Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-08
FREE COINAGE.
The Arguments Against It by "E. X"
Answered.

country sif we should by any chance
have free coinage of silver. We have
been stuffed with the platitudes to this
effect by the "gold bugs and their or
acles, until it does seem that any man
having the capacity to reason could by
this time see how ''thin'' they are, to
saw nothing OF their other features.
Echoing the war cry OF the moneyed
class--enemies Of silver-"E. K.' be-
walls the monometalism of silver which
would follow it's free coinage, leaving the
country loaded down with only q silver
currency, while gold is being driven pell
nell over the mountains and far across
the seas.
+ This is nothing more than rehash of
the stuff to which we were treated, ad
nauseam, to prevent the passage OF the
Bland silver bill Of 1878, and the one OF
August last providing for an increased
| purchase of silver. But what has been
the result OF those two measures? The
Bland silver bill, by which the country
has had at least two millions OF
increase OF circulation, and a subsidiary
coin has been the only relief to tax
ridden people from an almost entire
drainage of money at times from the
avenues of small commercial transac-
tions. And where are the terrible evils
/ that were to result? Don't you remem-
ber that we had the authority OF that
most infallible financial profundity, "my
banker" that we would all go to the
devil if we tolerated silver as a money to
any extent, because it would choke up
! the banks and make them mad, and thus
render them unable and unwilling to
help us, the ordinary people? He told
us. in the language of Mr.. ''E. H." that
| if danger should come from flooding the
land with silver. and gold be boarded, and
thus made hard to get, and hard to hold,
| "Where would the vast army OF borrow
ers be?' (Just here, in parenthesis, did
you ever read piece OF special pleading
| against silver which did not TEEN with q
most feeling solicitude for the poor army
OF borrowers But danger did not
come. the banks were not choked
with silver, but it remains scat
tered among the people in small
sums; and if there was enough to
scare gold little more, and show to its
| hoarders that the army Of borrowers
were we'll enough supplied with some
thing else, the gold hoarder would soon
cease to fear his owl shadow, and would
find that his gold would be safer with
an army of borrowers who had some-
thing to pay interest with, than piled
up in useless mass-an opposing ele-
ment to the good OF the people and the
development OF the country. No evil
consequences have followed favorable
silver legislation; on the contrary, only
good has resulted. Since the passage OF
the present law, August 18th last, mp to
about two months ago, more than $S,.
~ Of oil in nj
| the imports, have been exported from
this country. Notwithstanding the fact
| that we had the same old lot OF rocks to
croak around the cradle Of that law,
that it's passage would be the signal for
us to become the dumping ground of
the silver of the world. 1t would be a
Godsend to the country. ii the predic-
ton had any truth in It. provided our
mints could be set to work coming it
into dollars.
The United States has now about
$3.50, 900 900 OF silver CONS. According
to statement by Senator Teller, made
few months since, France, with a little
more than half our population. has
1900, 900 900 worth of silver in circula-
ton, making her per capita of silver
nearly four times as great as ours, be-
sides gold supply OF about $500, 900, 900.
So in order to reach the position France
now occupies with reference to silver,
we could stand considerable dumping"
of that metal upon us. To put us on a
basis with France, which no one will
say is suffering from an oversupply of
money, or stagnation of business, we
would require at least 81 100, 100000
more of silver than we now have, and
as the worlds average production of
silver for the past fifteen years has been
only about 500, 900, 900 per year, we
could absorb everybody's, including our
own, and keep our mints running
steadily for eleven years before we got
to where France is now. And dur
ing all that time neither France
nor any other of the nations of
| to replenish it's circulation or for the
arts. So where would the dire calamity
come from, and inwhat shape would it
come? By the way have searched the
history OF the world, and listened attent-
lively to the objections of the gold bugs,
| for some authentic account OF nation
| iniuriously affected by too much silver
circulation, but without hearing of any.
Upon what, then, is this senseless
crusade against the coinage Of silver
based, except soldid and selfish ideas of
the too rapidly created nillionaires, that
the power Of handling the resources of
the country to further their own ends
alone, will be in measure lessened.
''E. r." and his friends predicted,
prior to the act OF February %, 1873,
(the Bland billy, as an inevitable result
of the coinage OF two millions OF dollars
per month, a perfect hegira OF all the
gold in this country-then about
$167 900, 900. But what, in fact, has
been the result? Not only did we keep
our little $lB7 ,0OO, 900, but they
grew to over $625, ,O0O, 900, at the
same time our silver was growing from
SGT, 900, 600 to $430, ,0O0, 900 without one
phase OF an lawful" result, except to
the gold bug, who was admonished in
thunder tones last November by the
friends OF silver that it is about time for
him to ''stand from under"
To every Californian does it seem to
me that this question is fraught with
the greatest interest, as with free coin
age Of silver he may see the develop
ment of the vast mineral wealth Of his
state, giving employment to thousands
now idle, and a market for its nproduc-
tions, from . potato to a hundred stamp
mill, JOHN JONES.
Los Angeles. Feb. l. 1891.