The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1893-10-05
4 YRKNCHANY PLKH
A Butte Resident Argues for
Silver Strongly.
IN OCTOBER REVIEW OF REVIEWS
MIR. +. II. Howell Shows That Gold
Has Appreciated Instead of Sill
Ver's CheaDening by Interest
ing Comparative ChartS-A
Plea Against the Repeal.

Inc heVleW or heVleWS follows up the
efforts made In the September numb or
to secure fairer judgment of silver by
further paper in October, which is in
many ways one of the most remarkable
contributions to the literature of the
subject that has appeared Mr.. E. B.
Howell aims to show in concise article
thai gold has appreciated instead of sill
ver's cheapening, and that we should be
speaking Of a $1.50gold dollar instead Of
sixty cent silver dollar. This state
ment has been made before, of course,
hut we do not know that any one before
MIR. Howell has made just such logical
and simple argument to that end. He
prepared several interesting charts, in
which he places the production and
prices Of the cereal and cotton crops and
other staples since 1878, and compares
them with the production OF silver. The
charts show, with striking clearness and
finality that the output of silver has
kept very much nearer these commodi-
ties than has the gold product. From
this Mr.. Howell argues very plausibIy,
that it would be far more just, if we are
going to have mono-metallism, to make
it silver mono-metalllsm instead of gold.
And mark the injustice of this apprecla-
ting standard:
THE EVILS OF AN APPRECIATING DOLLAR.
"When the farmer has mortgage on
his land, the approaching dollar does
him three-fold Injustice. 1t shrinks
the value of his land, il augments his
indebtendess, and at the same time by
lowering the price Of his produce takes
away his ability to pay. The land value
shrinks under the mortgage, and the
mortgage spreads out over the land until
there is no margin left for the original
owner, and foreclosure is inevitable.
The money brokers are entitled to their
principal and interest. They are not en-
titled to the unearned increment of
their wealth caused BY the appreei iatlon
of the money standard.
"But the farmer is not the only one
who has suffered from this process. The
shrinkage in the value of railroads, tele-
graph lines and manufacturing plants is
everywhere felt. Investors do not like
to invest in stocks that are sure to be
worth less than they are worth more.
They will not buy on a falling market,
and there is no bedrock below which
prices cannot go.
IF the monetary policy of the country
makes gold the most desirable and only
secure form of property, it is to be ex-
pected that men who have it will not in
vest it, but will either hoard or loan it.
Until the monetary basis is broadened,
there will be no enduring relief for the
present depression of trade and enter
prise All our money is now referable to
gold, and appreciates with the apprecia-
tion of gold. Even our silver dollars
must be represented by gold dollars
worth of silver bullion in the treasury.
Issuing new forms of currency, payable
either directly or indirectly IN gold, will
afford no relief. but will rather tend to
accelerate the upward course Of gold
The United States could doubtless issue
without limit greenbacks payable in
gold, which would pass at par, for the
faith of the world is absolute that the
United States will redeem according to
it's promise, even though it we're dodo
eggs. The United States cannot by leg
islation increase the supply of gold in
nature. Until this is done, however, the
issuance OF additional promises to pay
gold, in whatever form, will not relieye,
but rather increase, the difficulties of
the situation.
MR.. HowELL's REMEDY.
Perhaps it would not be safe to de-
clare for free coinage at the ratio OF 16
to l. At the present time the market
value of silver is 73 cents an ounce.
while it's coming value is 81 20. A free
coinage law at the old ratio would be
equivalent to an attempt on the part of
the United States to raise unaided the
price OF all the silver in the world from
73 cents TO 81 20 per ounce in gold We
are great people, but hardly equal to
such an undertaking as this. It is quite
safe to say that we would get more silver
than we wanted, and that we could not
maintain it on parity with gold.
But the power and influence of the
United States is great enough to raise
and maintain the price OF silver at point
far above its present abnormally low
price. This point should be discovered,
and our mints opened to it's free coinage
at whatever ratio that would be-. l be-
lieve that free coinage law in the
United States at the ratio of 20 to /
would be an entirely safe measure, and
that it would absolutely fix the price Of
silver the world over at not less than
$l.O3 an ounce in gold. Nor would we
get more silver than we wanted, for con-
fdence in the white metal would be so
restored thereby that it would again be
in demand in other countries for money
purposes.
"The failure OF the Bland-Allison law
and the Sherman act to fix the price of
silver is no criterion of the effect a free
coinage law would have, for neither of
these laws was intended to accomplish
this result; on the contrary, they have
both treated silver as commodity to be
measured, like other commodities, by
tain demand for silver, and to this extent
have benefited the owners of silver mines;
but they have done nothing to stop that
Staa1V aprraniofiop of crc1d fbof hoe