The Iola register., 1891-10-02

free coinage of silver do SO under the
impression that it would result in an
increase of money circulation.
There is q somewhat mythical weap-
on called boomerang which is thrown
with great force and which If it miss
the enemy returns and falls at the feet
(or ON the head) of the owner.
It is almost always the case that
when any set of men, having no bet
ter foundation for their opinion than
their own interests get control of the
law-making power and seek to enact
laws for the benefit of their own class,
to the detriment of all others, such
laws prove in the end to be bonner
angs, being the most dangerous to
those they were intended to benefit.
The free and unlimited coinage of
silver would prove just such a boomer
ang.
The Alliance and Democracy of the
west, including our own Col. Jones,
demand the absolute unlimited free
coinage of silver. Republicans can
well afford to let these two parties
have monopoly Of the advocacy of
of free silver, the sub-treasury and
two per cent loan scheme. In this
brief article I desire to call the atten-
ton of the readers of the REGISTER to
few points which I have not seen
made by Republican speakers.
First. Free coinage of silver will
cause contraction of the currency OF
hundreds of millions of dollars. How?
There is, in the United States, 600 mil
lion dollars of gold coin, Of which
about 200 million Is In the United
States Treasury, and 400 million Is in
circulation.
The commercial countries of Europe
use the single gold standard. Silver
is an article of commerce. One ounce
of silver bullion Is worth in the mar
kets of the world, S1.0O. An ounce of
silver coined into silver dollars would
make 81 80. In the United States one
dollar is as good as any other dollar,
whether it be a Treasury Note, Ma
tional Bank Note, Silver Certificate,
Egold or silver coin. A person holding
one kind of money can convert it with
out cost into any other kind of money
that he may find most suitable to his
purpose.
! have seen statement that there
lis three billion dollars worth of
silver in the world. Whether this is
true or not, no one will doubt that
there Is enough silver bullion in either
France, Germany or England to buy
all the gold we have. If we let down
the bars and permit the holder of for
eign silver to bring us less than so
cents worth of silver and exchange it
for 81 90 in gold, will he do it? If he
does, how much gold will We sell at
that rate? How long before gold will
be at premium equal to the differ
ence between the bullion value and
the coinage value of silver? Gold
would not stop flowing out of the
country until the premium runs so
high that they could not be exported
with profit. Gold being then an ar
ticle of commerce, the circulating
medium of the country would be con-
traoted to the extent of the total gold
then left in the country. There are
many hundreds of millions of dollars
of Indebtedness in which the contract
specifies that both principal and inter-
est shall be paid in gold. There are
mortgages of this kind probably in
every county in Kansas. 1t will be har-
der to pay them when we have to buy
gold at premium to pay even the in
terest. I may admit that the gold
coin Withdrawn by this process might
in time be supplied with silver and in
the course of years even greatly in
creased in volume but have never
known many men who would "bark
their own shins" because it would
feel good when the hurt was oyer.
Second. With free and unlimited
coinage of silver, all imported goods
would advance in price to the extent
of the premium OIL gold. Is not that
true? With gold worth S1.20, coffee
would advance about cents per h.,
tea ten cents, and 80 through the long
list of goods that are not produced in
the United States.
Does it need any argument to con-
vince anyone of these facts? All trade
balances between different countries
are paid by shipments of gold, but if
we had free coinage Of silver all bal
ances in our favor world be paid in
silver. Silver being legal tender we
would be compelled to take it, but
when we wanted 10 buy an article in
foreign market we would have to pay
in gold.
Readers, have made a single state
ment that is not true? Have l drawn
any conclusion that is not justified by
facts?
Free coinage of all the products of
American silver mines would not be
so bad, but even that would be
very'dangerous. However this article
is too long to consider that now.
ALEX.