The Indianapolis journal., 1892-02-16


adroit paid advocates of bonanza mine
owners and spectators in silver-mining
stocks and bullion have been laboring
to devise plea which will lead the
American people to demand a policy
which will put the United States upon a
silver basis with India, China and few
third-rate nations. The report is the
sitting of the best that this paid talent
has devised upon this subject. 1t is an
adroit presentation and may deceive
those who have not studied the ques-
ton. To those who have it is tissue
of sopbistries which will not stand in
telligent consideration. 1t contains no
argument which would Warrant Con-
gress in opening the doors of the treas
ury to receive the silver of the whole
world, worth, at the latest quotation,
80 7-6 cents an ounce. and giving the
fortunate persons who present it legal
tender paper to the value of $1.29 an
ounce. That Is the bald proposition of
the Bland bill, and no sDecious reason
ing, no sophistry or sincerity of the
crank can make it anything else.
As sample of the fallacies which
this report contains, the following is
selected for examination:
The familiar warning that free coinage
would cause ghip-loads of silver from other
countries to be brought here and dumped
at our mints in exchange for our gold is
still urged. How can this be under the bill
or proposed lawf The shIp-load of silver
brought TO our niints by the foreigner
would be coined into standard dollars and
these dollars returned TO him. but he could
not go TO our treasury and demand gold for
them. Nor could he compel our citizens to
swap him a gold dollar for q silver dollar.
What, then. will he do with his money!
de must either invest 1t In property here
or go home with it, He could not buy gold
with it or gold exchange unless gold and
silver were at par: in this case there could
be no reason for preferriDg the one metal
to the other. If gold went TO o premium
exchange, thus entailing on him additional
loss on his enterprise OF sending us ship
loads of silver.
The above is child like and bland. 1t
is based upon the old, old practice in
new countries, years and years ago. of
taking grist to mill and waiting for
the meal. 1t assumes that during the
time occupied in making free coinage
bill law, the spectators in Wall street
and other exchanges who could control
millions of gold would remain idle and
await the coming of foreigners with
ship-loads cf silver bullion. They
would do no such thing; they would be
the first to know of the probable passage
of such q law, and their agents, with
gold drafts, would be rummagng the
world to buy silver bullion, just as
traders 60 into the market now to buy
any merchandise that is expected to ad-
vance in price. Of course, they would
pay more than 90 cents an ounce, the
present current price, because silver
bullion would rise; but, sure of S1.29 an
ounce, they could pay 81 or $1.15 and
yet make good thing. To pay for that
silver bullion, gold would first be taken
out of the country. We bavenow about
$500, ,00O, 900 of gold coin and bars. OF
this large sum, all except about $780,
000, 900 is held by banks and bankers, or
is in the channels of circulation.
To-day there is not one Euro
pean nation coming legal-tender
silver, except that Great Britain,
to hold India In financial as in political
subjection, compels that government to
coin and use legal-tender silver. All
commercial Europe is graspiDg for gold,
and it has taken silver and silver-plate
in large quantities and silver out of use
as money, upon which several govern
ments would make q discount if they
could sell it for gold. AS soon, there
fore, as such q measure as the Bland
bill had a prospect of becoming a law,
money-brokers would be getting con-
troll of American gold and getting op-
tions on silver in every part of the
world. 1t Is an axiom known to those
of limited knowledge that any article
will seek the place where it is worth the
most. European labor seeks America
because it is worth more here than in
Europe. If the bullion in silver dol
lar is worth more in America than else
where, silver will como here. If 25.6
grains Of gold are worth more than 412io
grains of silver in any country, the gold
will go thither. and It is an insult to the
average human intelligence to make an
assertion like that which has been
quoted.
Even the Bland sophistry destroys
itself. If the silver dollar is as good
and as desirable as the gold one, the for
eigner could have no difficulty in ex-
changing his brand-new silver GER
tificates for gold or gold certificates.
which he could take away. If the gold
dollar should be ut a premium. as one
infers that the Bland crowd expects
would be the case, the premium would
be no greater than the difference in the
price of the silver bullion and the
bullion in gold dollar in London,
therefore the gold could be purchased
without loss and taken out of the
country to make room for the silver.
More than this: When gold bears a
premium, it Will no longer be money,
and the money stock of this country
would be Immediately reduced more
than 500, 600, coo, causing such panic
as was never known.
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ALWAYS REPUBLICAN,.
1t is most gratifying to notice that the