Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-05-07
THE FREE Co1SAaE OF SILVER.


Among the arguments against the
free coinage of silver was tile statement
that the immediate effect would be to
drive gold from circulatiols and cause
at first a contraction Of the currency.
Gold no longer used as money in the
United States would eventually find
its way to the countries maintaining
the gold standard, which are always en-
leavoring to increase their gold reser-
YES for the purpose Of maintaining the
standard. In reply to this it was as
sumed that the way in which foreign
gold standard countries would obtain
gold from the United States would be
by exchanging silver for it, and it was
claimed that there was no foreign ma
ton which had any silver it could at
ford to exchange for gold at the rate
fixed by the free coinage law, viz: s75.-
Is grains of pure silver for 1922 grains
Of pure gold. France has been selected
as an example. The only silver France
has, it is said, consists in her five franc
pieces, which are legal tender, at the
rate which causes 359.9l grains of pure
silver to be the equivalent in France of
1922 grains of pure gold. Consequent
ly these coins would not be exported to
the United States where 371.25 grains
of pure silver or 11.34 grains more than
has to be given i'll France for 1922
grains of pure gold. In other words
the proposed free coinage law would
place valuation on silver as compared
with gold three percent less than is put
upon the silver in the five franc pieces
by the legal tender laws of France.
The minis of the latter country are not
now open to the coinage OF silver five
franc pieces, nor have they been since
1878. The pieces in circulation were
coined prior to that date, and are sus-
tanned at par with the gold COINS of
France in the same manner as the sub
sidary silver coinage of England, and
the subsidiary silver coinage and the
standard silver dollars of the United
States, viz: by the Limitation of the
quantity aud power of exchange for
gold in all transactions where gold is
required. This power of exchange for
gold is limited in France by the right
exercised by the Bank of France of pla-
cling premium upon it when the de-
mand for it becomes too great.
But if it be admitted that France or
any other foreign country has no silver
that can be proftably exchanged for
gold in the event Of the passage of a
free coinage bill, this, nevertheless,
does not in the least controvert the
fact that the gold thrown out of use as
currency in the United States will go
where it is in demand for that purpose
not in exchange for silver perhaps,
but to purchase comme; Cities saleabie
and useful in this country. Moreover,
with the operations of free coinage
act, conditions might so change, prices
in the. United States be DO influenced,
that foreign countries DESTROYS of Sc
curing more gold to sustain gold stan
dard, would find it to their interest to
use their silver to purchase property in
the United States which they could
subsequently sell at a profit in gold
sufficiently great to compensate them
for moderate loss on their silver.
How in large international transactions
loss in one direction may be oompen-
stated in another way was we'll told by
Mr.. Edward Atkinson in his interview
with the Coinage Committee OF the
House of representatives. Describing
operations in cotton during the war,
when the currency of the United State
was mnch deprecated, he said:
"The trade was all on a gold basis.
bought a very large amount of cotton
Just towards the end of the war on a
gold credit in England. I toek what
paper money one corporation could con-
troll, turned into gold exchange, and
!AfOooOA ~ I'LL OAlttu OCdCeS DOal0S In
London in gold at As. When the war
ended, which I soon expected, knew
cotton would 60 down from IS to Is
cents or so, and that my corporation
would lose. We therefore, bought India
cotton on several month credit in gold
in England that cost IS cents imported
IN paper; we converted it into cloth.
We were caught by the fall, as we all
were at the end of the war, with big
stock Of goods, and with large stock
OF that imported cotton at Is cents pa
per, on hand. We borrowed capital on
a gold basis in England, and used the
money to buy United States bonds.
They went up from As to IS, and the
cotton went from IS to Is; one hand
washed the other land we were on gold
basis without loss. "-Rhodes' journal.
Antoine Marcelin will chop
grain ait his old place, one mile
south of Olga, ever Wednesday
and Thursday each week.
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