t bc Conservative ,
USG1SLATION
ON JUNAXCIS. Evening Post in
an able and timely
editorial of November 21st , concisely
sets forth the duty of the coming session
of congress on the money question.
Tun CONSERVATIVE commends the fol
lowing to all of its readers as the truth ,
the whole truth and nothing but the
truth :
"The points which it is desirable to
embrace in any bill which may be passed
are substantially the following :
(1. ( ) "The standard of value to be
25 8-10 grains of gold nine-tenths fine ,
and all obligations of the government to
be payable therein.
(2. ( ) "United States legal tender notes
when paid into the treasury not to bo
reissued except iu exchange for gold.
( ! { . ) "National banks authorized to
issue notes to the par value of the
government bonds deposited by them.
(4. ( ) "The secretary of the treasury
authorized to sell bonds of the United
Slates whenever necessary to redeem
legal-tender notes.
( fi. ) "Silver certificates and silver
dollars to bo exchangeable at the treas
ury for gold , and vice versa , at the
option of the holder.
"It may be said that the first of these
proposed measures includes all the rest.
It may be said that even the first is mi-
necessary and superfluous , because the
gold dollar is already by law the 'unit
of value. ' Since large numbers of people
ple are of the contrary opinion , holding
that 4J2 } grains of silver is or ought to
be a standard of value , it is important
to put something on the statute-book
which shall leave no room for doubt as
to the real iutoudmeut of United States
law.
law."It
"It may be said also that the secretary
of the treasury is now authorized to sell
bonds whenever necessary to redeem
legal-tender notes. It is certain that
Secretary Carlisle did exercise that
power on four different occasions , and
that some $202,000,000 of outstanding
bonds rest on that basis of legality. It
is quite certain that the present secre
tary would , iu a case of need , follow the
example of his predeces&or. Yet it is
desirable on many accounts that the
present law , which was enacted during
the civil war , should bo made conform
able to present circumstances , and
should have the moral support of re
vision and reenactmont.
"It may bo said also that the law now
requires that silver certificates and sil
ver dollars should bo kept at par with
gold , and hence that no further legisla
tion is needed on that score. The law
does now declare that it is 'the estab-
liahad policy of the United States to
maintain the two metals on a parity
with each other. ' It also authorizes the
secretary to redeem the treasury notes
issued underlie act of 1890 ( the Sher
man act.in gold or silver coin atf his
discretion. It does not , howeverf pre-
scribe any method by which silver cer
tificates or silver dollars shall be kept at
par with gold. At present they are
kept at par by being received as the
equivalent of gold for all payments to
the government. This may possibly
suffice for the future , but it is best not
to leave anything to doubt or chaiice.
A clause in the proposed measure mak
ing this form of our currency exchange
able for gold would set all doubts at
rest , and very probably the secretary
would never bo put to any trouble by it.
"Tho proposed change in the national
banking law , to enable the banks to
issue circulating notes to the par value
of the bonds deposited by thorn , is so
obviously proper that argument is un
necessary. It is merely a question of
security to the government ( not to the
noteholders ) , since the government has
bound itself to redeem the notes on
demand under all circumstances. If the
bank finis , the government will have 100
cents of its own obligations in hand to
offset each 100 cents of outstanding
banknotes. Under present law it has
at least 110 cents of such securities and
generally more. "
I'Atir , MOUTON ON 11 AH. , ROAD
1'OOT/TNG.
Legalized pooling , tinder control of n
federal commission vested with full
power lo enforce compliance with law ,
is urged by Paul Morton , second vice-
president of the Atchison , Topeka and
Santa Fe system , as the most effective
means for creating stability in railway
lates and for preventing discriminations
in favor of big shippers.
The arguments presented by Mr.
Morton in support of a federal pooling
law go to the root of the whole transpor
tation problem and are based upon cer
tain well-established principles and laws
of commerce that sxistain a vital rela
tion to the general prosperity of the
country. Mr. Morton's contention is
that rate wars are injurious to the ship
ping community , to railway employees
and to the carriers themselves. Violent
changes in rates of transportation are
always accompanied by commercial
distress on the part of merchants who
have been unfortunate enough to have
laid in stocks of goods before the
changes occur. When rates are de
moralized merchants are either forced
to strain their credit by buying more
than they want or "must suffer the
humiliation of seeing others who have
availed themselves of the low rates sell
ing goods for loss than they can sell
them with a profit. "
Iu considering the transportation
problem few people recognize the fact
that freight rates are important factors
in determining the selling price of
goods , and that the big shipper who
secures a cut rate can easily undersell
all competitors. Discrimination iu favor
of big shippers also tends to retard the
growth and development of the smaller
cities , driving all commercial activity
and wealth to the great centers of trade ,
bringing about a condition that is clearly
injurious to the general welfare of the
country.
Under a pooling law which enabled
railroads to form traffic agreements and
which compelled strict compliance with
its provisions , thereby preventing dis
crimination , the small shipper and the
small town would have a fair oppor
tunity to grow and stability inmorohau-
dising would bo assured.
Mr Morton is willing that the inter
state commerce commission or some
similar body should bo empowered to
pa s upon the reasonableness of rates ,
but ho does not favor the governmental
establishment of maximum and mini
mum rates unless at the same time
"maximum costs of wages , rails , ties ,
fuel and other supplies are also arranged
for. " This will strike the average
business man as a perfectly fair nropo-
sition. Since the government lias under
taken to regulate carrier corporations
through a federal commission it is
perfectly plain that the regulation , to
be a success , cannot violate economic
law or ignore the elementary principles
of a safe business policy. Chicago
Times-Herald , Sunday , November 20 ,
1899.
"Every day currency reform is put off
adds to the risk and danger , " says the
Indianapolis News ( ind. ) . "If every
board of trade will follow the example
of the Now York Board of Trade and so
endeavor to start a campaign for pres
sure on congresa to register in the law a
legal definition of money and place its
soundness and value beyond quibble , wo
shall be preparing ourselves against a
time of possible disaster in the future ,
and shall bo doing what wo must cer
tainly some day do. "
"A party should bo bigger than any
one man , " reasons the Nashville Banner
( dem. ) . "It should represent the con
sensus of the best untrammelled thought
of its constituent members , and not tie
itself to any single politician's vagaries ,
however popular ho may bo personally
or however brilliant and ambitious.
The men who speak and work for
democracy should not assume , as too
many of them have done , that they
must , as a condition precedent to their *
service , wear Bryan shoes or collars or
cookados. Tim party is in an extremity
of confusion at this time , and needs the
best wisdom of its membership to guide
it rather than the following of a line
marked out by the Nebraskan candidate
for its highest honors. The party has a
higher and broader mission , if it have a
true mission , than that of catering to
any man's ambition or maintaining any"
leader's prestige. "
