The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-22
Free Silver an Excuse.

Some of the alliance democrats who have
joined the third party say they have done
so because the democrats OF the House
failed to pass the Bland silver bill. Either
they do not understand the free silver coin
age question, or else. understanding it, they
are making the failure of the democratic
House TO pass the Bland bill an excuse for
doing what they had already made up their
minds TO do even If the Bland bill should be
passed.
Under the present silver law very nearly
all the silver produced IN this country is
put in circulation in the shape Of silver GER
tiicates. Indeed, TO supply the demands OF
the silver law and the arts about 5000
ounces of silver has now to be imported
annually. A free coinage law, therefore,
would benefit nobody except the silver mine
owners. They would then get 81 for the
amount Of silver that now commands only
about 50 or 70 cents. A free silver coinage
law would benefit farmers only in the event
that silver became a deprecated currency,
and the farmers that would be benefited
would be those who have debts TO pay, not
those who want to borrow money.
The opponents of the free coinage Of
silver are not opposed TO silver. They are
simply opposed to making the coinage OF it
free before some agreement is reached with
other nations by which it can be kept at
par with gold. Congressman Lawson. who
represents the Eighth district Of this state,
and who voted for the Bland bill, in an
interview a few days ago said that those
who are hostile to the free coinage of silver
flavor the coinage OF both gold and silver,
but they voted against the coinage Of the
present silver dollar because at the rate at
which silver is now selling in the m arkets
of the world, the silver in a dollar Is worth
80 cents less that the gold in gold dollar.
Silver coin, in their estimation, would be
deprecated currency, and would sooner or
later displace all better money, both of gold
and Of paper redeemable in gold, and effect
disastrous financial crisis in the country.
l do not think that their reasoning is
sound, said Congressman Lawson, "but If
it is sound then their votes were right, for
there is nothing which 80 damages business
or defrauds the poor man of the value of
his labor or the products of his labor as q
deprecated currency. Witness the effect
of confederate currency .I.
The ablest and soundest financiers of this
country say that the effect of free silver
coinage would be to put the country on
silver basis. The silver currency would be
a deprecated currency, and would drive
out of circulation all other kinds of money.
Gold would flow out to other countries and
silver would flow in. A deprecated cur-
rency would be disastrous to all interests.
Even the farmers who have debts to pay,
aud other classes OF debtors, would be injured
by it eventually more than they had been
benefited.
. But if the advocates OF free silver COIN
age are right in their views, viz: that free
silver coinage would not be productive of a
debased currency, the benefit of free silver
coinage would not be appreciable except to
silver mine owners, because even Congress-
man Watson admits that if the coinage of
silver were made free the increase in the
volume Of the currency would be only 80
cents per capita. Are democratic alliance
men going to the third party because the
democratic House did not favor a bill that
would have increased the volume of the
currency only to that extent2 And it must
not be forgotten that the democrats who
opposed the Bland bill did so not because
they are opposed to silver, but because of
the disaster to all business and business in-
terests they believe free silver coinage
would bring. Those who leave the Demo-
cratic party for the alleged reason that tire
fused to commit itself to the free coinage Of
silver. do SO, if they understand the silver
question. for other reasons than the ones
they give, for no intelligent democrat will
desert the democracy for such an insignif-
cant reason.