The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-11-23
CAN AMERICA AFFORD TO DISCARD SILL
VERT

SUMPTION ACT, WHICH, owing 10 Tue UTllIldnl
triumph the hard money party gained at the
late election by the help OF the fiat lunatics is
admitted to be beyond all hope Of repeal, the
government will proceed to redeem $4,000.
600 of our national debt, represented by that
amount of grccnbacks in circulation, in coin"
According To the terms of the contract the gov
eminent can redeem that debt either in gold or
silver com, and if tie governments guided by
the same rule of common sense tina, any sane
business man would follow in such case it
would pay its debt in the cheaper coin, which
i lust now happens 10 be silver That is, the
government can buy the silver at 80 cts. on the
dollar AS compared with gold, and having it
coined into dollars can pay its debts in those
dollars The difference to the people would be
| (S34G,0 100000 minus ID per cent? sol 100000.
Instead of saving these $5l9OO,0OO TO the peo-
pie, however, It is gwen out that the govern
ment intends, in obedience to the bchcst Ofthe
| New York bankers, to redeem the greenbacks
in gold; in other words, instead ofeXtinguish
ing our debt of $34G, 100000 by paying that
amount, the government proposes to pay $780,
900, OOO--that is, make the public creditor IA
present of sol 100000. Now what right has
John Sherman to waive the debtors (thc peo-
ple's) option in this matter, and pay the debt
in the dearcr of the two metals? Has he any
more right to make this dOuceur to the public
creditor than he has to sink the money down
into his own breeches pockets
But this thing of setting the law of congress
at defiance and demonetizing silver cuts deep
er still The United States is the heaviest sill
yer producingcou in the world. Its silver
product is equal TO at least SG0,00O00O IA year,
employing several hundred thousand men in
mining, smelling, &c. Shall this immense
product equal to our cXportable surplus of
grain be cut off at one fell swoop and the hun
bred millions more ofcoined silver in the cOun-
try be reduced to the grade OF copper or brass
millions on millions OF value, in word, sunk
to the bottom of the sea? And Why?
As we intimatcd in our last, the Wall street
and Bond street, and Frankfort and Berlin
bankers own thousands of millions of govern.
ment and railroad and other corporation bonds.
To contract the metallic monetary basis of the
world to one-half by the demonetization Of sill
yer these bonds would be doubled IN value.
1t is the enormous increase of the wealth of
the money lords of the world which this IN
wolves that is at the bottom of this general
movement at the worlds money centers in fav-
or of the decentralization Of silver. Can Anne
rca, as debtor nation, afford to Join in that
stupcndous raid on the debtor nations and pco-
pie Of the world?
We do not underestimate the potent objec-
ton to silver arising from its present depreci-
alton. But 1t is to be borne in mind that the
causes of that depreciation are in their nature
mainly temporary. The great famlnes in In
dia and China so csscncd production in those
countries as to cut off large portion of the
usual demand for silver. The vast sums of
silver Germany, through its decentralization
scheme, suddenly forced on the market, tended
further TO its depreciation; and the downward
tendency was increased by the sudden devel-
opment of the great bonanza mines ofthis coun-
try But these causes are passing away. India
and China are rapidly recupcrating from their
calamity; Germany has about disposed OF her
surplus stock of silver, and the bonanza mines
are falling off immensely in their yield. There
is thus hardly any doubt, if America and the
rest of the silver nations adhere rigidly to the
silver standard, that IA few years will again see
silver, IN the ratio of 1 to rs, at par with gold
At all events if France in the ratio of to 15l5
is able to keep $300,000000 of silver in circu-
latlon ut par with gold, the United States ought
to do So and it will take five years, at the pres
cnt rate of coinage, to give us that amount.
The melancholy example now presented to
the world by the gold nations should be IA
warning to the United States in this matter
Germany, cxulting in her tribute of 81 100000,
600 of gold cNactcd from France felt strong
enough to demonetizc and drive ont her $500
600 OF silver and what is the result? Such
business prostration and commercial distress
as that country never saw before in all its his
tory. England, by her persistent discarding
and depreciation of silver has ruined her East
India, China and South American trade, and
is now in the throeS Ofthc scvcrcst commercial
and industrial rcvulsion she has seen IN two
centuries France, just across the channel, on
the other hand, that wisely held on to its poor
peoples moncy-silvcr-is the most prosper.
GUS country on earth.
What shall America do? Repeat the folly
of Germany and England or wisely follow the
example of France?
President Hayes got Il severe snnb the Other
day from L. $ Judge Gresham at indianapolis