The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-01
THE ARGUMENT AGAINST FREE
SILVER.

grains Of silver. worth At the present time
in the markets of the world about Sc cents.
The present Law limits the issue Of silver
money to treasury notes based on 81, 500 600
ounces of silver purchased every month by
the secretary Of the treasury.
The Bland bill removes this restriction,
and all the holders and all the miners of
silver bullion Throughout. the world are
offered large premium 20 dump their sill
yer At the doors Of the government treas
ury. The argument for free silver is OF
course plea for imitation and for
cheaper dollar. The present one dollar
silver note issued by the treasury repre-
sents not 37lH grains of silver, worth
about IS cents, but 100 cents worth Of
silver bullion purchased in the open mar
ket, on which the note is based For this
100-cent dollar Mr. Bland would substitute
the 6s-cent dollar.
Mr.. Bland defines his purpose in this
bill as simply putting silver on an equal
ity with gold, nothing more. nothing
less" Mr.. Bland has forgotten that any
body can call spirits from the Vastly deep;
the practical question is. will they Gomez
The United States government, when il
undertakes to coin 6S-cent dollars free OF
charge and in unlimited quantity, and
to keep such q dollar in circulation side
by side with the present gold dollar, can
not succeed, because the cheaper money
in free coinage always drives at last the
dearer money out of circulation.
Between 1852 and 1873 the power. credi:
and resources OF the United States gov
eminent could no. keep our greenbaek
dollars and coin from parting company.
The same law would be sure TO assert
itself if the Band bill was enacted.
Congressman Henry Cabo. Lodge. who
made the ablest speech, as acknowledged
on all hands, during the recent debate
over the Bland bill, spoke IS follows con-
corning the historical fact that the over
valued metal always drives out the under
valued metal and that irredeemable paper
Of course drives out both.
Hamiiton's famous report established O cor
rect rxtio o. Is ID / Then silver relatively to
gold began 10 ehs2p@n- Early in the present
century gold WAS worth 8 per cant more a. 10
silver than the value stamped on the coin
Grcsham's law began to work and gold began 10
disappear.
In lsi4 the gold eoin.se Of the United States
mint was s77.ooo; in ISIS il was $500; in 1916
nothing. By 1879 gold had disappeared The
difference b-Swesn the metals was slight and
the Law worked slowly but none the less surely.
Many Suggestions and much discussion ersued
in congress, and at last, in 1884. an act was
passed changing the ratio.
The of ls4 fixed tire ratio be-EAeu the
metals 81 Is TO /. This reversed existing condi-
tons and oye--velued gold The law worked,
and By $50 tie silver dollar had disappeared.
From Is4i 70 ISL ;ts average worlds production
OF gold vas d, 90 90, and Of silver Si,ooooo.
nearly equal amount
Thsn cane the great discoveries of gold in
Australia aad California, and the product Of
god r1sAed ahea9 Of sllver, thus increasing the
SvervslUssioa of gold SO much that even on,
Subsidiary coir began 70 disappear and al &C:
v.s passed IN iS53to prevent this Inconvenience.
Cnsl the war we had gold alone and the silver
dollar vss unknown Then came the legal
tender acts. an ir-edeemsble paper currency,
and gold followed silver, the law working this
tine with trightful rapidify. / give these fg-
ures merely a. Illustrations OF the certain work
ing of Greshsr-s's law. and also TO prove hat
there is nothing peculiar about our siTu.tion 10
exempt Us from the operation of natural lsws.
The reason why silver coinage Of late
years has not driven out our gold is be-
cause We have not had free coinage, and
the country, By its natural growth, has
been able 10 absorb in its advancing BUSH
ness the monthly increase of silver, and
we have thus far. with limited coinage,
been able to maintain the silver dollar at
par. because We have been able, and every
body hss known that We were able, 10 give
gold for a silver dollar as much as for q
greenback or for gold certificate "But, +"
says Mr.. Lodge, IF this bill should be-
come = law. gold would Immediately dis
appear because there would then be free
competition between the overvalued and
undervalQei metal Il would not sll go
out OF the county, of course, but it would
disappear in = very few days. for the SIM
pie reason that people would hoard gold
either because they expected to export it
at profit or because they were frightened
and wished to keep It."
The first effect of free coinage would
be an immediate and most severe con-
traction Of the currency consequent upon
the sudden withdrawal Of gold. Then q
period of imitation would set in when the
worlds vast stock of silver began to pour
in here for profitable coinage. The friends
of free silver reiterate the faliacious ar
gument, denounced both by Andrew
Jackson snd Daniel Webster, that the
free coinage of deprecated dollar would
benefit the people because il would help
the debtor class TO pay their debts at .
| heavy discount.
This Is q del1sion. The wage-earning
classes, which make up the mass of our
people. are the creditor class, while the
capitalists and business men are the Dor.
rowing classes. OF course there are many
farmers and waSe-earners who have Dor
rowed money, usually on mortgage. but
broadly speaking Mr.. Lodge is unques-
tionably right when he says in regard TO
the grea. body Of the people that the
waee-earners are creditors. and capitalists.
corporations ami business men are bo--
rowers. Men and women who work for
wages are creditors ct the end Of every
month, OF every week. and of every day.
The small savings Of wsEe-earners, accu-
INFLATED in banks, are borrowed by capt.
talists, and so every thrifty saving wage
worker becomes = creditor again after he
has received his pay and loaned his say
faEs.
The great n ass Of the debts Of this coun-
try are owed by railroads, by corporations
of every kind, ny capitalists and BY all
men engaged in the promotion Of great
business enterprises. Establish free coin
age of silver IN this country today and IS