The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-01-16

and OF that metal ssvsnty-ons pounds Will pay
o. 900. Bat the great commercial nations nee
gold, Of which ~ pounds will pay $1,000, be-
cause payments Of the value OF csrt-ioad OF
silver IN such countries are OF daily occurrence.
In the u nited Slater, where little coin is used
except IN retrail trade and as reserve upon
which notes and drafts are based an enormous
commerce is already carried on over vast dis
tances. and the lees bulky metal Is OF necessity
preferred. Unless the reserve in winch all our
values are measured, and upon which our notes
and drafts are based. is OF the same metal
which the other great commercial nations use,
we shall not be able to draw from them when
we are IN need, and shall put ourselves at Ia
tai disadvantage In all our dealings. IL we
wish an Asiatic commerce, silver will serve as our
chief money Of trade. But il we wish to build
up here a grander commerce than that OF Eu-
rope, and to make this the money centre OF the
world, we shall have to use the money which
the commercial world EMPLOYS IN its large
transactions.
No one nation can fix the relative value OF
wheat and cotton, nor Of iron and load. All
the markets OF the world have something to say
about that. Neither can any nation alone fix
the relative value or buying power OF gold or
silver. A pound CT gold will sometimes buy
more than eighteen pounds of silver, and some
times less than fourteen pounds. But one ma
len kod NJ ma
as token for gold, a. paper is used to repre-
sent coin. Then the silver does not buy &C.
cordlng to ito own value, but according to the
value Of the gold which it represents. Thus
the new dollar contains only silver enough to
be worth 100 cents in gold when . pound of
gold is worth sixteen pounds OF silver, but the
pound Of gold il now worth about eighteen
pounds Of rilvsr, so that the metal in the new
dollar Is worth only about 81 cents. Yet peo-
pie take it for goods just as they do the green
back, 40 the token or representative Of 100 cents
in gold, and the reason is that no one can get
it Tor less. The coinage Is limited, aud the
Government does not pay out the siver dollar
except for gold dollars worth of goods. SER
vices or debts. Since no one can get the silver
dollar for less than the gold dollar, no one can
afford to part with it for less, and ii passes a.
token. But il coinage OF silver were free, so
that any holder of 81 cents worth OF silver
could get 1t turned into dollar, that coin would
be worth only what the metal cost. Prices in
such dollars would change at once. Wheat
worth 100 cents in gold would not be given for
silver worth 81 cents the holder would charge
more. The effect would be the same as il
greeDbacks enough bad been issued to take
from each note one eighth OF it's buying power
There would be exactly the same robbery oil
workngmen, whose bread would cost more and
hoselsavings would be less the same plumber
OF creditors and same destruction OF public
credit and prostration OF industry.
1t was thought that q limited coinage Of sill
yer would promote larger use OF that metal
This country, as the chief producer, suffers by
It's disuse. But the event has proved that the
people prefer to use notes, and have SINAI
notes enough for their needs. After earnest
effort the Government has not been able tt
get the new dollars INT circulation. Over $3O
coo 600 remain in the Treasury. Though paii
out. they are quickly returned. The peopl,
keep the more convenient notes and pay bacl
the coins. If the people do not want and vii
not use the dollars, we might as well require b,
law that S2,OC0,000 worth OF pig iron shoult
be bought, stamped and stored away by tn,
Treasury each month. That would help til,
iron industry, just as coinage OF dollars, tina
no one wants. has helped the silver industry
but why should one be aided and not another
If money taken from the people by taxation il
to be spent for no use, except to aid producers
why should not part OF it be spent IN buyiD,
wheat from the farmer or cotton from ID,
planter?
The limited coinage, though ineffective here
actually retards the return OF other nations t.
the use Of silver. England and France suffe
greatly in their trade with Asia, because OF tn,
partial disuse and low price Of silver Man,
great failures in England have thus beer
caused. Yet these nations have hopes that tn,
surplus silver OF the world may be taken of b.
this country. Smith has stagnant pool on hi,
lot, which makes mischief. But he does mo-
drain 1t, because his next neighbor has beer
talking for years Of digging ditch along tn,
border which would drain the pool without cos
to Smith. Europe looks upon unlimited coin.
age here as the beginning Of the ditch. As yet
we coin less silver than We produce. But there
is constant talk OF free coinage here. II ia
thought, too, that the Treasury may soon coin
100000 each month instead OF $4,000 900
False hopes fed by partial coinage here, pre-
vent England and France from taking any steps
to restore silver to greater use and value, and
the course Of this country tends to defeat its
own aim.
Free coinage OF silver would enable the ma
tons of Europe, through bullion dealers, to
empty into our mint all their surplus silver, to
turn IL into legal-tender dollars, and to make us
take il in payment for food, or cotton or bonds.
II we had use for the silver, the change might
lift its price. But we cannot use s30,000,000
which we now have, and how are we to use the
much larger amount which Germany has TO
sell, and the 1929, 100000 which had accumu-
lated May LIST, IN the Bank Of France? There
is no room In this country for one tenth Of the
surplus which Europe has to empty upon us, IL
coinage without limit is permitted. Now Eu-
rope buys from ne, and pays gold. Then it
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