The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-21
THE SILVER AGITATION.

Views of English Financiers and Bankers
What VIII Result from Paying in Silver
Gable Special.
Your correspondent has conversed with a
number of city bankers and financial people in
the city within few days past for the purpose
of getting at the general sentiment as to how the
silver agitation in America is likely to affect the
money systems Of the world. Perhaps the aver
age view may be best expressed by the following
summary of the statements made by an infuen-
tial banker in response to the question what he
thought of the arguments put forth by the silver
men in Congress: I'VE don't care rap for their
arguments, "'he said, ''but we do care consider
ably what they do. Their arguments are worth
just as much as those of merchant trying to
dispose of his wares. They have got silver to
sell, and they are trying to force it into use as
money. Right or wrong their arguments are
interested, and therefore valuless from
scientific point of view AS / say,
we are interested only in what they
finally do. If America adopts unlimited silver
coinage, of course all the gold will come over
here The effect will be to slightly cheaper gold
and raise prices, but / don't anticipate any seri
Gus disturbance of values from that source
And on the other hand if America tries bimetal-
lism, she will simply be playing into our hands.
She will be doing our unpleasant work for us.
1t is convenience for a gold-standard nation to
have some other nation offer to absorb silver
and try to keep it at a fixed ratio with gold. 1t
steadies values, but at the expense of the nation
trying it. For this reason Bismarck, while in
sisting upon gold alone for Germany has always
secretly supported the Latin Union, by which
France and Belgium have carried the silver load
for him. shouldn't be surprised if he were Sc
cretly lending his influence in aid of the bimetal
lie movement in America. But the really i'm
portant question to us is whether the United
States will try to pay their bonds in silver. We
don't however, entertain much fear of such re-
pudiation."
Then you do not admit that the word coin
means either gold or silvera" asked the CORE
sponent.
'No," replied the banker, 1--WE didn't so under
stand it when we took the bonds. OF course, if
they offer us silver we will take 1t, but in that
case the next tir1e they want to borrow they will
have to put the word gold in the bonds, and will
have to pay higher interest, too"
The foregoing is a fair example Of the prevail
ing sentiment on this question / have ascer-
that the recent slight fall in United States
bonds was occasoned by singular msunder-
standing of what had occurred in Congress I
have had access to the original cable dispatch re-
ceived by financial agency, the posting of which
caused the furry 1t reads:
Resolution Senate pay bonds silver"
This was carelessly interpreted as meaning
that the Senate had passed such re-~lution; in
other words that one-half of Congr, ,ad voted
to pay the bonds silver. The eff gas only
temporary, and since it has come t. under
stood that resolution was merely offered for de-
bate and that if anything is done at all, it will
be at some remote day, the securities have re-
turned to former quotations.