The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-11-21
THE coNGEEss AT DENVER.

y mining congress" is in session at
Denver with $50 delegates present. 1t was
addressed on Wednesday by the irrepres-
sble Senator Stewart of Nevada and on
Thursday by Judge Niles Searls of this
State, who was elected presiding officer Of
the body. Both speakers declared them
selves to be emphatically in favor of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver. and
were arplauded as though they had ex
pressed decided opinion on a contIoverted
question.
There is no objection anywhere TO the
free and unlimited coinage Of silver nro-
vided the coins are to pass current for no
more than the silver contained in them is
worth on the day they are coined, plus the
10 per cent allowed for anoy-say at about
10 cents on the dollar. But there is a very
strong objection on the part of people who
are not interested in the production of silver
to an alteration in the law which would
enable silver miners to sell their product to
the mint at SO per cent above its market
value, the loss to be borne by the people at
large.
The law as it stands provides that the
Government shall buy Substantially the
whole product of the silver mines and shall
pay Tor it in new Treasury notes at the cur
rent market price of silver. The law was
passed at the instance of the silver miners
and OF parties who regarded it as a measure
OF imitation. 1t has not produced the evil
effects which were predicted by Eastern
hnanciers. 1t has not led 10 a depreciation
IN the gold value of silver nor has it caused
a boarding OF gold, but this has beendue
10 the general conviction that the Con-
gress of the United States could be relied
upon not to put aflOat in time of perfect
peace unlimited issues of deprecated
money. II no limit were set to the pur-
chases and coinage of silver it Is uncertain
what would occur. A limit being set people
have seen no reason for alarm and have
been content to accept fine coins worth in
trinsically 81 in exchange for a S. gold
coin or for So worth Of any kind of prop-
erty. They have not felt il necessary to
go back of the stamp on the standard dol
lar.
When Messrs. Stewart and Searls de-
mand the free and unlimited coinage Of sill
yer they wish their hearers to believe that
they are in favor Of giving the silver miner
out OF the public purse 0ne-third more for
his product than he is now getting. They
will never get the public to consent to that.
The Sub-Treasury plan which the Kansas
farmers Invented was a legitimate deduc-
ton from their theory. How that strikes
the public may be inferred from the wav
in which 1t has been rejected by every con-
yention in which it has BEEN proposed. Yet
ii the silver miner is to get out of the public
purse dona ton of % cents for every ounce
OF silver he produces, why should not the
farmer get present of quarter of dollar
for every bushel of potatoes which he grows !?
1t would not be worth while to recapitu-
late such commonplaces as these were it not
that in the East Senator Stewart is often
supposed to speak fol this Coast, and now
Judge Searls may be suspected of voicing
the opinion Of this State. 1t will be only
fair to the latter to wait for the text of his
remarks before passing judgment upon
him. He may have qualified his utterances
in favor of free coinage. However this
may be, TIE East can rely upon it that Cali
fornia will set its face like flint against
anything which looks like depreciation of
the currency, or n revival of greenbackery
in any shape. This State produces some
silver, perhaps three millions worth per
year. and the silver mines Of Nevada are
owned here. But due regard to our
other resources and a proper respect for
financial axioms insure our adherence to
sound principle on the silver question, and
any citizen who airs different views misrep-
reSents the temper of this community