Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-15


cannot buy gold with the money, or gold
exchange, unless gold and silver be at
par. He will either have to invest the
money here or carry it home again. The
nations of the old world, seeing this,
are predicting calamity, instead of pros
perity, as the result of free coinage
law here"
The report quotes from the report of
ex- x-Secretary OF the Treasury Window
for 1899, in which the secretary took
the position that no danger need be
apprehended of food of European sill
yer.
"The truth is," the majority report
continues, "that conspiracy formed in
the old world, planned and successfully
carried through there and here, was
aimed to confne the debt paying medi-
um of the nations concerned to gold.
For this purpose the par of centuries
was broken. Gold was decreed to rap
idly rise in value, thus adding 80 per
cent to the value of credits, enriching
creditors, public and private, at the ex-
pense of the debtor and taxpayers
enormously depressing values and the
products of labor as compared to
notes, bonds and mortgages. The
words free silver send thrill of
terror to the promoters of this conspir-
acy and benefciaries. They know that
when this great government throws its
weight in the silver balance the world
will be again restored to full faith and
confidence in the future safety of silver
as the money OF the world. The old par
will return and the two metals, being
| tied together by the strong ligatures of
| forty-four states and five territories,
! with a population of 65,000,000 and
| 5000. 900 square miles, the greatest peo-
pie and the greatest metallic power in
| the world, can never again be disturbed.
It is this phase of the issue tn ey fear,
not the swapping of shiploads of dollars
of silver and dollars of gold. 1t is the
restoration of the bimetallic par. 1t is
| the skeleton of defeated fraud and ava
| rice that turks in the closet of the gold
palace that we are called upon to meet
in battle ON the free coinage question.
mo citizen of the United States is
compelled by law to swap his gold dol
| lars for silver dollars, nor is there any
law in existence or proposed that com
| pels the exchange of silver for gold
without paying any premium that may
at any time exist on gold.
'Again, it is said we give the silver
miner at our mints dollar for bullion
| that costs only Al cents, hesitating to
reflect that the gold miner extracts five
ounces day in gold that we coin into
| 500, when his days wages is worth
only So or 81, thus coming his product
that costs but 81 into money of 500.
"When the utter inconsistency and
fallacy of all other objections to free
coinage is shown, we are confronted by
the ultimatum that our gold will flee
this country at once, contracting our
currency to the amount of 1856, ,000, 900.
The monthly statement of the secretary
of the treasury for January, 1892, shows
that we have in the treasury gold coin
and bullion to the amount OF $27S S,246, ;
750. The last annual report of the
| comptroller of the currency, shows gold
in banks to the value of 500, 6,558, 1884,
making total in the treasury and
banks of $575, ,402 ,554. This amount we
have trustworthy record of as being in
the country the remainder Of the esti-
mate of 1886. 600 is mere guess work
OF all the objections urged against free
coinage, this, in the opinion of the conn
mittee, is the only one that de.
serves serious consideration. That
the change proposed in the currency
laws, involving the complete restoration
of the bimetallic standard-return to
the coinage of both metals in equal
terms-will cause for moment some
apprehension and probably disposi.
ton to hoard gold may be expected, yet
any evils that may result must, in the
nature of the situation. be transitory.
No important change that affects the
fiscal system can be made without, in
some respects, in the first effects at
least, causing some inconvenience OF
friction somewhere. Yet it will not be
contended for this reason, that our laws
relating to currency or tariff or other
method of taxation need never be
altered. The ultimate good to be OBJ
tanned is, and always has been, suffi-
cient argument for amendments.
'To restore silver now would not
make so radical achange affecting oul
currency laws as the act demonetizing
it. Indeed, demonetizing took place
without warning, and at a time when
we were looking to the resum ption o.
coin payments and surely needed all the
specie possible.
"We have approached free coinage
gradually. The longer it is delayed the
greater the injustice done the people. A
! few timid people and misers might fol
the moment hoard gold, but the gold in
this country for the most part is held
by class of citizens two shrewd and
alive to their own interests to drop gold
in the sea or bury 1t in the ground. We
are suffering all the evils alleged against
free coinage by its opponents, without
| the realization of the many benefits
claimed by it's friends.
"The restoration OF silver as a money
metal would at once allay all fears of its
ultimate reconciliation by the natione
of the world. 1t you'd give confidence
in silver as safe medium of exchange,
leaving no pretext whatever for the ap-
prehensions now INDUCED in. There
could be no boarding OF gold. The
stocks of coined silver that would add
to the worlds money would, in the ma
ture of things, cheaper gold and render
it less burdensome to meet gold con-
tracts than now."
The report then takes up the question
of the relation of the silver question to
India, for the purpose OF showing that
silver demonetization operates as a
bonus on Indian exports to our disad-
| vantage. 1t says: 1.-THE fact that nearly
the whole of our exports of agriculture
go to European gold-using countries to
| be sold in competition there with coun-
tries on a single silver basis is cited by
economic writers to show the disad-
vantage of the American farmer in sach
| oononet;tion Tits claimad and the his-