The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-09-29
BASED UPON FALSE PREMISES.
President St. John, of the Mercantile
National Bank, Replies to Mr.. Knox.

presents a SlSI0u COIIllIluLICdUIO1 CoP
toned Free Coinage and it's Results
as Viewed by One of New YorkS Lead
ing Financiers."
| beg to direct attention to a single
| averment thereof as a PRONUNCIATION OF
| error as vicious as though it were ma
HciOus in the present crisis of our none
| tary system. Assumed to be authOrl-
tative it might we'll account for absurd
timiditieS vehemently urged upon this
| busy community in ignorance Of the
| truth, or possibly, of late, for partisan
political effect. In this later view it
| would seem to commend to poll
ticians an imitation of Andrew Jack
| sons confident dependence upon the
intuition Of the common people" IN
sturdy rejection of the misleading Of
our leading financiers.n
The author of the said COmmunica-
ton is now the president Of one Of New
York's prominent banks, and was for
| twenty years or Whereabouts the Comp
trOller Of the Currency of the United
| States. Reporting the stock of silver
| in the Bank of France as amounting to
$3.50, 600, 600 (at present $245, 838, OOO),
but a~bstaining from any mention of
it's stock of gold, now $268, 655, 900, he
AYERS as though it were true, that lit
holds it's silver at a loss of $50, 600, 900,
| and other European banks all hold
large amounts of silver at great loss,
which was purchased many years ago"
Assuming both statements to be ac-
copied, he thereupOn prOclaims that
If the advocates of free coinage are
correct in their theory" which he does
not state intelligently), then the
banks of Europe will have the oppor-
| 1919 ~, ~11IvO,, OIIr0r,aOI - v-D111N
gradually to transfer their silver hOa' DIS
from their own vaults to the vaults of
our treasury and reCOup large portion
| of their loss"
THEIR SILVER IS PRIMARY MONEY.
For answer, let it be observed that
EurOpe's stock of silver is not bullion
to fuctuate in value with the market
price of silver. Except for the incOn-
siderable sun Of subsidiary coin held
for counter change, the sum Of silver
in the Bank of France and other Euro
pean banks is their full legal tender
siIver-their absolute primary money,
needing no redemption in any other
money. AS such the Bank of France
may and does employ it's stock of sill
yer, as it employs It's stock of gold, to
redeem its circulating notes at par. In
which view the Bank Of France is no
morn concerned about the bullion value
of its full legal tender silver than the
Bank of New York is concerned about
the paper value Of the United States
Treasury notes.
And this important sum of silver has
not been "purchased" by the Bank of
France at any time, remote or near. 1t
has been accumulated in the course of
business to constitute, together with
its gold coin. the quick cash reserves
which that bank maintains as assur-
ance to the public that it can and will
redeem on demand it's circulating
notes. and Iiquidate as much as may
be asked of all others Of it's vast liza
bilities. This is no less true of Ger
many's $1O7, 600, GEO worth of full legal
tender silver thalers. of which the I'm
perial Bank at present holds about
SIS, 600, 600, together with abont $3.50,
000, 600 of gold, as jointly constituting
that banks quick cash reserves.
VALUE OF OUR DOLLAR.
Next observe that EurOpe's full legal
tender silver coin is atiOat as her abSO-
lutte money at the valuation at which
it was emitted from the minis, viz,
at lis Of silver as the coin equivalent
of l of gold. The United States coin
equivalents newt Our minis shall be
re-Opened as propOsed-are at Is. 9SS to
/. If, therefore, we take our gold dol
lar as the unit of comparison, EurOpe'S
silver money would yield $50. 81 grains
as against u mint requirement of
of 371.25 grains of pure silver, for our
1922 grains of pure gold. Therefore,
any owner Of EurOpe's full legal tender
silver money, determined to exchange
it at u re-Opened minis, must needs
procure and tender 11.34 grains addi-
tiOnal silver with every 100 cents of his
full legal tender silver coin.
Thus at 81 for 3714 grains here and
81 for 1881 grains at home, or $1.29
per ounce of 4S0 grains here as against
$1.33 per ounce of 4SO grains there, all
owners of EurOpe's silver, absolute
money at home at par with gold, must
contemplate a loss of over 3 per cent.
and all the transit costs, together with
any prospective premium on gold if
they would exchange their primary
money silver for our gold. On u
Mint Directors estimate of 81, 100, OOO,-
900 of EurOpe's fulllegal tender, which
would thus recon into only 81, O67,-
600. 600 of our silver dollars, their loss
in contemplation would exceed 1913.
600, 600 and the transportation charges.
beside whatever premium might be
exacted in the bargain with owners of
our gold. Then, the sum of gold OBJ
tanned by them so dearly would be no
more available in their pockets and
bank Golfers than was the Identical
sum of their silver money on which
they lost so heavily in the exchange.
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM.
On this account, and because Europe
owns no appreciable stock of silver but
her money. it would. be wild to dread
the threat of Europe's silver to flood
our reopened minis.
With the aforesaid almost inconceiv-