The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-01-05

United States Senator McPherson's
joint resolution directing the secretary of
the treasury to suspend the purchase OF
silver bullion until otherwise ordered by
congress is an excellent and timely meas
ure and is the best way to meet the danger
of further accumulation Of silver that cam
not be forced into circulation and is
threatening TO bring Us to silver stand
ard. Under the silver law of July, 1900.
there has been issued about SIPS .000. 900
full legal tender treasury notes. The nm
conditional repeal of the act OF July, 1890.
would leave these notes without any
legal status. but the Mcpherson resolution
would obviate all this difficulty; it inter-
feres with nothing already done under the
act of July. 1890; forces no contraction of
the existing currency by the impairment
of the present legal status of the treasury
notes issued under it. The Mcpherson
resolution simply recognizes that COM
pulsory purchases of silver by the
issue of treasury notes has failed in its
main purpose, that of approaching the
price of silver. while the monthly increase
of notes is initiating the currency to dam
gerous degree, and which cannot fail, if
continued much longer, to make gold
commodity and reduce our currency to .
silver basis.
The Mcpherson resolution simply stops
the purchase of silver as pernicious under
existing circumstances; if conditions
change through change IN the monetary
IF FIR a
secretary of the treasury to resume the
purchase of silver. 1t would be better if
the resolution made the suspension of the
purchase of silver discretionary with the
secretary Of the treasury instead Of re-
curing congressional action for resump-
ton, for then the secretary, whenever
there seemed to be want of sufficient cur
rency for the volume of trade, could buy
silver; and when the emergency was over
he could stop. The monthly purchases of
silver under the act of 1890 have not main
tanned the price of silver, and our weekly
exports of gold are proof of the danger Of
reducing our circulating medium to a sill
yer standard.
By stopping the purchase of silver we
shall check the increase in the volume of
treasury notes and keep our currency
where 1t is until we can settle this silver
question satisfactorily with Europe. Sem
ator Stewart, of Nevada, bowls for free
silver because the Nevada mines do not
pay; her low grade silver ores cannot be
worked at profit at the present price of
silver. Well, what of it? The mines of
Utah, Montana and Colorado can furnish
full supply of silver, which those mine
owners sell at good profit. 1t is no con-
Germ Of the government or the people of
the United States whether Nevada's silver
mines pay dividends or not; but it does
concern congress, in the interest OF the
whole country, to stop the present silver
purchase by the treasury.
The idea that congress must legislate an
advance in the price of silver to cause the
value of the WORKOUT silver mines of Ne
vada to appreciate Is as absurd as 1T would
be for congress to enact legislation COM
polling the government to purchase an
undue amount of potatoes at a price 80
cents bushel above the market in order
to make the potato-raising farmers of the
United States rise up and call congress
'blessed."