The morning call., 1891-01-17
THE SILVER OUTLOOK.

A New York paper which, in an especial
sense, represents Wall street reports a
prominent bank President as saying: If
Congress makes 20 cents of silver into
lO0-cent legal-tender dollar we shall have
great initiation and financial crash" The
silver men claim that there will be neither
imitation nor crash. They expect the COM
mercial value of the gold dollar and of the
silver dollar will come together by mutual
movement A law making the silver dollar
a full legal tender will make silver the dollar
of general use. Goods will be sold for sill
yer, labor will be paid in silvei, houses Will
be rented for silver, except in cases where
payment in gold is specified in leases. and
all the everyday business of life will be
transacted on a silver basis. But goods
bought abroad in gold standard countries
will, as now, be paid for in gold. Congress
has no power to make an English or Ger
man creditor accept silver dollar in pay
ment of debt or for cash sale of goods. Gold
viii have to be purchased for this and sim
liar purposes. a question will arise as to
the good faith in paving United States bonds
in silver. Many of these bonds have been
purchased athigh prices on the understand
ing that payment should be made in gold.
1t will be urged, and with considerable
force, that pay llCuL VI GHtSo JULIUS III ol4NCl
would be an act of bad faith. 1t is case
where the letter of the law is on one side
and common equities on the other.
The silver law of 1878 made all the bonds
payable in silver or gold. The action of the
Treasury Department during eighteen years
in paying bonds in gold warrants the expecta-
ton on the part of. holders, both native and
| foreign, that bondS will in the future, as in
fl,s,f ho .ofA IN, y.yill
disappear when the market value of silver
rises to a level with that of gold. When we
remember that the enactment of the exist
ing law caused silver to advance to 81 20 an
ounce. its equality with gold being 81 %, it
does not seem improbable that free coinage
Will raise it to equality. 1t is true silver did
not long remain at the highest point, but the
advance indicates the influence of favorable
legislation. 1t is not at all improbable that
within year the gold dollar and the silver
dollar will be interchangeable. This Will
happen when silver bullion is worth 81 % an
ounce. If European countries, which are
believed to favor the double standard, will
respond to the action OF the United States
there is no reasonable doubt of the result.
Silver will appreciate in consequence of the
greater demand for it and gold Will deprecI-
ate in consequence of the lesser demand for
it. There will be the money of the two
metals 10 DO the work that has been done by
the money of one 1t is not well to pay too
much attention to Wall street. Money
lenders want to make money scarce. They
profit by an increase in Its purchasing
power They lend money to the amount of
one-half or two-thirds the value of property
and find profit in the shrinkage of prop
erty to the amount of their loans. Juries
are not composed Of men who have a prop
erty interest in the result of trial. Neither
should we accept the opinions of men on
questions Of craftsmanship who have more
than a citizens interest in the adoption of
proposed policies