Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-06-20

III nIuule leDOeSSee.
"If the government should coin a
billion dollars of silver a day free for
Western mine owners, or to stack
up in its own, treasury, how would it
hurt the farmers? 1t neither eats nor
drinks, and I'VE fail to see where it
would injure in any way the farming
and laboring interests"
"If there were billions coined free
and none of it got into circulation,
how would the farmer suffer that
has nothing to sell, and will not prob
ably come into contact with it? We
would like to be enlighted, for at
present we are utterly unable to even
imagine such result from the free
coinage of silver"
"The principal reason that this
money is idle is because its owners
are not willing to part with it on rea-
sOnable terms, such as those who are
willing to use it can afford. Reason
able security could be given and the
entire amount placed in circulation
If the capitalist would content him
self with just toll, but they hold it
for some combination that will yield
them fifty or one hundred per cent,
and at the same time guarantee them
absolute safety"
We clip the above items from the
replies Of our neighbor, the New Era,
to an editorial in the STANDARD OF
last week regarding the free coinage
craze. We have published through
these columns during the last four OF
five months a number of opinions and
arguments from able financiers show
ing how and why free and unlimited
coinage of silver will injure the farm
ing and laboring classes, by driving
gold out of circulation, and thus viO'
lently contract the volume of curren
cy, instead of expanding it, as the
advocates of the measure claim
Free and unlimited coinage of silver
will depreciate the value of thi,
money to its intrinsic worth, and the
laborer is not at all likely to get ar
advance in his wages to balance thu
decreased purchasing power of thC
money he will be paid in. While
capital is frequently very oppressive
, any unsettling of the financial system
of the country only tends to intensif!
the oppression. Free coinage would
create a disturbance in our monetar!
matters from which the countr!
would not recover for years, and tn
farmers, laborers and poorer classe
would be the greatest sufferers.
The Era complains that the owner
, of money are not willing to part witt
it on reasonable terms, REASONABLE
, security, just toll, etc., 'but the,
, hold it for some combination tina
: will yield them fifty or one hundre,
per cent" The Era for the last fey
weeks has been laying great stres
; upon the policy Of reasoning wit
= the farmers and dissatisfied classes
The Era ought to take some of il
| own medicine, and be a little NOR
: reasonable and temperate in its e1
pressions of opinion regarding none
( and its owners. The farmer an
= laborer will not be benefited in til
: least by creating prejudice in h
p mind against capitalists and bank
s The Era seems to be laboring undt
0 the delusiOn that every man VIII
has been successful in accumulatin
+ money has thereby become the natu
o al enemy of the farmer or man VIII
/ has to borrow. We do not kno
< what the Era's ideas of "reasonab
) securityn are, but judging from i
IL expressed opinions on financial ma
: tiers in general, they must be ratht
Il loose ones, and very unsound ones
u bank upon. AS to ''just TOLL" none
II can be had in abundance at rat,
y ranging all the way from four to te
d per cent per annum, and certain Ne
York banks have offered to carry Il
q Governments bonds at two per cen
It But the man who has money to ler
n wants gilt-edge security, and he &c
J. tainly cannot be blamed for thi