many members of the senate and house as serted that they did not know that the law of 1873 suspended the free coinage of silver. Those in charge of the bill have often been accused of "smuggling" the provision through. 2. Would our silver dollars buy as much as gold dollars prior to 1873? Answer. After 1834 and prior to the demonet ization act of 1873' the silver dollar was worth about 3 cents more than the gold dollar, and would ex change for that sum in this country or abroad. 3. Would five standard silver dollars exchange for five dollars in gold prior to 1873? Answer. The law did not require the treasury department to exchange silver dollars for gold dollars, yet in the market five silver dollars would exchange for more than five dollars in gold. 4. Was the silver and gold in excess of tho demand for money prior to 1873? Answer. No. That they were together insuf ficient was shown by the issue of paper money both government money and bank notes. 5. Is the amount of both metals in excess of tho demand for money now? Answer. No. Tho fact that we not only use both gold and silver, but also use some $800,000,000 of paper money, greenbacks, treasury notes and bank notes, is evidence that there is no excess of metallic money today.. G. Was there prior to 1873, more demand for silver dollars than for gold dollars? . Answer. It may not be correct to say that therd was more demand for silver dollars, but the existing demand put a premium upon silver dollars as compared to gold dollars, the reason being that tho French ratio was 15y2 to 1, while ours was 10 to 1. 7. Were Mexican dollars then worth moro than our gold dollars Answer. Yes. 8. If so, wny? Answer. The Mexican dollar, containing more silver than the American dollar, was, of course, worth more than either our silver or our gold dol lars so long a3 we had the free coinage of silver. .9. Why do all the great commercial nations rate silver fractional currency higher than in standard coin? Answer. Probably to prevent the exportation of fractional currency. That might not be neces sary now since the bullion value because of tho X40umteuaiMiM4te? L-.ttf f " JfajBJ!rJ'.'"-- .-- -u v-fr '-aumsa.' wH iMMh , m.ii-,.g4niifrifM,iiiii i HtiilttJ(wlUnut