Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-10-01

OF a copy of this publication to Eastern
friends. The illustrations are acknowledged to
be the best ever Issued in this city.
Remon etizalien Of silver.
There is unquestionably just now
strong movement all over the world for
the restoration OF silver to the status
which it occupied prior to its demone-
tization by Bismarck in Germany after
the Frsnco-Pruseian war and by the
United States in 1873. Strange to say,
there are great many newspapers pub
lished, even in the Western States. and
few in California, that are disposed to
whistle silver down the wind. 1t was
only the other day that 30 intelligent q
newspaper as the San Francisco Evening
Post sneered at the idea of making silver
which is only intrinsically worth seventy
cents on the dollar, worth q hundred
cents by the stamp of the Government
of the United States.
The argument underlying the position
of these newspaper publicists is that
silver has been depressed by the natural
law Of supply and demand. If this were
so there might be some force in their op-
position to the free coinage of silver, or
to its restoration to it's old position of an
equality with gold.
On the contrary, the depression OF sill.
yer was brought about by artificial
means; by the despotic will of Bismarck
as one conspicuous factor, by the con-
joined efforts of the bankers of Change
in London and Of Wall street in New
York, and by the chicane of those who
were entrusted with preparing the Re.
vised Statutes of the United States.
When the Prince of Blood and Iron at
once converted the whole silver currency
OF Germany into 80 much silver bullion
Into commodity which was not only
not money, but which was added to the
other commodities whose value was
thereafter measured in the German EN-
pire by the single gold standard-he
performed colossal bearing operation.
France, which had always been the
staunchest and most reliable friend of
the double standard Of gold and silver,
was to some extent disabled at the time,
being engaged in paying the five milliards
of francs in gold which the Germans had
exacted as indemnity for the war. The
London bankers at once saw their oppor-
tunity, and their CO. conspirators in New
York entered into the scheme with great
eagerness. To make the blow which de.
monetized silver thoroughly effective it
was concluded that the cooperation of
the Government of the United States
was essential.
The intrigue by which this was effected
has never been disclosed in all its ener-
nifty, but the modus operandi is known.
A clause was interpolated in the Revised
Statutes of 1873 which demonetized sill
yer. Such an act was never really passed
byCongress. Senator after Senator got
up in his place in the United States SEN
ate, and solemnly declared that that
body had never passed such law. Sen
ator John P. Jones, as Chairman of the
Committee to investigate the silver
question, in his report to the
Senate, reiterated his personal declara.
sion that such a statute had never
received the assent of the upper house
OF Congress. But there it was in the
Revised Statutes, all the same, and there
it remains today, monument of the ease
with which villainous jobs can be put
through all the forms of law.
Then began the war on silver. Demone.
TIED by Germany and the United States.
and pursued with relentless snimosity
by the capitalists of England, Germany
and the United States, the depreciation
OF silver was instant and utter. A pro.
digious sum was removed from the cir.
culation of the world, causing to that
extent great shrinkage of values. The
English merchant, however, was able to
buy what had been money as bullion, to
coin it into rupees and to buy wheat in
India at it's face value. This was some.
what analogous to the process in Cali
fornia during the war, when our mer-
chants sent their gold to New York
and bought greenbacks at thirty.five
cents on the dollar, with which they DUR
chased goods which they sold here dollar
tor dollar, with freights and commissions
superadded. 1t was the same kind Of a \
gouee, only not so large. j
familiar illustration of the wav tho
thing operated was the manner in which
the price of wheat shrank in the hands
OF the California farmer. Precisely as
silver went down, down went the price of
wheat. The effect on the silver miners
was even more disastrous. Except in
the case OF very rich mines, the. shrink.
age in the value of silver represented in |
many instances the profit which would |
have rewarded their labors.
OF course the inevitable result of this
selfish and indefensible policy was to
add SO much to the purchasing power of
gold, and all who possessed fixed IN.
comes, especially those arising from
bonds whose interest was payable in
gold, benefited accordingly. The debtor
Was confronted with . money markell
which had been made artiAcially strin-