The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-01-20

1896, egs. II the United States should cease
purchasing and sell It's stock of silver for
what il would bring it is not possible,
Congressman Harter claims, that it could
obtain <210. 0oD, go for it, which means .
clear loss to the treasury Of the United
States Of s22s, oO0, 600 In other words, not
less than SIS 90 go Of the peoples money
has been spent in trying TO hold up
the price of silver, when it should have
! been LETT to take care Of itself, like
gold, iron, cotton, wheat or any other
commodity. Sound business policy is TO
leave silver to its fate in the markets Of
the world, and let the government utilize
it for coinage so far as il needs it at the
market rate. Instead OF doing this We
have since 1878 been trying TO bull the
price of silver BY monthly government
purchases; We have been practically try
ing to corner" silver and force up its
price. in face of the fact that the great
commercial nations of the earth had de-
monetized silver and that the worlds pro-
duction Of silver has been steadily in
creasing until in 1891 it was 143 000, 600
ounces.
Today the treasury is undertaking, by
the annual purchase Of 81, 100000 ounces
Of silver. TO raise silver TO the price it
stood At in 1873, when only IS, 0o0, go
ounces were mined in ali the world.
against about $4,000, 900 ounces mined
last year. The market value OF silver is
about 81 cents an ounce and the average
cost OF producing an ounce Of fine silver
IS less than 35 cents, giving the bullion
owners, clear profit Of - cents an ounce.
OF course the producers and owners Of
silver bullion in the Rocky mountain
states are anxious to enact free silver, be-
cause then they could dump their silver
on the United States government, and for
every "a cents worth of bullion would
ge. silver dollar that would be legal ten
der for loo cents. If the potato growing
states could have a law passed by
which they could dump all their pota-
toes into the government cellars at the
price of So cents a bushel above the
market price the potato growing states
would probably enjoy it, but it would be
none the less swindle on the rest Of the
people who would be taxed to pay for this
government bonus 10 the potato growers.
While the Sherman act ought to be re-
pealed. il probably will not be, because the
majority Of the Democratic party are in
| favor OF free silver and they will only be
willing TO repeal the Sherman act if they
feel certain that they can replace it with
free silver coinage, or, falling in this, re-
place it with the Bland Allison act of 1873
which. of course, they like better than the
Sherman act Of 1890, for under it
the owner OF silver bullion purchased and
coined by the government would receive q
legal tender 100-cent dollar for every g.
cents worth OF bullion, while under the
Sherman act of 1890 the government buys
silver bullion at the market price and
issues for it a treasury note that represents
100 cents worth of bullion, that is an
honest silver dollar and not the deprecated
light weight" Bland dollar.
1t is not easy to see why Grover Cleve-
land as a choice of evils would prefer the
Bland act of 1873 to the Sherman act of
1890, for while the Bland act provides for
the purchase Of only half the amount of
| silver bullion authorized by the Sherman
&C. it authorizes its coinage into dishonest
light weight" dollars, while under the
Sherman act the bullion is not coined but
treasury note for an honest dollar is
issued. The Band silver certificate called
for light weight" Bland dollar, while
| the treasury note issued under the Sher-
man act called for an honest dollar based
100 y,rrb of b,IiI and
able in gold. The Republicans, who
would be glad to repeal the pernicious
| Sherman act of 1880, will be afraid to do SO
| lest it be replaced by the still more per-
nicious B.and-Allison act Of 1873; while
| the free coinage" advocates will never
| consent TO repeal the Sherman act if they
distrust their ability to replace it with
"free silver" or the Bland Allison act of
1873.
The chances are therefore that the
| Sherman set will not be repealed in the
senate. In the house there is free coin
| age" majority today, for the Democrats
| of the South and Southwes and the trans
Mississippi states are practically solid with
| the Popuiists for 'tree silver"
Nothing but a panic. like that Of 1887,
| will bring these lunatic iinanciers TO their
| senses. Jackson and Van Buren, warned
| the same classes in vain; they were deaf to
| argument and expostulation until the
| panic of 1887 burst upon them, and then
/ they wanted the government 10 pull them
| out of the pit they had digged for them
| selves.
THE PASSING THRONG.