The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1886-02-10
The Price of Silver Affects the Price
of Cotton.

/ EDITOR CLARION: Those who are dis
| posed to depreciate the silver dollars, say
that its advocates are only the silver
miners and those people in the South
and West, who are in debt and wish to
pay in cheap, dishonest dollars.
! This is a SANDER upon the agricultur-
lists of the West and South, who grow
the wheat and cotton which forms such
large part of the exports of our coun.
/ try, and who are "a much, If not more,
interested in the price of silver than the
miners of that ore themselves.
The gold standard advocates, who in
sist that the wheat and cotton producers
are cheated by the coinage on the silver
dollar, are very fond of asserting that
the stamp OF government can not give
value to its money by making il legal
tender, except within the limits of its
jurisdiction This is true. but let US
apply this rule to the silver which Eng
land coins for the use of her colonies in
India aud see what a disastrous effect
cheap silver has upon our cotton and
wheat.
India is our chief competition in the
production of cotton aud wheat India
uses only silver money, aud it is coined
ana regulated by tho laws of England
at l54 pounds OF silver Tor one of gold
Now the coin of England is not . legal
tender III the United States, aud when
the Englishman buys our cotton or wheat
he must pay for in our money or mis-
productions valued in our money dol
lars. II he wishes to pay us in silver,
he cannot pay in silver bullion nor Eng
lish silver coin, but must give us our
standard silver coin which he can only
get by paying for it, its stamped value,
But when he buys cotton or wheat in
India, the case is very different. England
can buy sixteen pounds of our standard
silver for one pound Of our standard
gold; and when she coins these into
rupees for India, she makes half pound
in silver on every pound of gold so in.
vested, And if we had, as we should
have, free coinage for the production of
all our silver mines, she could not buy
silver from us at less pgice. But our
government depreciates silver by deny
ing to it free coinage, and by bu ring il
for less value than she stamps upon 1t
when coined. In the deprecated condi-
ton of the silver market, England now
buys from US about eighteen pounds of
silver tor one Of gold, and Immediately
coins it into rupees at 10! pounds of sill
yer for one OF gold and makes q
pounds of silver tor every pound of gold
thus invested.
India being part of the English do.
miulons, the silver coined IN England
passes at its stamped value in India
and thus the Englishman can make
money by investing his gold in cheap
American silver, aud buying cotton and
wheat from India, rather than buying
cotton and wheat from us. Or, he can
give the Indians better price for their
cotton and wheat, and thus stimulate
competition with us, and reduce the
price of our products
The London Economist, of September
II, 1885, said Every one who has
given the subject the least attention.
knows how greatly the recent develop.
ment OF the Iadian VIII at trade has
been due to the fall in silver, which has
acted as bounty upon exports; and to
this aud other industries further de.
probation of this metal would give
great stimulus" Thus, a fall in the
price of silver, males Il fall in the price
of wheat aud cotton, by reason of In
dian competition; and yet one of our own
great statesmen would have us still fur
Their depreciate silver by requiring more
to be put into our dollars.
The coinage of silver should be as free
as the coinage of gold, aud then the
owners should get their silver dollars
into circulation tn, m9elves.
JAS. K. Gu lLMRRs.
SARDIs, Miss, Feb. ., 1886.