"We know well enough that if we repeal this law and give nothing for it, the people of this country will regard it as a total demonetization of silver, which it will be, so far as this Congress is concerned, without any question"
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Bland’s sentence is a warning dressed up as a confession: don’t pretend a “clean repeal” is neutral bookkeeping. In the late-19th-century currency wars, silver wasn’t just a metal, it was a political proxy for who gets to breathe in an economy built on debt. Farmers and small-town borrowers wanted more money in circulation; financiers and creditors preferred scarcity, which makes debts heavier in real terms. Bland is speaking for the silver wing, and he knows the legislative trick: repeal the silver-purchase framework and hide behind procedural language, as if Congress didn’t pick a side.
The phrase “we know well enough” is the tell. He’s accusing colleagues of bad faith in advance, marking the move as deliberate rather than technocratic. Then comes the real leverage: public perception. “The people of this country will regard it” shifts the battlefield from committee rooms to legitimacy. He’s not merely predicting a reaction; he’s threatening political consequences. If you repeal without replacement, you will own the fallout.
His repetition is strategic and prosecutorial: “total demonetization of silver, which it will be.” That doubling turns a forecast into a verdict, tightening the noose around fence-sitters. “So far as this Congress is concerned” narrows blame to the present majority, framing the decision as an act of will, not fate. Bland’s intent is to force accountability: if you’re going to strangle silver, stop calling it reform and admit it’s redistribution upward.
The phrase “we know well enough” is the tell. He’s accusing colleagues of bad faith in advance, marking the move as deliberate rather than technocratic. Then comes the real leverage: public perception. “The people of this country will regard it” shifts the battlefield from committee rooms to legitimacy. He’s not merely predicting a reaction; he’s threatening political consequences. If you repeal without replacement, you will own the fallout.
His repetition is strategic and prosecutorial: “total demonetization of silver, which it will be.” That doubling turns a forecast into a verdict, tightening the noose around fence-sitters. “So far as this Congress is concerned” narrows blame to the present majority, framing the decision as an act of will, not fate. Bland’s intent is to force accountability: if you’re going to strangle silver, stop calling it reform and admit it’s redistribution upward.
Quote Details
| Topic | Money |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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