The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1893-07-21
THE USEFUL METAL.
NATIONS THAT USE SILVER.


The White Metal Indispensable for Money
in Many Csuntriss.
The New York Prsss, which has hitherto
been strongly opposed TO free silver, has
heard the voice Of the people, and says IN
lengthy editorial that ''the question should BE-
treated upon full information ~ TO the truth,
without any obsequious subservlency " tha
financial policy Of Great Britain or any other
foreign country" and adds:
"In the present agitation regarding the de-
cline Of silver in value ~ compared with gold,
there il q disposition to rush TO the conclu-
sion that silver 10 entirely discredited, snd,
moreover, to overlook the great interest which
this country has 10 unfolding and protecting
the value Of metal Of which tho United
States 10 by far the most important producer
In order TO assist the public, therefore, in ar
irving at q correct and deliberate conslusion
on tho silver question, 1t may be we'll 70 cali
70 mind certain facts which ought to DO
familiar.
"The Pres has before pointed out that tho
suspension of free coinage in India does not
imply that silver Is to cease TO be the current
and ordinary coinage of India Not the
slghtest authority has been adduced 70 show
that silver IL to be demonetized IN Engiends
vast Indian empire. Indeed such proposi-
ton would SAVIOR Of madness, and would DO
impossible Of accomplishments Against the
manifest will Of people with whom the use
Of silver n coin 10 second nature, and tho
vast majority Of whom have no interest
whatever I'd the fluctuations Of the gold price
Of the rupee. The substitution Of gold for
silver in India is . practical impossibility fer
the reason that gold would not answer tho
purpose. India now has n gold coin called
the mohur, worth shout %, but nobody thinks
Of making Il measure Of value. The measure
Of value must BE- coin known 70 the people
and In current use among the people, and
such coin IL the rupee, Of the nominal value
Of IS cent?. The rupee 10 too small In value
to be coined In gold, but Is just about large
enough In amount TO be a measure Of value in
II must, therefore, continue to be silver
coinage and silver consuming country.
1.-THE important stats OF Persia, west Of In
dia, 10 n silver country. It 10 true that gold
il coined there, the gold toman being worth
about sl.5s, but very few gold pieces are In
circulation, and the coin for measuring val
ucs 10 the silver kran, worth something over
Is cents. It appears, therefore, that while
Persia has gold, the Persian people have no
use for 1t 10 currency. The great empire Of
China is silver country, 90 far rs large pay
ments arc concerned, which are made in sill
yer bullion, and by an imperial decree Issued
in 1890 the silver dollar coined at the Canton
mint Is made current al through the empire
Tho legal money Of Siam is the tlcal, . silver
coin. Turning to the empire Of Russia We
find that the larger value Of metallic money
coined IL silver, 3,4s6, sos silver rubles having
been coined In 1891 against Z, 735, 40 rubles
in gold. The silver ruhle Is the legal unit Of
money In Russia. The empire Of Japan have
100, 900 600 yens (thc yen being about el) In
silver TO o., 100000 in gold. While Turkey
coins the golden lirs, the coins in general use
arc silver, and II may be said without cxag-
gcration that Asia and Eastern Europe arc
silver regions.
France, from It's until 1892, put IN cir
culation nearly eight thousand million Of
francs in gold and about five and half
thousand millions In silver. Italy, from 1881
TO 1891, both Inclusive, has coined about 3D.
OOO, 600 Of lire In silver to about 100000 in
gold. In Mexico and South and Central
America silver Is In general use, and Mexico,
II 10 said, ia continuing free coinage, and
finds II difiicult to supply the demands Of in
crcasIng trade. It Is well, therefore, TO rc-
member, in eonsidering the silver question,
that BY far the larger part Of the world uses
silver - currency, and that among the coun-
tries 20 using the metal arc thosc with which
II 10 for both the political and commercial In
ierests Of the United STATES TO keep In active
Intercourse. II also should be remembered
that silver IL an American product, and that
while the credit and the currency Of the ma
tion must under any circumstances 10 sus-
tanned, nothing should be done unduly 70 dis
credit metal In which Americans arc dsepiy
interested"