The morning call., 1892-02-15

whatever for the apprehen sions now in
dulged in. There could be no boarding of
gold. Stocks of coined silver that would add
to the worlds money would in the nature
OF things cheapen gold and render it less
burdensome 20 meet gold contracts than
n0W."
THE AMERICAN FARMER.
The report then takes up the question OF
the relation of the silver question to India
Tor the purpose OF showing that silver de-
monetlZatI0n operates as bonus on Indian
exports to our disadvantage. 1t says: 'The
TACT that nearly the whole of our exports Of
agriculture 90 to European gold-using
countries to be sold in competition there
with countries on the single silver basis, is
cited by economic writer's TO show the as
advantage of the American farmer in such
competition. 1t is claimed and the his
tory OF prices show that as silver falls as
compared to gold, so in about the same
ratio prices of our farm products fall. To
say silver is low is tantamount to saying the
price OF cotton, wheat and other farm eX-
ports are depressed. The reason is plain.
Countries having silver standard avoid,
as far as possible, the liquidatiHg of
foreign debts in money, for the
reason that silver is, as compared
with gold, deprecated To settle
foreign balances, therefore, in silver. entails
loss of the difference In exchange between
the value Of silver as compared to gold.
Hence the silver standard country, instead
OF sending silver to pay for balances, sends
wheat and cotton and other exports which
in her currency have not lost their value
at home or abroad. This system works as
an indirect bonus upon all such exports
from silver standard countries. Not so with
the American farmer. Free silver is coined
only IN gold account. We are thus tied to
single gold standard, consequently when
gold goes up as compared TO silver, wheat,
"a QfhnT ri oil in ArIO In
other words, as silver falls below gold so
also does our articles of export trade, espe-
cially farm products, fall in price These
facts were clearly brought out In the inves-
tigatiOn of the British Royal Commission.
INCREASED VALUE OF PRODUCTS.
"An explanation further is that the
farmer in all silver countries who sells his
products, for gold in g0ld-uSing countries,
gets gold. If, therefore, wheat is worth 81
q buShel in London bushel of wheat sold
there will get gold dollar. This gold dol
lar will buy silver enough in the London
market to coin into dollar and a quarter at
our ratio and more at the ratio Of India,
therefore the farmer in the silyer-standard
countries really gets 81 % for his wheat
The American farmer gets his dollar in
gold, but cannot with that gold dollar buy
silver for coinage at home for the reason
that free coinage is denied him, silver COIN
age here being limited TO the Government
yer and gold on practical parity, thus put
ting the American farmer on an equality
with the HindOO and other silVer-usiDg pe0-
ple. 1t is beyond doubt tlat the free coin
age of silver would thus add at least Il to
10 per cent TO the value of all farm products"
BULLION PURCHASES.
The report quotes from an article printed
the past week in a Wall-street paper call
ing attention to the fact that silver and cot
ton are selling at the lowest prices in his
tory. A telegram from New York, dated
February l, is also quoted The telegram
related TO the decline In cotton the day be-
fore, and after noting that the decline was
partly due 10 large unused supply, said:
THE low price of silver is also a factor in
the decline, as England settled with India
in silver, and the lower silver goes the
cheaper England can buy III India" Con-
tinuing, the report says breadstutfs are do
ing somewhat better now than cotton
owing to the failure Of such crops nearly
everywhere, except in the United States
This brings the report up to the discussion
of bullion purchases Bullion purchases"
it says. will not restore the parity of the
tEO metals. Bi-metalllsm does not tolerate
the idea that one metal, gold for instance,
shall be set up IS a standard by which
the other metal (silveT) shall be purchased
or measured. This Is gold nOn-metallism
and likes gold as measuring metal or sole
valuatOr. Bi-metallism means that each
metal SD2ll De II bLduudEu Will llS6llt IIeo
coinage Of silver means that all silver bull
ion Of 41212 grains standard and 3S1A grains
pure silver shall be worth 81 in LAWFUL pay
mentS.
FIXED VALUE.
SIT is bullion that in fact, is legally none
tz d. This being so, bullion of 4I2h
grains of standard silver Is always worth a
dollar, because the law so declares. Silver
cannot tall below the value which the Gov
ernment gives it at the mint, because the
mint is an open market for all of it at a
fixed price. The same may be said of gold,
yet other countries may make such de-
mand for gold as to make that metal more
valuable than silver. They may in time
make such a demand for silver as to put
that above gold. but at our mints they re-
main the same in debt-paying power"
The report quotes from well-known
authority TO the effect that as people want
always 10 pay in the cheaper money, a de-
mand under the double standard for metal
which falls off in price results in raising
the value Of that metal again and bringing
the two together. In conclusion, the ma
jOrity submit report made at the last ses-
sion by Mr.. Bartine of Nevada, who, as a
leader of the free-coinage Republicans, made
comprehensive, exhaustive and judicial re-
view Of the silver question in all Its details.