Arizona weekly citizen., 1893-07-22
HERBERT BROWN = Manage
GOLD-BUG PALACES.

AS everything on the silver question is
of momentous interest to Arizonans we
reproduce from the Denver Republican
the following oaustic criticism on
the gold-bug fallacies of the east as
advocated by the New York World:
The New York World OF July con-
contained a leading editorial on "The
Gain From Repeal" in which an at
tempt was made to show that the repeal
of the Sherman law would prove bene-
fetal to the contrary because it would
remove all doubt as to the ability of the
government to pay all its obligations
in gold, and at the same time benefit
private corporations by convincing
European investors that this country
would not 60 to silver basis under any
circumstances.
Regarding the first proposition, the
World claims that the government has
several obligations which it must pay
in gold. There is absolutely no truth
in this claim. The government OF the
United States has never agreed to pay
any OF its bonds or notes in gold alone.
They are all made payable in coin by
the terms of the law under which they
were issued, and coin in this country
means silver as we'll as gold. Why
should there be any need of restoring
confidence in the ability of the govern
ment to pay in gold when all its out
standing obligations were created with
the distinct understanding that they
would be redeemable in coin and not in
gold? The World and other eastern
gold-bugs claim that Europe would
Immediately food this country with gold
ii the Sherman law should be repealed
and the fear that we would be forced
to silver basis by the purchase of
100000 Of silver bullion every month
should be removed and that if we do
not remove that fear all our securities
held abroad will be hurried back to our
shores Immediately to be exchanged for
gold on any terms that can be obtained.
Unjust be evident to every intelligent
observer that the Europe will not send
gold to this country unless it gets value
received IN exchange for it, and hence
even if the Sherman law were repealed
tomorrow, there is no reason to believe
that any considerable amount of gold
would come to the United Utates from
Europe unlessits foreign owners believed
that by sending it here they could do
better than by keeping it at home.
Ii the Sherman law should not be re-
pealed, and we are strongly of the
opinion that it will not be repealed
during the extra session of congress,
Europe could only draw on our existing
stock Of gold by giving us something
else in exchange for it which we would
prefer, and this means that If American
securities held abroad are sent back on
account OF the fear of the present
holders that this country may be forced
to a silver basis, we would get these
securities on our own terms, and as they
nearly all represent good paying prop>
critics, we would be benefited and not
hurt by taking them in exchange for
gold.
The greatest delusion taught by the
gold bugs is that Europe will not invest
money in any country where money is
given a monetary use on large scale.
England has invested thousands of
millions in countries which have silver
alone as their money standard. Most of
the railroads and other great public
works of India were built with English
capital, and yet India has never had
anything but silver for standard money.
Hundreds of millions of British capital
are invested in Mexico, and silver is the
only money of the Mexican republic.
Why then should we fear that if we
should LET the Sherman law stand Eu-
rope will refuse to do business with us
on any terms? Even with that law in
operation we have a larger stock of gold
on hand at present than any other
country in the world except France, and
we would naturally have less difficulty
than any other country in which silver
is used in obtaining sufficient quantity
OF gold to pay any foreign obligations
that we may incur.
The World and all its colleagues in
the god-bug cause are either ignorant
OF the true condition of our coinage
problem or willfully vicious in attempt
ing to force this country to adopt the
single gold standard. Isstead of bene-
fitting the business interests of the
United States, the repeal of the Sher-
man law would be the most serious blow
that could be struck at American pros
perity just now, because it would cut off
our only available means of increasing
the circulation to meet the requirements
OF our growing population and volume
of business. We have no doubt that
when this question comes up in congress
the fallacies upon which the Wall-street
gold bugs and their organs base their
demand for the repeal of the Sherman
law will be torn to pieces by able repre-
sentatives of both the old parties in the
house and senate, and we shall be
greatly surprised if long before final
action can be taken on the repeal meas
ure pubic opinion will not compel
majority in both houses to declare in
favor of the retention of the Sherman
law ustil some measure providing for a
much larger use of silver in our currency
can be enacted in its stead.
WE are in favor of the free coinage of
silver. Everybody is in favor of it; but
the incendiary statements of Colorado's
fool governor will do the cause more
harm than good. 1t is a question that