St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-13
SILVERY S0UNDINGS.
The American Bankers As
ISOLATION Discuss the
White Metal.
w. P. st. John Fires Off an
Argu ment Favoring Free
Coinage.
Proposition to Cease Buying
Bullion and Restore the
Old System.
The Farmers Congress on
SilVo19 Pailp0adc Taypc
The Farmers Congress on
Silver, Railroads, Taxes,
Land and Liquor.

association the silver question had the
right OF way from the start. w. z. st.
John, of New York. paid his respects to
John Jay Knox, because in an inter
view the latter said that the silver
question was dead. and that Cleveland
would be the nominee of the Democrat
&c party. Mr.. st. John argued that the
results OF the recent elections were en-
cOuraging to free silver, and he doubted
if Mr.. Knox, as Republican, was in
the confidence of the Democratic party
as to its nominee. In his paper. Mr..
st. John made the following PROPOSE
ton:
Cease buying silver bullion and re-
store the United States coinage system
founded with the mint in 1872 and only
abrogated in 1875. That is, reopen the
| minis to equally unrestricted coinage
for gold and silver. AS the best method.
allow owners of gold and silver to re-
ceive legal-tender notes at coin value
! instead of coin at their option, the notes
to be redeemed in either coin at treasury
| option, but the secretary to redeem in
bullion, at not less than the coin value
| thereof, on request of note holders: a
moderate coinage 10 be prescribed, all
| the remainder to be coined or not at the
| sccretary'S discretion: all the gold
| and silver bullion and coin resulting to
be held as dollar for dollar metallic re-
! serve Tor EoteS outstanding: all treasury
notes of the act OF 1890, and gold and
silver certificates when received, to be
replaced by the proposed new notes Sc
| cured as provided and redeemable as
| prescribed: the preside mt of the United
States TO be required to proclaim our
| adoption Of the European coinage ratio
for gold and silver when continental
Europe reOpens her mlnts to silver: our
minis thereupOn buying up our silver
dollars then outstanding al q premium
OF three cents each and replacing them
with silver dollars containing 360 grains
pure silver.
BY such q provision of our statutes.
aid without international entangle-
ment, we assure Europe against flight
of our silver dollars for recoinage at
their minis, and assure ourselves against
such contraction Of our current money
whenever Europe reOpens her minis TO
silver. As likely achievements of the
measure if enacted entire. Mr.. ST. John
says: lit would tend to unity the cur
rency by providing single automatic
issue III lieu of any capricious issue of
4
be redeemable In coin, our coin reserve
provided for them being at face amount
of the notes. The bimetalic single
standard dollar of the United States
would for the present be coined of
either 311.25 grains of pure silver or
1922 grains Of pure gold, each prop
erly alleged. The silver dollar would
be reduced and replaced by a dol
lar coin containing $50 grains of
OF continental Eurt pc reopen their
minis to silver. And the supplies of
gold and silver available will always
| determine our volume of money. Mr..
St. John furnished statistics of prOduc-
ton. consumption and coinage OF silver,
showing present annual absorption eX-
ceedlng present annual production, and
the treasury unable to continue obtain
ing the amount now required by law at
the maximum price prescribed. Hence
the act of 1880 will gradually, but irreg-
ularly, advance the price to 81 for 34714
grains. Therefore, free coinage, by fix
ing that as the minimum price at once
and thereby establishing even exchange
between the far East and Europe, will
greatly enlarge China'S and India'S alb
SOrptiOn of silver annually. In cOnse-
Quence, free coinage VIII diminish the
annual silver addition to our currency
compared with thai addition under our
present law, and necessitate Il material
| increase in the worlds production of
silver to meet the demands of trade for
| money.
William c. Cornwall, cashier of the
Bank of Buffalo, read paper of which
the following is synopsis:
This country is practically at sea on
J the currency question. Whether the
outcome will be a collision and disaster
no one can say. The experiences with
continental currency, and more recently
with state bank issues during the
period of wildcat banking, have plant
cd prejudice in the minds of the
American people against any kind of
bank not issues that are not especially
secured. Nevertheless we find in Can
ada currency not SO secure, and
yet absolutely sound. The growth
OF the Canadian system was slow and
/ sure, rising step by step from a
specially secured circulation like that of
our national bank notes to the present
broad and scientific method. There was
no concession to wild or compromising
schemes and the advance was from
good 10 better.
To-day the bank act, comprising 100
clauses. thoroughly regulates the sys-
TEN. In addition to many wise pro-
visions. the note issues are especially
cared for. The result, IN a word, is
this: Every dollar in the Canadian
bank notes has over 50 on the
average and So at the lowest in
security back of it to make
it good. Canadian notes are thus
five to nine times as strong as national
bank notes. The branch system of
banking in Canada distributes the idle
money gathered in one part of the do
minlOn to all parties who can use it, and
makes note issues profitable. AS to
elasticity, the Canadians never know
what it is to go to an Amerl-
can money squeeZer III the autumn.
PanicS for fear of stringency are I'M
known. Every thinking banker knows
that our own currency system is made
quate, unsatisfactory and dangerous. 1t
is time for reconstruction by the most
skilled economical wisdom which we
can call to our aid. Scientific
and completely filling the require
ments of the community is the Cana
dian banking system now in successful
operation in a country very near US
under conditions largely resembling our
own, its arteries stretching over a vast
country and carrying the Iife-blood of
commerce to hamlet and town and
metropolis, building up a great pros
perity among the sturdy people of our
sister nation.
ACTION By FARMERS.
Approval and DisapprovaI of Sew