New-York tribune., 1877-11-09
THE SILVER MADNESS.
1rrrrP FROM GEORGE WALKER.

TpRorGu FLUCTUATIONS IN TRE PRICE OP Sill
NER.
TofheRdttor TAe TrtbWne.
SIR: On the oGth Of December last ] addressed
YOU a letter published in TEr TRRUNF oi Ja7uarv
. in which denounced the Bland Silver lHu, which
had lust passed the House OF Representatives. as a
daurerous measure and barron victory for the
SILVER partv I closed that letter with these words
elf the silver problem receives right treatment
~ our hands, I see in n opportunities for M
calculabe future advantage. IL viii help TO dehne
and aid and perhaps determine the monetary pohcy
ofall Europe; 1t will bridge the gulf which still
les between Ms aud specie payment AMI vhat Is no
mean, object t will reconcile the domestic conhlct
between the partisans Of hard aud soft money, and
give standing ground for the lever which is 20 move
oar future industries. H. on the contrary. 10y gno-
raut and precpiatc legislation, isolate our
selves from the rest of tho world and make ourselves
tie receptacle for discarded silver there is no dega-
datiou which has been predicted for that metal 10y
the most ardent partisanS of the gold standard,
which | shall not be prepared 20 see 1t undergo
venture 10 reproduce tins passage the text for
some further observations which desire TO make
on the silver question. i'm the light of what has Just
occurred In Congress and OF events bearing upon IL
which have trauspired m this and other countries
duiiug the last year Mr.. Bland has again carried
through the House Of Representatives., "bill to
authorize the free coinage OF the standard silver
dollar and 10 restore its lcgal-teuder character"
The bin revycs the dollar of 1887 with weight of
4l2ig grains of standard silver mire-tcnths fine and
with ratio Of silver 70 gold of sixteen to one Tor to
, be quite exact of ll9Sslopo to Il. Although the
bill has not vet received the votes of twO-tirds of
the House of Representatives. necessary to pass 1t
in that body over the Presidential veto II is not i'm
probable that on a full vote such majority would
he obtained The vote taken yesterday showed 1853
.t,. n, Inc
with uincty-thrtc ahsentees Out Of 900 mem
hers a two-tlirls vote would be 194 Fortv-ive
Democratic members were absent, and ont Of
these, on what is essentially party vote rhrty-one
more Affirmative votes can probably bc obtained
What the fate of the bill will be in the Senate II Is
too early to determine; but with bare Republican
majority. among whom are many extreme silver
men. u is not unlikely 10 pass that body also.
trust however. that there are at least twenty-six
Senators sufficiently alive TO the dangerous charac
Ter of this measure, To refuse their assent 20 IT. If
The President -houl return IL 10 the House of Repre-
sentative, without his signature and if 1t should
agaln pass that body over the Executive veto
MISTAKES POLICY oF GOLD COIN MN.
II cannot Ice denied. however. that the drift of
popular opinion goes far toward sustaining lac ac-
ton Of the House of Representatives. There is an
undoubted silver majority among the pecplc-proh-
ably large majority: and the attitudes assumed by
has become general has been admirably calcu-
lated % make DO larger ana more uurcasouing than
II would have been with q f.uer treatment. The
cry Of the Dollar Of the Daddics' ha, not been
a fortunate one for those who reiterated It. The
case j.. far too serious for ndcue, and tue popular
belief that 10 is one IN which the interests of the
rch are arra,ed against those of the poor required
the most cousidcsatc and respectful treat
ment If any hope was entertained of max
iue 10 give place 10 more intelligent
sentiment ] grant that there is great preponder-
auce of educated opinion u favor Of the gold stand-
ard especially among Eastern bankers and journal
ist, and professors of political economy, m tins
country and that IL supported 10y sill stronger
prejudice existing among the governing classes OF
Great britain. hy whom the proposal for an inter
national bi-metallc money has never been seriously
considered An influential and intelligent Dutch
correspondent writes us, tG1t I'm England
they even laugh at it. not understanding the
schernc" But the Liverpool merchants do not
l,ugb having found the difficulty of trading with
silver couutrcs. under the lcmoralized condition Of
that metal. quite ooscr.ous thing for laughter MI
Stephen williamson. a leading Liverpool merchant
In the South American trade. in a letter 10 The Lru
dec 1hofi,er. iu January last. stated that nearly
g. much loss had accrued % merchants IN Chill
through the late rapid rise in silver y It's earlier
dc. line. Exchange rose M Valparaiso. during De
cembcr 1876 from D.. pcuccpor dollar TO 40 pence.
following The course of silver bullion in London All
contracts. therefore for copper other produce,
based ON the lower exchange must entail very severe
loss" "ln October last Mr. Clifford, Of the
Beard Of Trade. read a paper to the Social
S.cree Congress at Liverpool thi, subject. lie op
posed the "donotiiug policy of The Economist and
pavcit as his conclusion that silver was hcnccforh 10
o.,illate Leiwixt bod and Did per ol settling down
he predicted NJ 52d. or 52I2d. per oz. | don't
know, n Mn Clifford could con gItuatc himself on the
fact that within two or three months after he spoke.
silver touched 5~L L,d per ounce! DO know that n
hc bal been WeTch1nt trtns3cting with Chlll,
and had ordered 900 November lupO tons of cop
pcr. for delivery aud payment ~ December, ms
Otob,r theory would Inevitably have committed
him to 10 loss oi at least 1000 in exchange alone
ON that transaction. B.-mctalllsuI, If M force, !
voud have saved him from that loss !
Yet his ally Mr Hagchut of The Economist "tclis |
N. that the benefits ~ the BmetailC system are |
scarcely worth considering, and are nj only for !
theoretical books. The thcousts are Ihr ECONOMIST
it. siIIrs Those who have been compelled to Tca-
son ont and probe the subject To tine bottom, and
have come 90 the worldwide necessity for tho
Hi-mrfaIic money system, are chiefly merchants,
like myself who can practically measure It's value
and importance We ar, no theorists
Nh Williamson D., not alone aS a bl-metallst
among Eueli.h merchants I'm y letter written to
Inc .elraa,. hc stated That In Ju previous. not
one man 900 Liverpool held my view. now We have
"a laIEe proportion of our most Intelligent merchants
with us The president ot the LyrPool !
Cbawhtr Of Commerce, Nr Samuel Smith, Inns
Also published three very vigorous letters on the
same side. IN one ~ them hc demonstrates very
clearly that the prcciou, metals, when used as
money aud not merchandise, depend iof thrr tCtd-
hrt value on legislation, alp not oh fhc cost Cf PCGIc-
EoH. ". CcUu~cm and VI. de Layc"ye have de,cl-
oped tins truth more fully. and, % ms mInd, e-tJb-
li-hed o. courlu-vely Whom sJy by legislation,
do rot mean by local aud partial legislation but by
such general. though not necessarily universal ell
actmcut among nations rs would always insure an