New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-09
BUJIJON CERTIFICATES.

When Secretary WlnuoIn hnO P''P'0" mo
gigantic refunding plan. in 1881 IL was treated
bv very many people with derision or hostlity.
MANY of the persons who wish 10 DE cohS'uered
eminent experts in finance were conspicuous IN
,idiculinc it and predicting its failure. The
Coc,ota,v went Quietly about his business, and
ooh;ovod tho most remarkable success in imam
cial history. This bit of experience mlghV wen
render some of hiE present critics nutie liouesV
When they conternptuously dismiss the Duiiioh-
certificate plan as utterly impracucable ana
perilous. they have not as good reason Tor thelr
Vaccinations as they had in 1881
The Secretary proposes kind of paper which
NAV be redeemed with fixed amount in gold,
or with silver bullion Of the same market value
at the option of the Treasury, and against winch
that value of silver bullion has been deposited
and is held. For rise in the price OF bullion
would in all probability follow so that less
than the bullion deposited would redeem all
notes issued against it, There can be no doubt
oEout the soundneSSi Of such certificates. They
would he worth exactly what gold certificates
are worth, and would circulate more readily
than the silver certificates because redeemabe
in q definite value of something. Being re-
ceivabe for all public dues also, they would
move into and cut of the Treasury auto
matically. according to the demand for them
The demand for silver which would thus be
created at a value, fixed in the various markets
Of the world, would be practically unlimited as
respects the prod net of this country, and pos
sibIy as to the product of such Mexican mines
as are on direct lines of transportation hther.
But if the demand elsewhere were to remain
lust what it is, bullion from other parts, from
Mexico and FROM Central and South America,
would find cheaper route by sea to higher
market at London. The American price would
naturally be lower than the London price, first,
because Of cost of transportation, and second,
because the existing foreign demand now
takes all the product of all other coun-
tries. and about third of the Amcri-
can product Also and must therefore be
constantly bidding against the United States
in order to get the silver required elsewhere.
With each advance abroad. some silver would
90 out from this country. until the market price
here had moved up cOrreSpOndngly. In effect,
Europe would have to buy silver here by bid
ding privately more than the Government had
previously paid
In that state Of facts, how could it ever be to
the interest Of holders OF bullion in Europe to
send it here for sale? Still more, how could it
become by any possibility to the interest of
holder of foreign coin, the Bank Of France or
any other, to melt it down, losing all the diff
ference between its current value as coin and
its bullion value, in order to send the bullion
here The Bank of France holds - 500 600
Of silver coin in current value. which stands on
Its books as worth that sum. Turned into bull
lion ii would be worth S62, OO0, 900 less at
the present market value. Does anybody
imagine that the bank would subject itself to
such an enormous loss? Especially when the
obvious tendency Of new arrangement would
be to advance the price of bullion, at least to
some extent, would any holder make haste to
sell? "Then why not make the coinage free ~
Because that would only drive gold out of use,
put it at p!emiul Of thirty cents on the dollar.
depress rather than lift the value of silver, and
make our standard deprecated and surely de-
preciating dollar.
Instead Mr.. Window offers to silver pro-
duccrs the prospect of a higher price and to BIZ
metalIiSts the largest possible use of silver as a
monetary basis. The bullion certificates would
be likely to take the place in the end Of silver
certificates, and also of the legal-tenders. be-
cause these are held legally redeemable in
standard coin. The note redeemable in fixed
value of gold or silver bullion would probably
come to be the only paper money of the United
States, and would open such demand for sill
yer that the price all over the world would prob.
ably be advanced as no other device or plan
could advance it,