The morning call., 1891-07-04
-----------===
THE SILVER ISSUE.

A political authority announces that the
issue in the next Presidential campaign will
be on the free coinage of silver. If that is
to be the case 1t is to be hoped that the plat
forms of the two parties will be definite
enough to be understood. AS matters
stand the public are puzzled to know what
free coinage means, and why 1t is advocated
by some and opposed by others. Some of
the editors who write on the subject dis
course as though they would be much
obliged to any one who would explain to
them what they mean.
The idea which some of the State plat
forms desire to impress upon voters is that
they are in favor of more money" They
are loose and vague in expression, but the
point of them is that the low price of farm
products and the dizziness of business are
caused by the scarcity OF money, and that if
more money were coined every one would
prosper, and all would be well. 1t is highly
desirable that the parties which now rather
suggest than assert this should be brought
squarely to book and made to say whether
or no they are in favor of coming all the sill
yer that can be carted to the Mint and ex-
changed for coins at the rate of legal
tender dollar for seventy-fve cents worth
of silver If that is their aim it will be in
teresting to see how large proportion of
the American people are with them in their
droll contention. 1t is generally supposed
that Americans are an educated people,
and that they know the difference between
money and currency. But if a majority of
them are not it is well that the fact should
be known. TO the end that men of business
shall set their houses in order.
We observe that the Eastern press credits
tho of tho lNact rtx,it wis
for free coinage; that is to say, coinage of
money without regard to bullion values.
The assumption is unwarranted. In the
country west of the Missouri Valley, the
silyer-mining interest is large and power
full. 1t controls men and it controls news
papers. II makes a tremendous noise, so
loud that it appears to be the voice Of the
whole Western people. But it is not. a
vast majority of the people OF the West are
not owners of silver mines, and have not the
smallest notion of parting with their prop
erty or their labor for currency which is
deprecated. They realize that what is
called free coinage would ultimately lead to
such depreciation in silver currency, and
such scarcity OF gold currency and paper
currency redeemabe in gold. that the real
money price of a bushel Of wheat or days
labor might not be over two-thirdS of what
it is. They have not the least intention of
lowering the value of their products or
their labor in order to enrich the owners of
mines in Nevada, Colorado, or Montana.
They were not ayerse to trying the exper-
iment of requiring the Mint to buy and
coin pretty nearly all the silver produced in
the country. 1t was said that the measure
would restore the old parity between gold
and silver, and above all would make money
plentiful. and enable the farmer to get
more for his crop. The law has been sew
eral months in operation, and the silver
ounce IS selling at 81 OF. and wheat, in the
face of a short crop in Europe, is hardly
worth % cents at Chicago. Perhaps the law
has not been fully tested. No one objects TO
giving it further trial. But the list of
those who are beginning TO think that en-
larged coinage will operate as the cedulas
did in Argentine is growing larger.
Senator Stewart is rendering the Coast
questionable service in delivering his silver
discourses in New York. Nobody is con-
WINGED by what he says, and while persons
in this State realize that he only speaks for
a small knot of silver producers in Nevada,
persons in the East hold the entire Coast re-
sponsible for his utterances. II is said of
the Senator that, on some past occasion
when he was in a brown study. his name
was called by the Clerk of tile Senate, and
he was nudged by his neighhor and reminded
that he must vote. He pu,~d himself
together, and forgetting where lie was, cried
out, 81 pass" 1t might moi. be n bad idea
for him to pass now