Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-20
THE SILVER QUESTION.

It's said that the "silver men are very
much put out by Judge Folger's recon-
mendation as to the suspension of the sill
yer coinage, and that they will soon make
themselves heard. It is further stated that
they will not only resist the adoption of
the Secretary's recommendation, but that
they will urge new legislation providing
for the increase of the silver coinage. We
shall look with much interest for the argu-
ments by which the silver men think it
possible to confute Judge Folger. What
they have to establish is, that an unlimited
silver coinage will not, in the present con-
dition of the silver question in Europe,
have the effect of displacing gold, throwing
the country back upon silver standard,
and inviting the swapping of the market
by those European Governments which in
that event would be powerfully tempted to
discard silver altogether, seeing that they
would be in position to appropriate the
gold driven out of the United States.
These are the dangers pointed out by Judge
Folger in his report, and it is scarcely
necessary to add that if the European Gov
ernments referred to did throw their sur
plus silver upon the market, the value
of the metal would fall Immediately,
and we should find ourselves with
deprecated currency, and at the
same time be cut off from ex.
change with Europe. In fact what
Judge Folger apprehends, and what the
"silver men" appear to desire, is the
establishment of an Asiatic system of
finance. The present silver law is of itself
quite capable of leading US to such sys-
TEN. We have only to do nothing about
the matter for couple of years longer, and
at the same time continue to issue silver
certificates, and we are as certain to be
brought to depreciation and imitation as we
are to die when our time comes. Never
theless we are curious to see what the
"silver men have to say about the situa-
ton. They are much worse off for argu-
ments than they were year ago, for since
then the Monetary Convention has been
held, and has failed to produce any results.
1t must now be regarded as certain that
Europe will not come to our assistance, and
that therefore if we insist on coming silver
without limit we must do so at our proper
peril. 1t is also quite clear that though
Europe will not move in the matter
at present, our continued coinage of
silver will give her the best possible
justification for moving, and that
the movement SO justified and invited
must precipitate upon the United States
not only silver standard, but depre.
ciated silver standard. If it is possible TO
show that all these evils are more than
counterbalanced by the prospect of creating
certain marketfor the production OF Amer
lean silver mines, we have no doubt that
the "silver men" will achieve that de-
monstration. What they want, indeed, is
new stroke of Protection to Native
" Industry" and they are by no means
singular in requiring that the interests of
the whole country shall be deliberately
sacrificed to this object. Nor would it be
prudent to conclude hastily that the Amer
lean people will reject the audacious and
inequitable proposition. For a people
whose producing classes are content to be
plundered year in and year out by tariff
which brings them no single benefit in re-
turn for its steady confscation of large
percentage of their earnings, cannot be ex-
pected to appreciate at all adequately the
mixture of folly and knavery which con-
stitutes the programme of the "silver
"men."