Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-03-04
Tbe silver pollar.

line StOCkton Md" b"ys. oo""'''
Beck's recent speech in regard to the
coinage and use Of silver coin has
proved to be veritable bombsheli
in the camps of the goldites, who
evidently felt assured a few months
ago that they could and would do all
the workings OF the United States
mint to suit their own convenience
and interests. Debates on Beck's
resolution have been commenced in
the Senate, Gray, OF Delaware, and
Mcpherson, OF New Jersey, having
already spoken on the question and
endeavored to combat the popular
view OF the case. The gold-bugs are
sharp enough to see that the Ameri-
can people are strongly opposed to
the suspension OF silver coinage.
The popular notion is, and 1t is cor
rect one, that the coin manipulators
and professional usurers aim to strike
down silver so as to reduce the vol
ume OF real money that the purchas-
ing power OF gold may double, and
TO make three per cent. on a note or
bond Of the same purchasing power
that six per cent. now is. The peo-
ple do not want that sort Of business,
and are sharp enough to block that
kind Of a game.
The gold-bugs are putting forward
their best efforts to stuff the people
witr-the notion that the country
would be gamer by clinging to
gold basis in doing business through
clearing houses, bills of exchange
and in every other manner, because
"uilver is cheap and out OF favor"
II il be true that silver is out OF favor
what is the reason? It's common use
in representing exchange values rem
ders Il more difficult for banks and
money syndicates to control the coin
currency OF the country to their own
advantage and to the disadvantage,
II not the positive injury, OF the in
dustries of the country, than it would
be to carry on and perpetuate the
skinnIng process, were gold alone rec
opnized US the legal standard.
In regard to silver coin, clea
headed financial writer says:
Its apparent depreciation is due
SOLELY to warfare, as wicked and
stupid as ii would be for Congress to
declare by law that wheaton flour
should no longer be made into bread,
and then for the Secretary OF the
Treasury to claim that wheat,
through natural causes, had fallen
twenty per cent. below the intrinsic
value oi corn. The truth is this:
England and Europe use this eoun-
trv's silver to break down the price
81 the metal. All Europe has not
AR, 600. 900 in silver bullion = not
$50 'OOO.O 600 that is not now coined
Mn circulation at the rate of 151.
to / Of gold. At the same time Eng
land and Europe, in their trade with
the Orient, have to supply annually
$25, 900, 900 in silver more than all
the mines, outside OF the United
States, supply. The commerce OF
the United States is expanding at
rate equal TO the creation OF new
State annually her people are in
creasing at the rate OF three or four
per cent. annually, and require a
steadily increasing volume of-not
preenbacks, not evidences OF debt
but of real money.
Were we to absorb our own silver
product, cease coming silver, but by
law store the whole volume away In
inqots and issue certificates for the
same redeemable in silver dollars or
silver bullion, and use those eertifi-
Gates as money in the steadily swell
ING internal trade OF the country, no
one would be wronged the govern
ment would not be out penny; 1t
would not be two years until Europe
would have to begin to draw upon
her silyer-coin reserves to meet the
Oriental demands, and those reserves
are as l5I5 to of gold. The result
could but be steady appreciation OF
silver, or rather steady depreciation
OF gold, unta the two metals would
again be in the old place side by side
To say that by the desired legisla-
tion the miners would be especially
benefited is all a mistake. The cot
ton and wheat planters are as much
more interested than the miners in
!. bringing silver back TO its old place
a. their annual crops exceed in value
the product OF the silver mines.
The miners last year probably lost
"a OOO 600 by the apparent deprecia-
tion of silver but the wheat farmers
must have lost quite $70,000,000, and
the cotton planters still more. That
i. II required from Is to 20 per cent.
more wheat or cotton to buy dollar
than it would have required except
for the shrinkage in real money
caused by the dishonest and stupid
warfare on silver. for that warfare
nrostrated the prices of everything
raised from the soil or manufactured
bv the labor of men. 1t must not be
foruotten that silver has not lost any
OF its purchasing power since 1877,
when il stood at premium.
Some of the New York papers,
which heretofore have chung to the
Wall-street and gold-bug side OF the
auestion with the tenacity OF devil
tishes to their victim, are now edging
themselyes into the silver grooves.
The unmistakable drift OF public sem
timent has evidently induced them to
hedge Just in time to save themselves
from popular reprobation. The Star