Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-06-09
THE QUESTION OF SILVER.

The free-coinage man howls 'gold bug"
and Wall street, while Wall street and
the gold standard bearers retaliate with
"Silver ring" and the miners scheme"
SO long as the purpose Of the free-silver
people is, as stated by one of them, Sem
ator Teller (rep). Of Colorado, ''To put
silver bullion to par" SO long must the
anti free-silver men have the best of the
fight.
Teller says owe are talked about as if
we were in favor OF taking 70 cents worth
OF bullion and making it into dollar.
When we have opened our mints there
will be no 70-cent bullion in this country
it will Immediately take ths price Of the
mint Does any body deny that ?'
There are millions who deny it. 1t is
the great point of division. 1t is the
stumbling block over which free-coinage
will always break it's neck. The free
coinage path would be broad easy road
to travel were this obstacle removed.
The market value Of silver bullion to-day
is fixed quality, something about which
there can be no dispute. The "gold
bugs" say this price is due fall in the
value of silver. The ''silver ring" re-
plies no, no, it is only rise in the value
Of gold, brought about by special legisla-
ton. But if it be granted the free
coinageite that the value of silver may
increase somewhat in value under sys-
tenn OF free and unlimited coinage, he can
not tell you exactly how much that in
crease, if any, will be. And right here
the good faith of the whole party of free
silverites is impugned. They are not
willing the free-coinage should begin at
anything like its present market value.
Anything like ratio based upon present
values would prevent the mine owners
from pocketing the increase in value they
expect to result from the free and un-
limited coinage of silver. "Silver money
is as honest as any other money" says
Murat Halstead, so long as it is as good
as the best in purchasing power. There
ought to be free-coinage Of silver, but not
at the present ratio. The ratio surely is
no sacred thing. 1t has been Often
changed, and there never was so great a
demand for change as now.
"We are the great producers of silver.
Instead OF inviting it from Europe, let US
send there for sale our superfuous accu-
mutation. We have been buying silver:
why not sell it? That is the change Of
policy wanted to fetch the conference SO
long and mistakenly and vainly solicited
The conference should haye but one OBJ
ject-that Of the readjustment of the RAJ
ito between silver and gold, so that the
relation might be according to the market
price. Perhaps Is to l would be about
right. Let the conference find the cor
rect figures. Then we should have free
coinage OF gold and silver on the same
terms. Indeed it would follow as a
matter of course"
Did time prove the free-coinage advo-
Gates to be right in their predictions as to
the rise in val-e of silver that would fol-
low upon its free-coinage, the ratio is, IN
deed, no sacred thing; and readjust-
ment could be made, But the advocates
of free-coinage continue to cast suspicion
upon their own case by insisting that
under free-coinage the market value of
silver will Immediately take the price of
the mint.