The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-01-20

the silver question. Without sufficient
amount of money with which to do
business, Mr.. Teller said, the energies
of the people were depressed. Money
scarcity meant duh times and lower
wages or no wages at all. The persons
who suffered most we're laborers.
Teller presented elaborate tables show
ing the coin circulation OF the Worlu,
from which it appeared that the silver
circulation of Great Britain was
$3.50 per head of population; Ger,
many 1857 per head; United
States $48S per head, and
coinage of the world, he said, been estl-
mated as follows: Silver, 81, S26, 900 600;
gold, So 1872 900 600; but gold and silver
had been found insufficient to carry on
the business of the world, and all
nations had resorted to paper currency
based on these metals; the whole
amount of paper money issued had
been $3,943, 100000; which was more
| than the whole amount of either gold
or silver. If, then, gold and silver
combined have been found insufficient
to carry on the worlds trade, what
reason was there for, supposing that
gold, then, would be sufficient, when
you destroy the money faculty of silver
you increase the purchase power OF
gold. You thus benefit the holders of
bonds and mortgages and government
securities, because the principal and
interest of these obligations remain to
be paid that existed when the debts
were contracted. The holders of these
obligations constituted a great and
powerful class, the creditor class, and
wanted silver demonetized because of
the consequent enormous increase in
the purchasing power of gold. They
had raised the cry that gold would leave
the country II we did not suspend silver
coinage. They had raised the same cry
In 1878 against the passage of the silver
coinage act. We had been told that the
United States would become a depos-i
itory of all the silver in the world; that
we would lose all our gold; would lose
our national credit and would be I'M
able to sell our bonds. What Was our
financial condition at that time, and
what is it now? In 1877 our notes were
worth 81 cents-eyerybody knew what
they were worth to-day. The amount
of gold then in the United States was
S193, 900, 900; the amount to-day was
$623, 900, 900. We had been adding to our
stock of gold at the of $60,000,000
a year. There was but one nation that
had to-day more gold than the United
States; that was France, which had
$685. 600. The coinage of silver had
not hurt our national banks. Mr..
Teller analysed the national bank re-
turns in support of his contention, and
showed that the deposits of 1877 were
$3.50. 600, 900; the deposits to-day are
81, 100. 900, 000-nearly double those of
1877, while the savings banks deposits
are now S2OO,0O0,0O0 more than the de-
posts of four years ago. How had it
Jared with England in those respects?
The Bank of England was fast los
ing its coin and bullion. In the
last six months it had lost $685.
600 900 of If, and in the same
time had lost S4S,O00,000 OF its
deposits. Was it not extraordinary,
if our financial policy was so unwise,
and that of England so wise, that we
had accumulated so large an
amount of gold, while England was
losing her gold? The whole condition
OF our country, Mr.. Teller continued:
was an eloquent denial Of the truth of
the predictions and complaints OF the
enemies OF silver. The stopp9ge OF
silver coinage would be equivalent to
the addition of $500 OO0 900 to the
national debt; it would add from % to
80 per cent to every dollar of debt in
the land, an amount almost too great
for computation. The creditor class
demanded the suspension OF coinage
which was practically the stoppage
of it, and also that we pay in
gold S346, 900 900 of National Bank notes
and Withdraw them from circulation.
Thu next move would be to take from
the silver dollars already coined their
legal tender value, thus effecting re-
duction amounting altogether to $685.
OOl 900 in the circulating medium
over one third of our whole circulation.
Then. with $780, 00.0U0 of balance
locked up in the Treasury as now, the
business of the country would be left to
be done with about One-third of our
present stock of money. The Secretary
Of the Treasury had told us that the
-aborng men would, first suffer from
silver coinage-let the gentleman, said
Teller, speak for the great moneyed
corporations and for bondhol erS and
capitalists, but not for the laboring men.
Laboring men were well aware that the
great department of our government had
passed into the control OF the banks and
bankers and mOneyed powers. They
know that the statutes passed to cur
tail the powers of the moneyed corpo-
rationS and capitalists were violated
every day in the Treasury Department
The present disturbed State of the pub
lie mind concerning silver. Teller
ascribed to the attacks made upon it by
tue government officials. Every
scheme that could disgrace silver had
the sanction of that Department. it did
not directly originate in the depart
ment. the Treasurer of the United
States having. gone into the convention
of fifty-four banks. the object of which
was the depreciation of sill
yer. and his presence among
the,bankers was carefully telegraphed
to all the corners of the earth. That
was scheme to brighten people into
the idea that silver coinage would bring
ruin to our industries and the Treas
urer's presence in that convention was
the most indefensible attack that ever
has been made on the credit of the
governments by its own officials sworn
to respect and execute the laws of the
country.
Another attack on silver was
found in the system OF bookkeeping
newly adopted by the Treasury Depart
ment in treating rs liability. and not
as an asset. the $40 OOO OO6 ~ roy-anno