The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-08-17
WANTS A SILVER BASIS.
MR.. L. w. YOUMANS'S IDEAS OF MA
TIONAL FINANCE.


Therefore Desires to Come Eventually
to IL Silver Bssis.
TO the Editor of the News and COur-
ier: In responding TO your editorial OF
July Is you say that took up the state
ment in question without any reference
to what had preceded it. have care
fully read your editorial alluded TO and
still think that noted the only two
promi2ent propositions in it, to wit:
That you favored the free mintagc of sill
YER, provided that gold dollars worth
of bullion should i've coined in the silver
dollar and that the farmer, by the free
coinage of silver, would lose in the dis.
posal OF his crop the d ference between
the commodity value Of gold and silver
dollar. In Your editorial of July 81 you
say: ''We stated that the farmer who
received as dollar silver com contain
ing only 65 cents worth of silver in eX-
change fer dollars worth of cotton or
other pr ,duce was cheated to the extent
of 35 cents" Aud again that the sil-
YER miner would gain 35 cents. These
propositions are impossible, either under
present conditions or under the free
coinage Of silver. Under present condi-
lions the farmer may not only receive
silver dollar with commodity value of
G5 cents, but a paper dollar which, as a
commodity, is WORTHLESS and not be
cheated at all, for the simple reason that
neither of them are commodities, but
money, anu interconvertible with gold at
their stamp value.
Under the tree coinage of silver it
would be Impossible for the bullion hol-
der to make 35 cents while the re ceiver
lost 35 cents. For instance. when the
bullion holder goes to the mint with G5
cents worth Of silver, il 1t is worth only
G5 cents after it is coined, he wold make
nothing. If he should gain 35 cents the
coin would be worth one dollar. and the
farmer or anyone else whD would re-
ceive IT would lose nothing. | did nol /
attempt in my article to controvert your
statements that "a farmer who takes G5
cents worth of silver for dollars worth
OfcottOn must lose 35 cents" but your
statement that 1.-THE farmer who de-
mands- the free coinage of G5 cents dol
lars is demanding that he shall receive
Tor his labor and products one. third less
than they are worth" | did not deny
vour statement that farmer who takes
G5 cents worth OF silver for dollars
worth OF cotton must base 35
cents, because | do not think
you can lind anybody over ten
years OLD outside of lunatc asylum
who would denv that farmer who took
G5 cents worth of silver, OF Of ANYTHING
else, for dollars worth of cotton or OF
any other product, would lose 35 cents.
Alter admitting the validity of my
reply to your statement that the farmer
We uld lose Il third of his product by the
hec coinage OF G5 cents dollars, you say,
''BuL when Mr.. Youmans proceeds to
show how the farmers are to be benefited
by hc]pinT the silver miners he gives his
whole case away in his very first pro-
position." lie sa\t: "We would open
Il market fer all Western silver" How,
and why? | would like to remark en-
passant that, while their interest to
certain 'Atcnt may be pHralll. The lar.
mcrs are not stimulated by any special
desire TO advance the interest OF the sIl
YER miners, but TO help the mselves.
How would we open the market for all
Western silver? How was the market
opened for 1t in India? BY free and un
limited conlnage. In tho same way
iree and unlimited coinage in tn United
states would open it for all Western all
yer. "Why?" This is big question.
and rtqulres calv>ss of the whole cub
lect OF silver. A question tf q sln.l.;u
nature was asked by the Columbia State.
In lts issue OF July 81, in ihe following
language: ut wnnld he 1rati, ing il
cur Populs.lc friends should nsalnn some
reason why silver shf uld nc cOutd at the
ratio Of lG to |. Thc Pouu)ists
and Their allies contend that The inirinslc
value OF the metal has nothing To DO
with its value as currCncy.'
In answering your question we have
70 deal with silver, not only as COM
noditv, hut as mChcy, for, dcs pite The
1hct that IT has been refuse q minlage by
all the great commercial nations for t e
past twenty Years, it still constitutes
htaily rnc.hall OF our metallic money,
and supplies the circulating medium of
lhr6e.fOurths otthe world. 'Ofall sub
Jccts involving human action that of
money ls the most complex To COM
lfehchd, TO investigate and to demon
s'rate The leading truths ut a compley
tu'J ect rt qulres calt tul examination of
all lhe clemt nts whose seperate or com
Dlned action produces tie phenomena -
Ihe intelligent handing of the silver
bl amen OF finance r, quires knowlcdv,
hi the lunCuOGs Ui money, of the chm -
hels OF trade and the value of the mer,-
Gus metala, relatively ard Otherwise,
in thee different sections of the globe
Money, according 10 the accepted au-.
lholit,es, is anne dunn Of txcbagr. n rer-
resehtntlve of values, and standard for
deferred payments. a medium of cx-
change, IL IN the instrument of trade and
'nscpalahly allied with commerce.
Previous TO the doubling Of the Cape
OF Good Hope by Vasco di Gamma in
law The great currents of trade centred
on tie shores of the I.evant, and con.
sisted OF lEe exchanges between the East
and the West or the traffic between Eu
ana Northern Africa and Asia. In these
exchanges the precious metals took a
prominent part. Says Mr.. Jacobs:
1he proportiOnate value OF gold TO sil.
yer was less IN Asia than in Europe. At
all times profit might be sai, ed by ex.
changing one for the other" The Tv.
rian mariners EXCHANGED their sunnlios