The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-11-03

lying idle because of the low price of
silver bullion. But recently the great
Hecla mine, owned largely by residents
of this city, was shut down because, at
the present low price of silver. it could
no longer be worked ut profit.
The market price of silver bullion
Is so cents per ounce. Put the price
mp TO S1.29 an ounce, and almost every
mine in the land can be made to pay.
There is an inexhaustible supply of low
grade ores In the West-ore that will
yield, say. twenty ounces to the ton
which cannot be worked at profit with
bullion at so cents, as this would pro-
duce but SIG. Put bullion up to 1920
per ounce, and this ore would pay S26 to
the ton. and at that price it would pay
to open up all the mines. But these
mines would produce but a portion of
our supply of bullion under the imitation
of price that free coinage would bring
about. The producers of silver have.
up to this time, fought every effort to
limit the coinage of silver to the product
of American mines. They demand free
coinage for the silver product of the
world! At this time Mexico can send us
500. 600, 900 of silver bullion per year,
and within two years, under this great
advance in price, will possibly be able
to ship in 100000 900. What can we do
with it7 We can only do Just what
Mexico is doing to-day-and she is not
so surfeited with silver as this country
will be in time if free coinage is adopted
make gold an article of merchandise,
and pay for it premium such as bank
ers and brokers may fix upon it. The
only relief that Mexico has against the
i'll effects of free coinage is that the
Mexican dollar is the only foreign silver
coin that can be circulated in China.
Every vessel that sails from San Fran
cisco to China carries these dollars away
from our shores. A study of the finan-
cial column of San Francisco daily will
show how the price of these Mexican
dollars goes up about the time a vessel
is ready to sail, and how it goes down
after it's departure. If this outlet
should be closed the people of Mex
leo would be surfeited with sill
yer, and the premium on gold in
that country would rise far above
its present exorbitant rate. Our coun-
try would have no such outlet for its
silver coinage, and there would be no
relief from an Over-abundant issue of
cheap money.
The inhabitants of Mexico, from Chi
huahua to Yucatan. and from the gulf to
the Pacific, have no knowledge of gold
as circulating currency. If the neces-
sity arises in that country for the use Of
few dollars of gold coin it can only be
obtained by the payment Of premium
OF 30 per cent. from those who gather it
up and hold it for speculative purposes.
If merchant has need of a bull of ex-
change on the United States, England
or Germany he will be obliged to pay
for it premium of from Sc to 40 per
cent. Mexico purchases largely from
abro adj and manufactures but little at
home. The result is that merchandise
of all kinds is sold at inflated prices
because of the increased cost. and this
cost is largely made up of the premium
on gold and foreign exchange.
Let us illustrate the advantage of free
coinage to the producer of silver bullion.
At the present time a bar of silver con-
tanning one thousand ounces of fine sill
yer, if sold at market prices, would pro-
duce $500. Under free coinage, as de-
manded by the advocates of silver cur
rency, this bar could be sent to the mint
and coined into silver dollars without
cost to the owner. In each dollar thus
coined there will be but 371 grains of
fine silver. The bar contains 4S0,000
grains, which, with the usual alloy added,
would produce in coin the sum of $1,000.
This shows profit of $500 on each one
thousand ounces of silver product over
and above present profit, and this would
stimulate the mining industry of this
and other countries until our people
would be flooded with a metallic cur
rency that in time would become almost
as cheap as iron.
The evils of free silver coinage are so
menacing and the results of that policy
would be so disastrous that no party or
public man that favors it should receive
the support of any welf-wisher of his
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