The morning call., 1892-01-09
The SILVER QUESTION.
An Address Issued By the National EXecu.
tive Silver Committee.

| MAI SOlutIOH OF the money question OUT by
re-endowIng silver with the money function
and making silver coins standard money
| cOequal with gold tor all money uses. The
! present policy Of making subsidiary money
| OF silver, to be redeemed In gold, and of
/ ping higher the fabric Of credit and credit
money on the constantly diminishing basis
| of gold. is unsOund and unsafe and must
ID. The enormous increase in bank credits
| and other forms of credit currency in recent
! years, relatively to the volume of gold in
| which they must ultimately be redeemed,
! imperils financial stability everywhere and
| is a standing menace to all business enter
J prise for panics must occur more certainly
! and frequently and be more disastrous.
MORE MONEY NEEDED.
What Is wanted is more standard money
relatively to credit and credit currency, a
! broader basis of primary money and not a
/ higher superstructure of credit devices.
! This can be secured only by making silver
/ and gold cOequal as money metals with
! the coinage of both on equal terms. The
! act of July Ii, 1890, as interpreted by the
! Treasury Department, under which 4, 800
! GOO ounces Of silver are bought and stored as
! collateral security for notes redeemabe in
| gold makes no addition TO standard money
! while il raises higher the fabric Of credit on
| a foundation growing narrower. This ad-
| ditOn to the currency volume might as
/ II
! gwen it. IL requires, therefore, no eXtraor-
! binary financial aCumen TO fOresee that this
! condition cannot long be maintained.
| SOLUTION OF THE DIFFICULTY
| A plain solution of the difficulty is the
! fun m0netizatiOn OF the silver accumulated
| under the act 10 the end that this and all
! silver that anybody may choose to devote to
monetary use may go to swell the volume of
| money Of final redemption for all other
! terms Of currency. Tie facts upon which
/ tho bime tallists base their conclusions are
| indisputable The arguments by which
! they are established are unanswerable The
| facts are: That the supply Of gold is ad-
mitedly inadequate to provide for the
/ worlds needs OF money; that many times
| more people are made TO use gold eXclu-
slvely as the standard money than in 1873;
! the production Of gold IS diminishing
| while the population, wealth, commerce an d
/ consumption of gold in the arts is rapidly
| increasing, the Increase in the demand
for the arts and dentistry in the United
! States alone being sufficient TO absorb, &C
| COTding 10 the report OF the Director Of the
! Mint in ten years more than the entire gold
| product of this country That the value of
| gold under these influences is largely in
| creased, and must continue to increase, aud
! prices as certainly continue to fail is mani
| TEST.
| THE SINGLE STANDARD DELUSION.
| What fraudulent pretense in view Of
these facts is it to insist that god alone is
| the staple or honest money standard, or In
view Of the glazing facts TO deny that the
! change In the money standard through the
| Increase In the value Of gold Is the direct
| and necessary consequence OF the demOu-
citing Of silver and restricting the money
| function u gold alone. What else than
| foolish homage to knaYeTy Is tile babble
| about honest money" and short dollars
| Which constitutes so large a part of the
stock answers TO the demand for free Of
metallic coinage? Nothing Is more absurd
| or ridiculous than 10 claim that a ShRpeess
! lump of silver % which the monetary use is
! deu'd measures the value of silver coins
! which have monetary use added TO what
! ever other use silver may be apDll ed Gold
! treated as silver mas been would act in the
same way.
BENEFITS OF BIMETALLIsM.
II since 1873 both metals had been Access
/ sibe for money uses, as for indefinite ages
! before, the annual addition TO the metallic
stock of money for the world would have
/ been somewhat less than from 1919 to 1878,
| but would probably have been sufficient 10
! have maintained a reasonable stability in
| the value of standard money. So now,
/ while it is certain that gold Will continue TO
/ increase IA value, and prices measured by
/ gold continue 10 fall, II Is reasonably GER
! tain that the supply Of both metals will be
! sufficient to maintain fairly stable relations
! between money and cOmmOditi es and thus
! sOrely lacked since 1873 The bugaboo OF
/ foreign silver coming here no longer alarms
! intelligent men. Under free coinage, silver
/ would be 81 "a an ounce here; 1t IS 81 IS IN
/ India and with open minis Mould be ST 80
! in the states of the Latin Union which is the
! value Of all the coined silver of Europe.
FOREIGN DEMAND FOR SILVER.
The requirements Of England and the Con-
! tinent for silver to pay balances TO the East
would not be materially changed whether
! the profit of the difference between 90 cents
! and 81 IS were made on silver sent there, OF
! only the difference between 81 % and 81 SO.
/ India absorbed quite as much silver IN the
| years before the fall OF silver here as since
| then, and will continue to absorb both gold
| and silver. But whether our silver goes
! abroad at % cents or 81 % Is quite material
| to this country, not only from the direct
loss TO this country on the exported silver,
| but In the far greater loss sustained on the
! price of wheat, cotton and their manutac-
| tured products which have and will follow
! closely the rise and fall of silver bullion for
| reasons often explained. If wheat at the
| present time is less influenced by the price
! OF silver bullion than cotton. it Is due di-
! rectly to the failure OF The crop in Europe.
| If the value Of silver here should fail 10
30 cents an ounce as probably il would
! If demOnetiZed as the gold mOnOmetalHSts
would nave it, while its purchasing power
/ among tWO-thirds Of the population of the
| globe continues at from 81 80 to 81 So then
the production Of silver in this country
| should be made crime as its continual
! production and sale here at a low price
| while used in other countries at hign price
would be destructive Of our agricultural
and manufacturing interests. lhe silver
! question, therefore, Is an issue, and one
that vitality concerns the welfare not only
! Of the Industrial classes but business men
! generally, and it will not down at the bid
| ding Of any party, nor can II be ignored or
| lodged. IL is living issue and must be
| met and settled and the only permanent
settlement Of it Is the restoration of a free
! bmetallic coinage or the ultimate aban-
donment Of'the principle Of the automatic
regulation Of money through the production
| Of the precious metals.
PROPOSED SILVER CONGRESS.
A plan for an international silver con-
! gress at Chicago during the Worlds Fair in
| 1893 is row being perfected by leading
| Democrats In Washington with a view to
| the ultimate settlement Of the silver cues
| ton on permanent basis and its immedi-
ate retirement a a political issue This
plan has been under consideration by GER
| tain leaders OF the party for three or four
weeks, and efforts have been made it keep
IL secret until its authors should be ready
| to place 1t before the public. The discus
| sion has been confined altogether to MEM
| bers OF the Democratic party, and the lead
ers of the free silver as well as tile
! anti-siver factions OF tho party have been
| brought into consultation Influential men
on both sides have given the plan their an
prevail, and it is now believed that a sum
Gent number Of pledges have been secured
to insure success. 1t is therefore probable
that bill will soon be prepared and intro
duced in the House enbOdy ing the scheme,
of which some details still remain to be per
| fected.
DEMAND OF THE DEMOCRATS.
Democrats from the West have come to
I fOnpTp1g 6iTqPtlV from fbair
and declare that unless the new House does
something for silver it will be impossible
for them TO carry their districts this wear or
realize the hope that number of Western
States will come into the Democratic fold at
the Presidential election. Democrats from
! New York and New ENGLAND with ennal