Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-27
A FOOLISH D1sPArcH AND THE TRUTH.

A FOOLISH DISPATCH AND THE TRUTH.
The readers of the HERALD are treated
this morning to a mysterious dispatch
from Washington which says that there
is growing feeling in Europe favorable
to the reconciliation of silver. The
loaded portion of the telegram is in its
tail, which says that the prospects for
silver reconciliation are good if free
coinage is not adopted in the United
States. There could not well be more
twaddle than is embodied in this tele-
graphic effusion. Every one at ali
posted in the matter knows that the
most enlightened governor of the Bank
of England, the head of the Paris
branch of the great banking house OF the
Rothschilds and many others OF the
most llustrious inanciers OF Europe, to
say nothing OF those of America, have
placed themselves on record to the effect
that rehabilitating silver is a sine qua
non to healthy financial condition OF
the world. ANY one curious as to the
weight and wisdom and overshadowing
influence OF the men who have so pro-
nounced themselves has only to hunt
up the report of the committee of the
senate of the United States upon silver
demonstration, made to that body
in 1879. The Hen. John P. Jones,
of Nevada, was the chair
man of that committee, and the
document prepared by him and his col
leagues was luminous and exhaustive.
1t showed, with great detail and con-
vincing circumstances, the villainous
manipulation by which the white met al
was degraded from its function as money
and converted intoa commodity, in or
der that bondholders might receive
their fixed charges in gold, which was
practically run up to premium which
was partially represented by the dis
count on silver that Immediately fol-
lowed that act. 1t was designed to bring
about curtailment of the circulating
medium, to put the debtor in hole and
to elevate the creditor to pedestal, and
it accomplished these things very hap
PLY. The long train of evils, including
the drop in the value of California wheat
and other products, following upon the
adoption of the new and enhanced
standard of measuring values, is familiar
to every one who has kept himself ia
miliar with events since 1878, and par
ticularly so to the California wheat
grower.
The conclusion of the telegram is ex-
quisitely funny. If only the United
States will not adopt free coinage, why,
then, the whole world will adopt it.
Here's richness for you According to
this delightful system of logic, all the
mailed gladiator has to do in order to
win his combat is to drop his shield and
stand with his sword point touching the
ground. The only earthly chance for
the reconciliation of silver lies in the
United States leading off. France and
the Latin union stand ready to follow
suit. With these in line, who will dare
resist the current?
Will England? How can she? She
is the biggest buyer of silver in the world.
She mines none of it, but she must have
it to coin into the rupee for her dealings
with the East Indies. OF course she
dearly wishes to see that metal as cheap
as possible. She is obliged to buy it in
New York, and she will be obliged to
pay for it whatever, within reason, the
New York dealer shall ask for it. The
Mexican miner will not be long in
learning the New York quotations, and
h a1.v hol I,,,11s -
the same price.
All that is needed to insure the re-
monetization of silver over the whole
world is the enactment by the United
States OF law placing it on the same
plane as gold at the mints. There will
then be no necessity of buying any sill
yer by the government, and that buga-
boo will be at once disposed OF. The
Bland bill gave the people of the United
States their first relief from the WALL
street shyloeks. When it was intro
duced into congress. thirteen years ago,
great outcry was raised chat the coun-
try would be ruined. Instead of that
the standard dollar and the silver certi-
ficate have proved most grateful
additions to our circulating me-
dunn. They have prevented the
Insurers of Wall street from
squeezing the people to death.
They we're a step in the right direction,
and they were all that prevented the price
of silver from going down to forty cents.
The same howl was raised when the last
congress authorized the purchase Of
4,50O, GOO ounces of silver monthly, to be
coined into standard dollars, or used as
the basis of silver certificates. The
people were told that this measure was
fraught with dire disaster, and that the
price of silver itself would 60 down
under the act. On the contrary, our
financial condition has been steadily ad-