Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-12-04
THE SILVER COTTAGE QUES-
IION

ern States will lie on the side Of the most
of it. Every new mine, every new indus
try opened ID this quarter demands more
money. The section OF Southwestern
Virginia.a as an instance.iS using tw ice t. e
volume of money it used ten years ago.
Always provided it is solvent money, the
South wants more instead of less. Like ev-
cry newly opened up country it belon 8 to
the debtor class, and that ARRAYS it on the
side of cheap and plentiful money. 1t is
to its interest that the coinage of both
precious metals by the general government
should not cease; ana. farther, that it
should be increased. Apart from the
interest involved Ia the operation OF
mineral industries, the maintenance OF
one of these metals, silver, as currency is
of vital Importance to the farmers. So
closely has commerce and the increased
facilities of transportation interviewer the
interests of the world, that the farmer
of Augusta can feel in forty eight hours
the effect On his wheat of the fall of silver
in India. he is in direct competition
with the wheat growers Of that country,
where silver is currency. India sends to
England every year the interest of her
debt JIG gold. If silver fall in its relative
vaiue to gold she sends wheat instead. If
silver is slips an ounce, wheat delivered
at Liverpool is 81 bushel; if 1t is "a cents
an ounce, wheat at Liverpool is worth go
cents bushel. These prices either give
the America farmer a good figure, a poor
one, OF none at all. as the case may be. IL
is the policy, then, it would seem, of the
United States to throw all its weight on
the side of maintaining silver ana of
str engineering it. But minor portion of
the United States-the n orth and North
eastern section of the Union, are the
reduce the amount of money in the eenn-
try, whether Of currency or silver, their
representatives vote aye. That quarter of
the country chiefly holds the bonds OF the
government and the capital of she Nation.
A vote Such as that taken in the
last House Of Representatives, after Pres
ident C!eveland's letter Ga the silver cues
ten, showed their location as clearly and
accurately as colorea nap. The South
and West were together and in a large
majority. In the Esw House. to assem-
bic next week the question again comes up
and it will be seen whether the South and
West have tho armnesS to stand by their
action OF last winter and repeat it. Ii
tha cold huos of tha Eosforu Statoe had
their way. silver would be dem0netized.
but hopeless OF obtaining that, they are
agreed on the necessity of stopping its
coinage. In this the President agrees
for settlement of the question are mani
fold, but none seems to the essamOn
sense Of the country so acceptable as to
provide for the coinage of a Silver dollar
that shall equal the gold dollar in value,
and then increase instead of diminishing
the coinage. The Amerisan nation is
now power of such magnitude that it is
able to undertake the. solution of great
financial problems h8 experiment instead
Of following In sae track OF the older
nations. For Tia; greatest silver produc-
ing country to hesitate about appreciating
its own product, could only be equalled
b. the m..ss rapidly populating country ia
tie VIOLA tolerating the idea of curtailing
the cEErencY. TIE gold standard is sort
CT equatorial imaginary one, which is pretty
much where you choose to say it is. One
year gold is up; another it is down. One
year a piece OF 1t will buy two barrels
OF flour, another year the same piece will
uGs buy one. The discoveries in Califor-
MIA i'll 40 made gold worth thirty four
cents less than it had ever been. Holland
actually demonetized gold On account of
its plenty. In a republican country ther e
will always be bi metallic money; it is only
mona1 chles that can put the screws to-
the people for the advantage of the credi-
tor CLASSES and send one metallic currency
to coventry. The two republics, Francs
and the United States will never part
with silver; it will never be demGnetizsG.
and the older republic may as we'll take
the initiative in saying what shall be atne
ratio between it and gold, for the woatd .
We are enough of creditor country To-
wards the old world. and have been fol
several years back, for our dlctum to- have
some weight if we show 10 weakness.
Take our home markets and the peoplel
The working classes are unanimous for as
large circulating medium as Can be
given with the safety that coin assures
An attempt to contract the currency in
any way would be disastrous to the coun-
try, but the attempt to cut off or reduce
the supply of coin would be SO opposed to
all common sense that it would meet she
fei cest opposition from the nAasses. Sill.
yer is the currency of the working man
OF the poor. and it would De hazardous
experiment to attempt to curtail its issue,
The cry that it will run gold out is just
be called roorbacks for a campaign. How
could two hundred and forty millions of
silver run six hundred of millions of gold
out And if it was run out, what then
What harm would lave been done except
the breaking to pieces of false theory
that has lasted long enough. Ii this Union
were one of the United States of Colon.
bia, tie absence of gold might be Gala.
nifty. But it is not; it is not borrower
of European nations for gold payment.
Every dollar of its debt is payable in
Ell her OF the two coins that the
government shall choose. That is
the stipulation in the bond. The
problem which congressman will have to
| solve in this matter of bi-metalism is as
w1de as the world, as deep as human
cupidity, and as many sided as the human