St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-28
A REMARKABLE TALK,
Eloquent Address in Advo-
eaey Of Free Coinage by
a Banker.
The President of 8 New York
National Bank Surprises
Chicago Men.
BANDS Bill a Mere Proposal
to Return to Early None
tary System.
Strong Presentation Of Argu-
mentS, Facts and Finan-
cial Statistics.

CHICAGO, Feb. GA notable affair
socially, and likely to prove memorable
in political and financial circles, was
the annual dinner of the Chicago Bank
erS' club tonight at Kinsley's. An even
three score of guests, including not
few of the leaders in Western monetary
affairs, were present. The feature of
the occasion was a remarkable address
In advocacy of the free coinage of sill
yer, the speaker being President Will
lam 2. st. John, of the Mercantile Ma
tional Bank of New York.
However much or little the distin-
guished audience were Influenced in
their personal views by President st.
Johns utterances, the hearty applause
that was accorded left him no doubt as
TO their appreciation of his eloquence-
q quality which they seemed to enjoy
with the more keenness from its known
rarity among representatives of their
class.
MIR. st. John was gracefully intro
duced by Vice President John C. Black,
of the Continental National bank. of
Chicago, who presided and acted as
11CC dIO llCC Oil
yer, Mr.. St. John said, are the common
but misleading terms for
a Mere Proposal
to restore the coinage system of the
United States founded under Washing
ton, as advised by Alexander Hamilton,
recommended by Thomas Jefferson, and
ratified subsequently by Andrew Jack
son. That old system of equally unre-
stricted coinage for gold and silver,
which it is now proposed to reinstate,
was maintained continuously for eighty
one years, until oyerthrown unnotice-
ably in 1878. And yet no objections now
are too paradoXical to hail from one and
the same antagonist of silver coinage.
1.-The same man will denounce 1t as a
scheme of mine owners to enhance the
value of silver, and yet swindle of
pensioners by reducing the value of the
legal tender silver dollar; and then
futile endeavOr to reduce the value of
money by enlarglng its volume; futile
because the enactment will Danish
gold, but, nevertheless, a reputation
of thirty cents on the dollar of all debts
to benefit the debtor class" Mr.. st.
conditions of continental Europe, as
showing their need of silver and the
worlds
Insufficiency of Gold
If Europe should desire to discard her
silver. Europe's only silver, he said, is
her coined money. 1t is equally her
legal tender as her gold. Therefore
Europeans would get nothing more
available as money at home in dollar
for dollar exchange of their silver coin
for gold.
Continuing, he said: "The Bank of
France reserves Its stock of silver, like
Its stock of gold, as the unlimited law
tul money of France, irrespective of
bullion value. AS such it will liquidate
that banks vast liabilities at par.
Therefore our reopened minis could not
attack it at discount. The minimum
discount would be 500 per cent. Her
old coin would lose per cent in dol
lar for dollar exchange at our minis.
That chartered bank could not recon
her $3.50, 000,000 of silver here, which is
servlceable at home, to redeem her
E6O0 100000 OF circulating notes at par,
unless her shareholders would sanction
Its surrender at discount. A discount
of per cent would mean a sacrifice on
the account of 100000 in such a
valueless exchange" Mr.. ST. John
furnished figures of the worlds con-
sumption of silver at present, which.
including our treasury absorption.
would appear to be in excess of the
worlds present production or silver.
The
Available Supplies
in London, San Francisco and New
York, he said, are reduced from over
100000 ounces to less than II. 100000
ounces as the result, to date, of the
hrst eighteen months operation of our
silver purchase law of 1890. In the
wheat market, such situation would
boom the price and permanently. He
remarked that this present excess of
consumption over the production of
silver is i'll spite of fluctuations in the
price which reduced lndia's absorption
by over S17.000,000 worth of silver dur
Ing nine months.
The speaker urged that the proposed
fiXity of price for silver at our great
minis would so enlarge Indias absorb
ton as to assure the permanency of our
law successfully. For with one dollar
obtainable for 4l2115 grains of standard
silver in any amount offered at our
minis, no one could obtain silver at
lower price elsewhere. Our vast and
increasing domestic trade use of money
would furnish employment for all the
dollars of gold and silver emitted from
the minis, in coin OF by paper substi-
tute, and the parity of bullion value for
our gold and silver dollars would be
accomplished and maintained there
by III the markets of the world.
Shortage of Gold.
Mr.. st. John submitted statistics
showing, according to him, the mad
equacy of the worlds supply of gold
for money. He cited the United States
supreme court decisions of 1870 and
1854. which, he said, confirm the power
OF congress TO create and issue money.
and assume that congress will not here
after employ banks at bank profit to
issue substitutes for money. He in
stanced what he described at the popu-
lar determination that the volume of
money in the United States shall not
depend hereafter, as frequently hereto
fore, on the accruing of profit to banks
upon bank issue of circulating notes.
Hence, said he, the two alternatives
between which conservatives are
to choose are, first, the reopening of the
minis to equally free coinage for gold
and silver, the coin to circulate by paper
substitute when preferred; and, second,
the lndeterminate issues of treasury
paper that must be irredeemable If gold
Is the only acceptable primary money.
1.-THE proposed reopening of the minis
to gold and silver alike,' said Mr.. st.
John, in conclusion, "besides maintain
ing the parity Of bullion value Of our
dollars, will provide an automatic issue
OF money limited by the mints' product
OF hard labor. The sole alternative sug-