The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-04-28
GIVES 1T TO THEM STRAIGHT.

AVN" Il thCh IhO POoPiO VI thC Cdb|
are forced to consider silver on the merits
of its case. The United States Investor
gives place to a letter in a late issue
which is we'll worth reading at this time
This writer, who evidently understands
the silver question, says:
The population and the OF
the world always has been and is still in.
creasing rapidly, but it is not true that
the worlds transactions are all done on
a gold busis. The Latin union has a hi
metallic system. India is on a silver
basis, while several other nations are on
either a bi-metallic or silver basis.
Neither is the statement true that gold
has a fixed value, or has ever had other
than the value above stated, for in 1859
Germany d~emonetized gold and England
demonetized it for India, while before
1873 it fluctuated from | to 3 per cent be-
low silver.
Again, it is not true that there is an
unlimited amount of silver that may be
mined on short notice, and that no way
has been found to secure a greater cup.
ply of gold. 1t appears that the Al
mighty has ordained things that your
correspondent does not know; that gold
and silver are always found together,
and, strange as it may appear. on taking
terms OF twent, years each for the last
200 years, the worlds produc: of both
metals has kept pace in the ratio of 1515
to |, so that the larger the product of
silver the larger the product of gold.
The nations of the world have recognized
this and have established the parity be-
tu.anp thn t,,n ,,nt,l,, t f,n,, l..
10 to l. Your correspondent argues for
gold, and at the same time speaks Of its
s~hrinkage from loss by wear. Less than
a year ago | stood IN the postotilce in
San Francisco gold and silver are used
almost exclusively in California;. when a
laborlpg man presented IA letter to be
registered. The clerk Landed him a 10.
cent stamp and a 2-cent one, and after
ailiXing these stamps he handed out a -
gold piece. The gold piece went on to
the scales and was found to be Is cents
short in weight; the man lost Is cents.
Another man called for one dollars
worth of 2cent stamps and passed out
a silver dollar, and no question was
asked. Will your correspondent tell the
readers of your paper which is the bet
ter metal for money for all classes from
this instances?
| do not consider the question of the
cost of silver worthy of debate. 1t does
not enter into the question of free coin
age or bi-metallism to any degree more
than that of the cost of mining gold. AS
a commodity it does, the same as any
9th r commodity. There are probably
three mines in the United States that
can produce silver at 1jc. per ounce;
there are others that cannot produce il
at - an ounce, while, between these two
extremes, the majority of mines are
obliged to have 1Oc. and upwards to pay
the cost. | can take the gentleman
within 80 miles of where he wrote his
letter and show him a hundred mines
shut down because silver is not more
than SIC. an ounce.
1t is true that tho production of silver
will be increased under Il free coinage
act, but not largely, for tho reason that
the greater the cost of mining silver, the
less silver there is in those mines. So,
true is this, that the product of the
mines that could be worked with silver
at Sl.29 that are unable to work at the
present price, would not increase the
output over % per cent. ! should like
dwell more fully and at greater length
On these different propositions. | will
simply say in closing that | have heard
the arguments on this question, both for
and against, and | do not believe there
is a single objection raised against the
free coinage of silver that cannot be
easily refuted. The foremost men of
nation are fast coming to the silver
side. Over a million voters registered |
their %ODiniOns. last NOvember in favor Of
free silver, and the end is not yet.