The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-07-15
Free Coinage of Silver.


until there is an International agreement be-
tween civilized nations establishing a uni
form monetary medium, the free coinage of
silver by the United States would be dis
astrous 10 business. We challenge the
truth of this assertion and request the APP
peal to attempt 10 sustain it by either sta
tistics, reason, argument, logic Or all
combined. We deny The premises and until
they are established the argument and con-
illusions based upon them are necessarily
questionable.
An international monetary agreement is
figment of the brain. 1t would be just as
sensible TO talk of establishing an inter
national local law. Money is purely a local
concern. No nation has any concern or
business with another nations money any
more than with its picks, shovels, plows,
bushels, yard-sticks, its scales and measures.
No nations money is used in another nation.
Never can be and never should be. This
parrot speech among the newspapers of
international monetary SYSTEM" has been
invented by some money trader, and is
nothing but fine sounding phrase.
We have sufficient inkling of what the
result of an international monetary sys-
tenn" would result in by the money corners
that are worked in New York against the
interest of legitimate business. If these
money changers had full swing of the world
for such operations they could bankrupt
whole nations at single stroke if they
dared. The money of each nation must
remain at home or business must stop.
Where then is the sense of talking about
international money.
The Appeal speaks of universal cur
rency,' and cites the colonial and State
banks currency. The only universal cur
rency" applicable to the monetary condi
lions created by this old system is a currency
issued by the authority of the United States.
We have that system. These States COM
pose one government and the necessity and
wisdom of universal currency" applied
TO them is apparent, but to attempt to extend
this currency 10 foreign nations is moon.
shine.
1.-THE commercial bonds are much closer
between the civilized nations of the earth al!
the present time than they were between
the States of the Union a hundred years
ago, says the Appeal. They are not. The
facility for shipping merchandise is very
much improved, but the relations between
the governments are not materially changed.
The States of the Union were under one
government, and all that was at fault was
the federal government permitted lot OF
black legs to exercise its function OF issuing
money that possessed no legal tender quail
ity. There is no analogy between this
abnormal financial system and the hypo-
thetical International money system, the
city newspapers put in the mouth of the
public for the purpose of fooling them.
Again the Appeal asserts;
''Staute laws in one country fixing the
value of money metal that circulates and
has different coinage value in another
must result in financial and commercial
confusion"
This condition has existed for thousands
of years and we have never heard that COM
smercial confusion was created by it.
THE commercial disasters and business
uncertainties so prevalent in the United
States during the days of Independent State
bank money issues may be taken as fair
example of what may be expected if the
great nations of the earth continue 10 pur-
sue independent policies with respect to the
ratio and fneness of their respective moneys
or the use Of the product of their respective
mines
This is fine sentence hat in as much as
the Commercial disasters" were caused by a
wildcat non.legal tender money, they have
not the remotest relation to the metal money
of the world. The gold and silver money
in this country played no part in the shin
plaster panicS of those days.
The "ratio and fneness" of the coins have
no perceptible influence on the commerce OF
nations or between nations, never have had
and never can haye. No metal money passes
between nations. 1t is all reduced to a
commodity and passes at its commercial
value. 1t doesn't matter a particle what
nations mines the metal comes out of or
what shape, size or fineness of bars or coins
they mold it into, it goes for lis CONNER
cial value out side of the country that uses
it for money.
The Appeals reasons that it was the fear
OF European nations that the United States
would open its minis TO the free coinage
of silver which caused them to adopt
the gold standard, can hardly be sustained.
We fail to see why that should influence
their action against silver. The facts deny
this assumption. The mint of the United
States was closed in 1878, and of most Of the
European states either before that time or
in 1874. So this superstition OF the Appeal
is nothing but the widest kind of assertion
without even the semblance of fact. On the
contrary if the United States mint had not
been clandestinely closed by the power of
Earnest Seyd's $780, 900 used IN Congress
aud John Skerman's completely in the con-
spiracy, the minis of Europe never would
haye been closed to silver. If the United
States had coined all of the silver which
came from the mines, the metal never could
haye failed below ST. This is SO conciu.
ciusiveiy true that no one has ever dared TO