Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-07-19


to silver free and unrestricted coinage.
For the United States the evils con-
nected with partial metallism have less
terrors than those directly consequent
upon the entire demonstration of sill
yer. India, with her silver basis, forms
an almost unsurmountable obstacle in
the way of the United States adopting
a rational, scientific, American none
tary system
What, then, can we do? We can do
this: Supplement our volume of silver
money with an additional volume of
absolute full legal tender paper money,
which shall not be a promise to pay,
but promise to receive, and shall not
be redeemable in any other kind of
money. Reinforce and support our
monetary system with an act of con-
press providing that as fast as we lose
metallic money by export there shall
be issued an exact equal amount of alb
solute legal tender paper money to take
its place, and thus render the pernicious
fallacy of metallism powerless to work
any harm. This is the scientific solu-
ton of the problem in the interest of
the wealth producers"
Since then mighty and stupendous
event has taken place, which will, in
the near future, revolutionize the mon
etary systems of the entire world and
which entirely changes the trend of
financial discussion. The Indian en-
pire-which in 1885 adopted the silver
standard and since then has imported
$1,640,000, 600 in silver, freely coming
into rupees all silver taken to her mints
has closed her mints to the free coin
age of silver and virtually adopted the
gold standard.
Not only has she done this, but she
has changed her coinage ratio from IS
to l to 21 9-10 to l and the rupee will
hereafter have a monetary or coinage
value of 81. "A cents instead of 47.37
cents, as heretofore, while the none
tary value of an ounce of silver has
been reduced from S1.37 to 94. 30 cents.
Thus, at one fell stroke, a rupee circu-
lation amounting to about 1850, 600, 900
rupees has nearly one-third of its none
tary value taken away from it, to say
nothing about nearly half as much un-
coined silver held by the natives.
The momentous Importance of this
action upon the part of the British gov
ernment of India can hardly be over
estimated. Whatever the ultimate re-
suit may prove to be, the gold-bugs of
the United States, under the leadership
of Grover Cleveland, are responsible
therefor. The agitation against the
Sherman silver act and the active Shy
lockian campaign carried on in the
United States against silver, were the
~. - T. e. i
India merely anticipated and fore
stalled the action of the United States.
The correspondence between the gov
ernment of India and the India office
has been issued. It opens with letter
from the Indian council, under date of
March, 1892, urging the home govern
ment to aid in tho settlement of the
silver question by an international
agreement, failing which, not to defer
determining upon an Indian policy, as
If an international agreement should
not be attained the United States might
suddenly stop the coinage of silver,
leaving India unprepared.
The council, in letter written in
June, 1892, advises that if the interna-
tional monetary conference at Brus-
sells fails, and a direct agreement be-
tween India and the United States can
closed to the free coinage of silver and
a gold standard be introduced.
In minute to the council, Mr. Bar
bour, financial secretary of India, op-
poses the stoppage of free coinage un-
til it becomes evident that the United
States will not adopt free coinage.
Thus, thanks to the assiniue policy
of the present gold-bug administration,
the way has been paved for financial
crash such as the world has never be-
fore witnessed.
If India undertakes to replace and
supersede her silver currency with gold
coin she will require 1915, 900, 900 in
gold, and then she will have only
about S1.25 per capita in circulation.
1t is Knockout blow for silver, as
it would doubtless take longer to re-
verse this action on the part of India,
than has been occupied in fruitless eff
forts to undo the crime of 1873 upon
the part of our own government The
days of silver as a money metal are
ended, and those who battle in it's be-
half will be the leaders of forlorn
fourth of the worlds silver and it's
value is now legally settled and affixed
at "a cents an ounce in gold. Silver is
dead. What the United States and In
dia might have done together, the
United States can never. never do
alone. The adoption of free coinage
on the part of the United States, at In
dia's ratio of % to l would simply per-
petuate the present low prices and
chain us forever to the gold standard.
The line of battle has changed. The
last and, apparently, the insurmount-
able barrier which stood in the way of
the United States adopting rational
and scientific American monetary
system for America, has been
swept away. The India-silver-
wheat-cotton problem has been solved.
Its solution is its elimination. 1t no
longer exists. Henceforth all silver
coined by India will be first bought by
her at its market price and then coined
into rupees at the new ratio, upon gov
ernment account. Importing nations
will no longer be able to buy for SO
cents in gold an ounce of silver and
get it coined int rupees having pur-
chasing power in India of S1.37. What
ever the future competition of India's
wheat and cotton may prove to be, it
will at least be competition upon gold
| basis.
The line of battle has changed
Silver is no longer the point of least re
sistance. a new line of battle must be
formed and the onslaught of the re-
form forces must be made upon the
citadel of metallism itself Henceforth
the battle is between metallism and in
convertible paper money. The battle
of Armageddon is at hand and the con-
hiet will be desperate, bloody and de-
cisive. Gold and silver will both be de-
monetized and money will be of paper
absolute, full legal tender and incon-
vertible. Lift up your heads. oh We
| tOilerS. for the dar 0f vor,r rada,,r@;ov,