Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-12-09
SECRETARY MANNING's POSITION

In yesterdays DEMOCRAT, Secretary
Manning's version OF the efforts of this
Government to obtain an international
agreement for free coinage OF both gold
and silver into unlimited legal tender
money was given. Its failure is mat
ter of history. Now that the invention
of the single gold standard by Great
Britain has returned to plague the in
ventor, the Secretary would wait for the
English Government to move in the mat
ter OF third monetary conference, to-
ward which he thinks the India trouble
is forcing it. He proceeds to discuss
four mooted points covering, in his esti-
nation, the silver problem in its present
aspect as national question.
First, with regard TO the demand for a
free coinage OF silver, he assumes that
the practical result OF such coinage
would be to prevent the coinage OF gold,
This he says would, "bring us to the
Asiatic silver basis" Why "Asiatic''
rather than American, for America is the
great producer of silver. But he says
"The proof is simple that the free coin
age OF silver now, would ut once entail Il
silver basis" His Simple proof is but
bundle OF naked assertions.
AS to the second proposition which is
Conference, the Secretary, for reasons al
ready mentioned, does not favor it at
present. OF Great Britain he says:
when, ii ever, she perceives her in
terests to lie in retracing the errors OF
1916, she has the means of apprising
other powers ola change in her opinions.
Conferences and treaties would then he
in order to practical result"
Thirdly, shall the United States con-
tinue to buy and coin silver? To go on
as we are, says the Secretary, is the
least creditable OF all the courses open to
our choice. II is policy which tends to
silver standard OF value. In doing
this it RENTS all control OF the silver
question to adverse, ii not hostile, inter
ests. 1t deprives the United States OF
perfect equality OF position ( non-coinage) }
in negotiation with foreign powers. 1t is
an expense and tax; disturbance in
the Treasury, which threatens the cur
rency without relieving the taxpayer. 1t
is heaping up a heavy load OF silver coin
needing to be kept, but increasingly
difficult to keep. 1t is glutting our cur
rency with deprecated metal, while also
impeding the only means OF reversing
that depreciation and restoring its value.
When the monetary dislocation began,
the people OF other nations had large
stocks of silver coin subject to de-
preston; we had none. We created
one and are daily adding TO it.
It is the taxation OF an otherwise over
taxed people $24,OOO,O0O per annum a
taxation TO disorder our domestic cur
rency, jeopardize the stability OF our unit
of value, and accumulate a surplus which
on the one hand presses the Treasury
toward a silver basis, and on the other
hand tempts Congress beyond frugal
expense.
Fourth-To stop the purchase OF silver
is our only choice, our duty and our in
terest. Stopping the purchase and coin
age OF silver is the first step and the best
which the United States can take in
doing their great part to repair the none
tary dislocation of the world.
We have given above the salient points
in the Secretary argument (?) in