The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-15
AN APPEAL FOR SILVER.
Report Of the Coinage, Weights and
Measures Committee Goes
in To-day.
An Able Argument Made
Favor of the White
Metal.


The Hugaboos OF the Gold Standard Ad-
vocates Shown to be Creatures
of the Imagination.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14.-The report Of the
majority OF the committee on coinage,
weights and measures recommending the
passage of the Bland free coinage bill. will
be presented to the house tomorrow. Tho
report is long and is a carefully prepared
document. 1t discusses the various objec-
tions against free coinage, showing where
in the opinion Of the majority those obiec-
tions are lll-founded. and how the free
coinage Of silver will greatly benefit tho
country, especially the producers. The re-
port begins with an explanation of the bill
reported. The free coinage of silver is
provided, and it is required that it be of
standard fneness to meet the alloy used.
The alloy il all the expense now being ex.
acted Of depositors OF gold. Coin notes
may be issued on the gold or silver depos-
tied if demanded instead of waiting for
mum denominations for dealing in large
transactions and bank exchanges. These
notes are to be legal tender, redeemable
in coin on demand. The bill provides for
the conversion of all gold and silver
certificates into coin notes redeemable in
eth er gold or silver at the treasury of the
government. The report says it is con,
tended that the reason silver bullion was
exported while the mints of this country
were still open to it's free coinage, was that
the ratio here was such that American
bullion was worth more compared with
gold, at European mints, than in this
country, and that the same result would
again follow, the ratio here remaining at
sixteen to one, with the French mints open
to free coinage at fifteen and one-half to
one. This it is held would prevent Eu-
ropean nations again returning to tho BIZ
metallic system. To avoid this the COM
mittee provided that the United States ra.
ito be changed to fifteen and half to one
as soon as France resumes free silver coin
age at that ratio. The report continues:
1.-THE familiar warning that free coinage
would cause ship loads of silver to be
brought here and dumped at our mints in
exchange for gold is still urged, but under
the proposed law, ship. loads of silver
brought By foreigner would be coined
into standard dollars and these dollars re-
turned to him. He could not 20 to the
treasury and demand gold for them, as ac-
cording to the bill, the government can use
it's pleasure in paying in gold. He would
then asce tain that he committed blum
der of bringing silver to our mints where i t
l 4aY n HA In IocC tlny,
al home. and that he loses his three cents
and the cost of transpor tation besides. He
cannot buy gold with the money. or gold
exchange. unless gold and silver are at par.
He will either have to invest the money
here or carry it home again. The nations
calamity instead of prosperity as the result
Of Il free coinage law here" The report
quotes from the report of Secretary of
the Treasury Window for 1889 in which
the secretary took the position that no
danger need be apprehended of q flood of
European silver.
"The truth is," the majority report con-
tinues, that conspiracy has been formed
in tho old word, planned ana successfully
carried through there and here, which was
aimed to contine tho debt paying mediums
of the nations concerned to gold. For this
purpose the par OF centuries was b. oxen.
Gold was decreed to rapidly rise in value,
thus adding so per cent. to the value of
credits, enriching creditors, public and pri-
vute, at the expense of debtors and taxpay-
ers, enormously depressing the value and
products of labor as compared to notes.
bonds ana mortgages. The words free
silver sends thrill of terror to the pro-
moters of this conspiracy aud its benetici-
aries. They know when this great govern
ment thus throws its weight in the silver
balance. the world will be again restored
to full faith and confidence in the future
safety of silver as the money of tho world.
The old par will return, the two
metal sbeinq tied together by a strong
iigature of forty~four states and
five territories with a population of G5, ,0OO,-
600 and an area of 3,O00,00O square miles,
the greatest people and the greatest me-
tallic power in the world, can never again
be disturbed. 1t is this phase of issue they
fear. not the swapping of ship loads of dol
lars of silver and dollars Of gold. 1t s the
restoration OF the hi-metallic par. 1t is
the skeleton of defeated fraud and avarice
that turks in the closet OF the gold palace
that we are called upon to meet i'll battle
on the free coinage question. No citizen of
swap his gold dollar for Il silver dollar, nor
is there any law i'll existence or proposed
that compels an exchange OF silver for
gold without paving the premium that may
at any time exist on gold.
Again, it is said sgive the silver miner
aC our minus Sl Ior DulllUI tuuG COStS only
Al cents, hesltating to reflect that the
gold miner extracts five ounces day i'll
gold that We coin into 800. when his days
wages is worth only three or four dollars,
thus coming his product that costs hut 81
into money of $780, Whom tho utter in
constituencies and fallacies of all other OBJ
jections to FREQ coinage are shown we are
confronted with the ultimatum that our
gold will Zee the country at once, contract
ing our currency to the amount of $685.
OO0OO0. The monthly statement OF the
secretary of the treasury for January, 1892,
shows that we have III the TREASURY i'll gold
coin and bullion S27S. 2+6, 100. The last an,
nual report of the comptroller OF tho cur
renoy shows gold in tho banks of $96, 55S,-
69l. making a total III the treasury and the
banks of 1914, SO5,3i4. This amount we
have trustworthy record of being i'll this
country. Tho remainder of the estimate
of S6S6, 900, coo is mere guesswork. or all
objections used against free coinage this,
in the opinion of tho committee, IL the
only ono which deserves consideration.
THAT the change proposed i'll tho currency
laws, Involving the complete restoration of
the by metallic standard, and II return to
the coinage of both metals on equal terms,
will cause, for tho moment. some appre-
hension and probably II disposition to hoard
gold mny he expected. Yet, any evils that
may result must. III the nature of the situa-
tion be transitory. No important change
that affects the iiscal system can be made
without. i'll some respects, i'll its first effects
at least causing some Inconvenience or
friction somewhere. Yet IL will not be con-
tended thnt our laws relating to the cur