The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1892-03-04
BAVKER ST JOHN on SILVER.

BANKER ST JOHN or SILVER. /
At the annual dinner of the Chicago
Bankers club, February 81 William
p. St john, OF the Mercantile National
Dauk OF New York, gave vent to the
following utterances in advocacy of
free silver:
Free coinage IHd free silver are the
com non, UuJ misleading Jer.us for "a
mere proposal To restore the coinage
system of theUnited States. founded by
WushinJon, as advised by Alex. tuder
Hamilton and recognized by ThOm IS
Jefferson. and subsequently ratified by
Andrew Jacssun. The old system Of
equully unrestricted coinage for gold
und sill, eT. which 1t is now proposed TO
Teinstate, WAS maintained continuously
for eighty-One years until overLhrOwH
In 1873. And yet no objections now
are too paFaIOXic3sI TO hail from the one
and the sstuie antagonist OF silver coin
aye. The same men will deuOuucH it
as q scheme OF miue owners TO enhance
The value of silver and yet a swindle Of
pensioners by reducing the value OF
tile legal tender silver dollar, and then
futile endeavnr to reduce the value
Of money by enldrgiag its volume
futile because the enactment will ban
is god, but nevertheless "a practical
population of thirty cents on the dol
lar Of all debts TO benefit the debtor
class"
Dir. St. John rapidly auulyz ed the
monetary condition OF continental
Europe as showing its need of silver
and the worlds sunicieucy Of gold If
Europe should desire to discard her
silver. lie presented figures of the
worlds consumption of silver at pres
eut, which, including the treasury
absorption, would appear to be in eX-
cess of the worlds recent production
of silver. The available supply in Lon
don, San Francisco and New York, he
said, were reduced from over 10000
600 ounces to less than 1000, OOU
ounces as the result, to date, of the
first eighteen months operation of the
silver purchase law of 1890. In the
wheat market such IL situation would
raise the price permanently. This
present excess of consumption over the
production of silver was in spite of flUc-
tuatious IN tile price, which reduced
IndIa's absorption by over $1,000 600
worth of silver during nine months.
The speaker argued that the pro-
posed GNity Of price for silver at the
mint would so enlarge Iudia's absorp-
tiou us to assure the permunency of
/ the law successfully. For with 81
obtainable for 4I2! grains of standard
/ silver in any amount offered at Ameri-
cas- aiuts, no one could obtain silver
at lower price elsewhere. The vast
aud increasing domestic trade use of
money would furnish employment for
all the dollars of gold and silver emit
/ ted from the miuts, in coin OF 10y paper
substitute, and the parity of bullion
value for gold aud silver dollars would
be accomplished aud maintained
thereby in tie markets of The world.
Nj. st. john submitted statistics
showing, according to him, the mad
/ equacy of the worlds supply of gold
. for money. He cited the United States
/ supreme court decisions OF 1870 and
1854, which he said SanGrmed the
power of congress to create and issue
money, and resumed that congress.
would not hereafter employ banks al
bank profits To issue substitutes fOr
money. lie iustunced what he des
criBed as the popular determiuati. d
that the volume of money ia the
United States should not depend here
after, as frequently heretofore, on III,
aceruing of profits to banks upon buui
issues OF circulating notes. Hence
said he, the two alternatives between
which conservatives were TO choose
first, tile reopeHing of the miuts t,
I equally free coinage for gold aud siivel
the coin to circulate 10y paper substi
tUte when preferred, and second, tn,
indeterninate issue of treasury pape
that must be irredeemable If gold WA
the only acceptable primary money.