The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-03-12
Silver Crazy.


Our silver-crazed morning contempo-
rary does not like THE HERALD's re-
marks in reference to the injury done to
the silver cause by the exaggerations and
Misrepresentation to which some of its
advocates resort. It also disputes the
statement of TIE HERALD that the law of
supply and demand regulates the price of
commodities, and insists that it is the
price of silver that regulates the price of
wheat, cotton. etc. For "proof" of this
it endeavors to show that the price OF
these articles have in certain instances
correspondent with the price OF silver;
that is, rising or falling in similar ratio,
Further, it maintains that the price of
silver regulates the number of lnnatics,
prisoners, marriages and divorces. But
it does not indulge, this time, in a two
column paragraph without break.
Now, we do not wish to get up contro-
versy with our neighbor on the silver
question, first because THE HERALD
favors bi-mettalism on just ratio be-
tween silver and gold, and second because
we know that our morning contemporary
never deals fairly with an opponent, but
lodges the question when clearly in the
wrong, and commonly misquotes the
language and mistakes the position OF an
antagonist. Bnt we will briefly answer
what it has stated on this subject.
Ii it could be proved, which we do not
admit, that the price OF commodities have
invaria6ly huctuated exactly correspond
ing with the rise and fell of silver, even
that would not prove that the price of
silver was the cause and the price OF
wheat, ETC., the effect 1t would be cor
respondence or coincidence, but not nee
essarily a result OF one from the other. If
the prices OF cotton and wheat have risen
and fallen simultaneously, does that
prove that the fuctuation in wheat was
caused by the fuctuation in cotton? Why
not, if correspondence means cause and
effect.
The same reasoning applies to the wild
assertion that the depreciation in silver
has caused an increase in the number OF
lunatics, paupers and criminals and
also in divorces, and a decrease in
the number of marriages. Our neigh
Dor says THE HERALD denies it's figures
as to the number of lunatics, &c. That
is one of the ways of the Tribune that
we object to and which makes contro-
versy with it disgusting. TIE HERALD
did nothing OF the kind. We did not dis
pute one of its figures. We simply called
attention to its ridiculous reasoning and
hazy sentences. It's figures may be all
right and its argument all wrong. We
do not think there is any need to do any
more than state its proposition, that de-
probation in silver is the cause of all the
evils set forth in its figures, to settle the
matter in any mind not shattered with
the silver craze.
England has been under the gold stand
ard for many years. Its criminal statis-
tics show wonderful improvement in
late years. Is that traceable to the APP
probation of gold? It cannot be the de-
probation of silver, although the London
price regulates the market, because The
great silver authority in Salt Lake says it
raises the number OF criminals in the
ratio that it declines in price. But if the
price of silver has anything to do with
the number of criminals. how is it that it
works one way in England and the oppo-
site way in America?
Now let there be no mistake on THE
HERALD's position concerning the white
metal. Because we believe there are two
sides to this silver question, and we favor
fair treatment of the monometallists and
rational argument from the bimetallists,
it does not follow that we are against the
restoration OF silver as money, nor that
we are hostile to facts or reasoning in its
support. We deprecate the exaggerations
and the nonsense Of some of its cham
pions who pose as the depository of all
the silver wisdom in tine world; that is all