The herald., 1893-06-16
LETTER BAG.
The silver ouestion.

EDIIOhS IlERALDs In your ualiy CL
yesterday you brought an excellent
editorial headed, A Railway Magnstes
Financial Opinions, showing, in your
exceptions taken on said opinions, that
you are fully au fait in all the bearings
on the so.called complex silver question,
which today, If rightly considered, Is
undoubtedly the most momentous of
any and all pending unsolved problems
for the reason that from the manner OF
its final solution depends the welfare OF
the whole civilized world, while, II it
should be unfavorable, it will simply
mean the commercial bankrupty of over
three-fourths OF the worlds population,
| |. e., all the so-called silver basis coun-
tries, using almost exclusively silver
for all their transactions at home and
abroad.
The reason that they do not use gold
simply is, that there is not enough of 1t
to give the whole world its due share,
and what there is Of 1t, Is not enough to
supply the few gold basis countries, con-
sisting of the United States, England,
Germany, France and Austria.
The actual scramble for gold between
these few named countries most drastic
ally proves up the fact ofsthe utter in
sufficiency of the existing btock OF gold,
even for the business OF these few ma
tions.
The silver question is not 30 complex
after ell, If presented in its true light,
| its origin of speculative character and
the wonderful success obtained by those
creating the actual critical condition OF
the worlds money matters. There is
key to solve some OF the seemingly illeg-
ible hyroglyphics of the problem, from
which safe deductions can be made. and
the whole perplexing matter will appear
in altogether different light, il causes
and their logical or necessary effects are
| judged In their true bearings, from an
impartial and disinterested standpoint,
and having a medium knowledge of cos
mopolitan relations and influences in
the whole great question.
The key is this: During the confed-
crate war, money circulated on an unpre-
cedented scale and large fortunes were
amassed in single hands; and after this
was over, and very shortly thereafter,
the Franco-G German war came about,
with known political and financial re-
suite.
The came cause had the same effect in
Germany. Money was plenty and. inn
itating England, the single gold stand
ard was adopted, and the United States
followed that example soon after, go
that silver became pariah amongst the
two money metals and began to be dis
counted. As, on account of the super
abundance of money in the three coun-
tries named, the rate of interest began
decided downward tendency, the
money kings got to studying how that
unpleasant phenomena could be
stopped, and they found the true reme-
dy, as far as their interests were con-
cerned. Gold alone was declared wor-
thy of being handled by them; the only
ware they dealt in was to be made
scarce, for only in that way could they
drive advantageous bargains.
The British genius was of course lead
ing in this move with an impertur rbable
sang froid, and the American and Ger
man cousins followed the profitable
opening with alacrity. The consequences
are known, the deprecated silver (al-
though the circulating medium of three
fourths of the worlds population, finds
no grace in Eugland-her plutocracy
having ten Thousand millions of dollars
in foreign, mostly silver basis countries,
insists on her pound of live flesh, in the
shape of dividends and interests, paya-
BILE in gold. which. .means az sadiiti adaiiitk 9ah
enormous extra drain on the money re-
sources Of ;these already crippled coun-
tries. csusing such q contraction Of their
circulating medium that all values of
any and all property, real estate, etc.,
have fallen over one-half, but unsuitable
at almoat any. price. Therefore the
direct effect OF the English gold policy
has been the impoverishment of all the
silver basis countries, reducing their
holdings and national capital to less
than half of its former value.
This is indeed grand and glorious
achievement that not England, but her
omnipotent gold plutocracy has sue
ceeded to attain. That this plutocrscy
is omnipotent in the fullest nense of the
word is proven by the notorious fact that
even Mr.. Gladstone, Ensland's grand
old man." is under their fascinating
bane, actively worahipping the golden
calf, for 1t is him who instructed the
English delegates to the Brussels con-
ference to obstruct any and all proposals
tending to change the actual monetary
status--which facts were held up and
proven in the face of the premier by the
courageous Mr.. Goschen, ex-chancellor
OF the English exchequer during par
lament debate on March Let last, pub
lished in full by the London Standard.
| DNAaAe o~iA AkOAnOAbDAO QcDAtc Eng
lands smartest man showed his utter
ignorance of the true relation between
gold and silver. He said that silver had
only lost three or four per cent when
Mr.. Goschen proved that il was 80 and
40 per cent, And to such hands Great
Britain has confided her destinies, and
notably the solution of the silver oues-
tion, more important to her than any
other country of the combined world.
for it can be foretold with mathematical
certainty, that if she persists in her
blind course, bankruptin9 the silver
basis countries, to which she mostly
owes her wealth, opulence and indispat-
ed commercial supremacy, she will de-
cree her own fate, which is destruction
OF the great british empire. it will mean
national suicide, --something new uu-
der the sun in spite of Ben Akiba. Is IL
not madness in its highest potency il a
creditor willfully destroys the paving
capacities of his debtor, knowing full |
we'll that the latter's insolvency will |
cause his own ruin? Are not the Ar |
gentine and latterly Australian fore |
tastes, but on very small scale, a good |
Lesson to make comparisons and figures
out what will happen II 800, ,OOO, 900 or
700,000,000 of debtors will be forced to
repudiate?
A speedy and favorable solution Of the
silver calamity created by the English |
ool1 r;xu 10 tho or,lxy rax,, aI.x