Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1893-01-20
The I ,e@der.
Ex-BANKER JAY COCK.
Former Leading Finsncier Of the United
States Views the Silver Question.
PHILADELPHIA, Dec %, 1892

ing my great appreciation of your SER
vices, particularlyi in defence of the Amer
ican tariff and views Of those who favor
the restoration of silver to its proper
place, as of old. Also of the views you
in your number of December
II of the Manufacturer as to the causes
of the late overthrow of the Republican
party.
I have long been a subscriber to and
reader Of the Manufacturer, and your
views have coincaded precisely with my
own on all the subjects discussed, and
nv reason for writing was'that knew
you were meeting with uGdeserved criti-
cism from vast majority of;the public
press, when in fact, you should only re-
celve the highest commentator. You
have proved yourself both abe and pat
riotic and one Of the few editors, am
sorry to'say, who have taken the trouble
to study and become entirely familiar
with these most important matters.
Your views On the silver question are,
in every respect, perfectly ecorrect-and
say this from experience of over fifty
years in the banking business.
Your views on the silver question are,
in every respect, perfectly eorrect-and
say this from an experience of over fifty
years in the banking business.
Our statesmen and the press, generally
are woefully blind TO the effect this oppo-
s,tion to the reconciliation: Of silver il
having on our c0Gntrys prospersty, tt
say nothing of what lis greater, its effec
tapon the whole world.
1t seems inconoeMabie that when thu
world is increasing 50 rapidly'ia popuia
tien, in developement of every kind, ir
railroads, manufacturing, and SHE open
ing of vast agricultural regions, that the
business Of this world, by amere aroi
trary decree, should be reducedsto a con
dition of reliance upoR gold only us q
measure of values, and, then, lin ms opin
ion, we have not yet begun to feel the
full weight of this foolish and absurd
attempt to bring the world to conferm tc
mon0metallism.
The decentralization, OF ssilveriin 1873,
although a measure enacted ignorantly,
confessed by Congress, was great crime
to civilization and progress, and futher,
the vast 3,ajority of the people, who are
not capitalists have been reduced in
resources and in debt-paying Capacity 20
the full extent of the withdrawal of THE
legal tender silver money.
believe that if the people OF this coun-
try could be. educated up to your views OF
the silver question nine-tenths of them
would insist d. pom the immediate renaone-
,sixation of silver, and SO also the people
of England and the nations OF the conti-
nest.
lit is almost ladghable were it not so
serisus, to read tdle editorials in the daily
press of the couGary, which are In a great
maio<ity averse TO the upholding of
silver and restoring it to the basis of 16
to and to its former position as legal
tender, debt-paylng metal.
In my experience, | have seen silver
sell at a large premium above gold
and during the California gold days I
have made purchases of gold at discount
for checks on our Philadelphia bank. 1t
would have been just as easy at that time
to have demon ctized gold, and to have
produced precisely the same conditions as
to gold as now prevail in regard to silver,
that Is, if the coinage Of gold had been
refused at the mlnts Of the United States
and other countres. and it had been
made an article of trade and commerce,
merely.
Silver, for all time, has held place far
above that of gold in'the many transac-
tions of the world. Amongst at least
two-thirds of the population of the world
it is now the sole currency. Now in the
fullncss of time, when the world is full of
activities and developement. instead of
making legal tender basis of silver and
gold each, the wise acres of this day nave
deliberately destroyed one-half of this
necessary basis. Was there ever any
thing so full of folly?.
A portion of these enemies of silver are
clamorous for an unlimited issue of paper
money, based upon nothing but the credit
of the government, or of banks of ISSUE
The restoration of the one-half of the
legal-tender metal basis now virtually
withdrawn by the decentralization of silver
would supply the need of trade and COM
merce, and the value stamped upon the
same would be a real one. and not Il fic-
titious one.
am not in favor, of course of COM
pelling creditor to receive silver in pay
ments Of bond OF other indebtness where
gold has been mentioned as the metal in
which it shall be paid, or of compelling a
creditor to receive gold where silver is
promised, but if both were alike legal