Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1893-07-18

~
is thas Kind of politics that has
made America the richest, the
freest, and in every Legitimate
sense the greatest nation on
earth.
Silver is essentially a staple crop
of the west, as well as gold. The
general prosperity Of the entire
country, not merely the west, is
dependant largely upon the vol
ume Of the output Of both. The
production of silver has no more
than kept pace with the expansion
of the commerce and industries Of
the world, while it is well known
that the production of gold for
more than thirty years has fallen
short of the development that has
taken place in the worlds other
industries.
Many have been the expedients
suggested for the cure of the fnan-
cial ills that have grown out of the
monetary situation during the past
quarter Of a century. There is at
least one speedy, effective and per-
manent cure that seems to have
been overlooked-at least it has
not yet been tried. Repeal not
only the Sherman silver storage
law, but all the laws that have
been erected during the last TWEEN
ty years, including that of 1873,
which irpose restrictions upon the
coinaG Of silver that do not apply
also to thc coinage Of gold. Put
the whole matter of the relations
between silver and gold where they
were up to 1873, and then let tho
hundreds of tons of silver bullion
now stored in the the treasury e
main there as security for the Q
demption of the outstanding silver
notes according to the pledge
printed in the face of those notes,
and let silver money take its chan
ces unimpeded by partial and hos
tile legislation.
One of the fundamental axioms
of safety has been disregarded-
that a progressive, expanding ma
ton needs a constantly expanding
currency, as well as an expanding
basis for that currency, and also
that the stability of a declared
standard of values is of the utmost
Importance.
The undoubted cause of the ex-
isting condition Of unrest in fnan-
cial affairs lies in the fact hat we
have departed from these basic
principles. The constitution in
effect makes gold and silver alone
legal tender, We supplemented
that by adding paper to the vol
ume of legal tender money. We
then undertook to discriminate
between gold and silver by issu-
ing treasury notes payable in sill
yer and not in gold, and again, is
suing notes payable in gold and
not in silver, thus violating an
other cardinal principal of finance.
, and now, being the greatest silver
producing nation on earth, we are
attempting by an act of supremest
stupidity and perhdy to the eco
nomic interest of the entire world
t and especially to those of our owl
country, by seeking the destruc
/ ton of our principal money pro
q duct and the most essential anC
| useful element of money hat til,
civilization of the ages has pro
q duced.
What wonder is it, then, tina
y the land is strewn with bushes.
a failures and financial wrecks, anC
e that from practically every local.
ty, from the Atlantic to the Paci
n fc, comes a wall of financial dis
s tress, as the direct result, in yer,
large part, of the effort to banisl
the most abundant and the mos
useful of our money metals anC
put the business of the countr,
upon the basis of the scarcer ant
dearer metal.
n There is ground for hope tina
this conspiracy against the bust
ness interests of the country an,
in behalf of speculation has abou
IS run its course. The industrial IN
n terests affected by it are too tire
mendous to longer permit tn
bond holding and specializing co
, teries of Wall street to make us
Il of these great wealth-producina
} power-evolving and nation build
It ing industries as battledor AM
shuttle cock in their bond gamb
ling gDeculatIOns.