Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-02-15
Mr.. BLAND'S REPORT
Substance of the New
Silver Bill. .
THE CLAIMS OF OPPONENTS
America Will Not Become the Dump
kA ing Ground for Foreign Silver.

wAsHINGToS. Feb. l5.-The report Of
the majority of the committee on coinage,
weights and measures. recommending the
passage of the Bland free coinage bill,
was presented 10 the house today by Mr..
Bland.
The report il long md carefully pre-
pared. IL discusses the various objections
made against free coinage, showing where,
in the opinion OF the majority. those OBJ
jections are ill-founded, and how free coin
age of silver would greatly benefit this
country, and especially the producers.
After explaining the provisions OF the bill
the report refers to the warning that free
coinage would cause shiploads Of silver
from other countries to be brought here
and dumped at our mints In exchange for
our gold
The report declares that the shiploads OF
silver brought to our mnts by the
foreigner would, under the proposed law,
ba coined into standard dollars, and these
dollars returned to him. but he must not
90 to our treasury and demand gold Tor
them Nor could he compel one OF our
citizens to swap gold dollar for silver
dollar. Should the foreigner take coin
Iotes for bullion, he can take his coin note
to the treasury and demand redemption.
but the secretary Of the treasury could
hand him back the coin struck from his
shipload of bullion. The foreigner then
would ascertain that lie had
Committed N Blunder
in bringing silver to our mints when il is
worth cents on the dollar less that il was
At home He must then invest his money
here, or 20 home with IT, He could not
buy gold with 1t. or gold exchange, unless
gold and silver were at par; In this case
there could be no reason for preferring the
one metal to the other.
II gold went to n premium he would
, have to pay the premium on his exchange,
thus entailing additional loss in his enter
prise of sending US shiploads Of silver. II
he invests his money in our property and
business enterprises it will stimulate in
dustries awaken enterprises and give us a
healthy business and sound currency.
Every sbipload OF silver brought here aud
invested would bring unexampled pros.
perty tn this country while panics would
occur In the Old World. Business there
would be paralyzed for want" money, This
would force shipl oads Of people To this
country from abroad in search Of their
lost shiploads of money. The nations of
the Old World, however, are aware OF this
and would see to il that no such thing oc-
Cured The report then quotes from
Secretary WINDOWS report for 1850, in
which he took the position that no danger
need be appreheaded Ola
Flood of European silver.
The secretary said there was no known
accumulation OF silver bullion anywhere
in the world, and the stock Of silver coin
in Europe was needed for business pur-
poses.
The majority report says that the con-
spiracy formed in the Old World, and sue
cessfully carried through there and here,
was aimed to confne the debt-paying me-
diums of the nations concerned TO the
single metal gold. Gold was decreed to
rapidly rise in value, thus adding 80 per
cent. to the value Of credits and enormously
depressing the value of labor and the
products OF labor. The promoters Of this
conspiracy and the beneiciarics, says the
report. know that when this great govern
ment throws its weight In the silver bal
asce the world will again be restored to
full faith and confidence in the future
safety OF our silver as the money of the
world. The old parity Of the two metals
will return.
The report refers TO the statement that
we give the miners at our mint 81 for bull
lion that costs only Al cents. and remarks
that we often in the gol miners pro-
duct that cost but - into money amount
ing to 500 But, the report maintains,
there is
Absolutely No Reliable Data
to estimate the ost that the mining of our
precious metals has, one way or another,
cntailod Regarding the assertion that, In
case free coinage is brought about, our
gold will fee this country at once, con.
tracing our currency To the amount of
1856, 600 900, the report states that official
re rorts show n total Of gold In treasury
and In banks Of only 1915, 402, ,554, while the
remainder of the estimate of s,s6 000, 900 IL
mere guess work.
The report declares that "a return to the
coinage Of both metals on equal terms
may cause some apprehension and proba-
blya disposition to hoard gold. Yet IL
says that any evils that may result must
be transitory. The report declares that
to restore silver now would not make the
radical change that was effected In our
currency laws by the act demonetizing IL.
We have coined, IL says, over 40o,0o0,000
silver dollars, and have besides over
$4,000 600 OF silver bullion and are now
purchasing 4, 800 900 ounces every month,
or $4,000, 900 annually. Our approach to
free coinage has been steady and per-
sistent. We are now suffering all
the evils alleged against free coin
age by its opponents without the
realization OF many ~ the benefits of free
coinage claimed by its friends The stocks
Of coined silver would add to the worlds
money,
Would Cheaper Gold
and would render IL less burlensome to
meet gold contracts than now Gold
would be invested rather than boarded.
The report takes up the question Of the
relation of the silver question to India to
show that silver demonetization operates
ns a bonus on Indian exports to our disad-
vantage IL states that countries having
the standard silver dollar avoid, IA far as
possible, liquid....ng fnr,iVn debts In
money because silver ~, compared with
gold, deprecated. India, instead OF send
ing silver to pay foreign balances. sends
wheat and cotton and other exports which
have not lost their value In her currency.
This works ~ an indirect bonus upon all
such exports from silver standard coun-
tries. In this country were are tied 10 n
single gold standard; consequently when
gold goes up. as compared 10 silver, the
lower fnrmers' wheat, cotton and other
exporis ,u rice.
1Le la.... at silver country WHO sells