The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-15
warning and ut n time when we were look
ing to the resumption of coin payments
and surely needed all the specie possible.


ing to the resumption of coin payments
and surely needed all the specie possible.
"We',ave approached free coinage gradu-
ally. The longer tis delayed tho greater
people and misers might, for the moment,
hoard gold, but gold in this country. for
tho most, is held by q class of citizens too
ahrewd and alive to their own interests to
drop gold into the aen or bury it in the
ground. We are suffering all the evils
nenta without tho realization OF the many
benefits clnimed by it's friends. The rssto-
| ration of silver aa n metal would at onco
allny all the fears of ita ultimate remone-
tization by the nations Of the world. II
would give confidence in silver as q safe
medium OF exchange. leaving no pretext
| Whatever for tho approximations now in
dulged in. There could be no boarding of
gold. Tho stacks OF coined silver that
would add to the worlds money would in
/! tho nature OF things cheaper gold and
render it less burdensome to meet the gold
contracts than now"
/ Tho report then takes up the question of
tho relation Of the silver question to Indis
for tho purpose OF showing that silver de-
monitization operates as bonus on indian
exports to the disadvantage of this coun-
try. 1t saws: "Ihe fact that nearly the
whole of our exports OF agriculture 90 to
European god-using countries to be aold
/ in competition there with countries on q
! hiuRle bllVGF UAblS III ClLeQ Dy economic
writer's to show the disadvantages Of the
| American farmer in such competition. 1T
ia claimed, and the history Of prices show
/ that AS silver falls as compared to gold, 50
| in about the same ratio the prices Of our
farm products fall. 10 say that silver is
cotton. wheat and other farm exports are
depressed. The reason is plain. Tho
countries having silver standard avoid, az
far as possible, the liquidatine Of foreign
debts III money for the reason that silver III,
as compared with gold, deprecated. 10
settle foreign balances, therefore, in silver,
entails Il loss of difference in exchange
between the value of silver as compared to
gold. Hence silver standard country,
India. instead of sending her money, silver,
to pay for balances. sends wheat and cot
ton and other exports which, in her cur
rency. have not lost their value at home or
abroad. This system works as an Indirect
bonus upon all such exports from silver
standard countries. Not 90 with the
American farmer. Free silver is coined
the single gold standard. Consequently
when gold goes up az compared to silver,
wheat, cotton and other exports fall in
price, In other words, as silver falls be-
low gold, so also our articles of export
trade, especially farm products. fall in
price. These facts were clearly brought
out in the investigation of the British
further, ~ is that the he farmer erA'lGl' in
ell si silver y. countries, who sells
using countries, gets gold; if, therefore
wheat is worth dollar a bushel in London,
a bushel of whent sold there will get gold
dollar. This gold dollar will buy silver
enough in the London market to coin into
a dollar and Quarter at our ratio, and
more at the ratio in India. Therefore the
farmer in silver STANDARD country really
gets dollar and a quarter for his wheat.
The American farmer gets his dollar in
gold but cannot, with that gold dollar,
buy silver for coinage at home, for the rea-
son that free coinage is denied him. silver
coinage here being limited to government
i account. Free silver coinage would put
silver and gold on practical parity, thus
putting the American farmer on equality
with the Hindo and other silyer-usine PED.
4 pie. tt is beyond doubt that the free coin
age of silver would thus add at least IL to
Is per cent to the value of all farm pro-
ducts"
The report quotes from an article printed
the past week i'll Wall street paper, call
ing attention to the fact that silver and
cotton were selling 81 the lowest prices in
history. telegram from New York, dated
Feb. /. is also quoted. The telegram states
that cotton tumbied the day before, and
after noting shat the decline was partly due
to the large unused supply. it said: 'The
low price of silver WIS also factor in the
with silver, and the lower silver goes the
cheaper England can buy in India"
Continuing, the report says, breadstuffs
ore doing somewhat better now than cot
ton, owing to the failures of such crops
nearly everywhere except in the United
States This brings the report up to the
discussion of bullion purchases. Bullion
purchases, it says, will not restore the
parity Of the two metals. Bi-metallism
does not tolerate the idea that one metal.