St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-26
SILVER MANS VIEW.
He Wants the Conditions Prior &c
1873 Restored.

ne w ants the Conditions ErIoP 20
1873 Restored.
To the Editor of the Globe
The silver dollar seems to be the bette
noir that hauntS> the editor of the city
paper i'll his dreams; to him too MANY
silver dollars is the sole and only cause
of our present money panic. The coun-
try editor will say "A scarcity of silver
dollars is driving the wolf up to my
door," What varied functions this poor,
deluded dollar plays.
There is no doubt but what there are
two sides to the silver question, but the
majority of the people In the East have
never heard of but one side through the
daily press, and are imbued with the
idea that silver dollar is only worth
seventy cents.
| am FROM silver state. and naturally
talk silver whenever [ can. Since l
have been in st. Paul scarcely a day has
passed without my discussing with some
person this question
Asa good illustration of the ideas
prevalent here l will give the argument
used by prominent st. Paul man few
days ago 10 convert Inc to gold stand
ard. He said: ''HOw can the govern
ment afford to Day S1.35 an ounce for
silver that is worth only 20 cents ?''
said, My dear man, they are not doing
so, you know you got the thing re-
versed. 1t would be nearer right to say
that the treasury is paying 20 cents an
ounce and coming it into money at the
rate of S1.35 an ounce" well, | guess
l KNOW" says he, Il read it in the -
few days ago, and if you don't know
that the government is paying S1.35 an
ounce for silver when it is worth only
70 cents, you don't know anything
about the silver question. Why should
the government buy silver and paw
more than it is worth any more than
they should buy wheat and other prC d.
ucts ?'
L dropped the subject and gave up all
hopes of converting a man who had
such enlarged ideas on the question
But this is fair sample of the way the
majority look at it.! L see the Pioneer
Press, that once great opinion moulder,
takes the same position, that it would
be as reasonable for the farmers to
ask congress to buy their wheat as for
the miners to ask it to buy their silver
In the first place, the miners never
asked it, and, in the second, the condi-
tionS are not alike. The miners oniy
ask congress to restore silver to the place
pose that congress should now pass
law prohibiting the use of wheat
as a food product, having the power
to enforce it. How long would
it be before wheat would drop
in price? Only few years ago Ger
many decreed against pork. What was
the effect? l suppose the people who
called for the removal of the embargo
against pork and the farmers who
would call for the repeal of the prohibit
ton on wheat would be classed as cal
amity howlers. There is a reason for
the depreciation in silver. The abridge-
ment of the rise of any article Will affect
its value. All that the miners ask is
that congress remove the embargo it
placed on silver in 1878, as they have a
right to ask, the same as farmers would
any discrimination against their prod
ucts.
The calamity howlers" have per-
feet right to call for the repeal of any
action of congress that brings public
calamity upon the country, and if the
silver advocates are the calamity