364 THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 



debts, public and private. Whether or not this shall be done 

 is the money " question of the day." 



From the discussion of this question it is desirable to 

 eliminate two subsidiary questions: — 



First, shall the United States bonded debt be paid in 

 silver? By its terms it is payable in " coin," and silver is coin. 

 At the same time it has not for a very long time been 

 customary anywhere in the world to employ silver in these 

 very large transactions, and, although silver, when our earlier 

 bonds were issued, was worth. more than gold at a ratio of 

 sixteen to one, no creditor would expect silver in payment, 

 because the custom was to use gold in such payments. When 

 our later bond issues were made, and for the express purpose 

 of strengthening vuv credit in borrowing money, Congress 

 explicitly pledged the nation to keep all currency issued' by it 

 on an equality with gold. Many millions of our bonds have 

 been issued on the strength of that pledge, and if any are out- 

 standing of earlier issues, they have continually changed 

 hands on the strength of it. The faith of the nation is 

 unquestionably pledged to the payment of these bonds in 

 gold, which was received for all issued since the war, and the 

 pledge must be made good. To pay the national debt in 

 silver would be repudiation to the extent of the difference in 

 value, and would not only be dishonest, but unspeakably silly. 

 Our national credit would be gone, and when we need to 

 borrow money again, we should be compelled to pay well for 

 it or go without it. The fact that our credit was poor would 

 make us a weak nation, certain to be imposed upon by other 

 nations. This would require increased taxation for defense, 

 and in one way and another we should pay very dearly for 

 our dishonesty. In modern times the ability to borrow 

 money cheaply goes far to take the place of a standing army 

 and a great navy. While the intent to pay the national debt 

 in silver may be inferred from the specific demand that it be 

 — as it is now — a legal tender for that purpose, and while 

 many who are presumably ignorant of the equities of the case, 

 honestly believe that it should be so paid, it is impossible to 

 suppose that such a thing should ever be officially proposed 



