Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-07-11
ELI PERKINS on SILVER.
He Explains Why Some Dollars Are
Worth More Than Others.


editor of the New York Mail and Ex-
press his views on the silver question.
His communication is dated Juarez,
Mexico, June 10, and is as follows:
The London Economist has bSen full
of transcendental articles lately on
free coinage and essays ON silver. These
articles have not given much light to
the plain, logical thinker. Down here
in Juarez, Mexico, light comes to me
on the silver question.
Ell Paso, Texas, has q population of
about ten thousand thrifty, enterpris-
ing Americans. Just over the Rio
Grande is Juarez. 1t has about three
thousand Mexicans, who live in adobe
houses, and eat when they get a chance.
Juarez is in the zona libra, or free
zone, where they have actual free trode,
OF course, no factory could exist in the
free zone. Everything comes here
cheap from Germany, Belgium and
France, with just the freight added.
So everything eaten or worn, from
French kid gloves and China silks to
Chicago beef, comes in free, and all
their money goes out. If they did not
make some profit smuggling across the
Rio Grande into Ell Paso they would
starve.
The money used is Mexican silver.
When took out Mexican dollar in
Mexico and asked what it was worth,
they said:
I'VE give you 4S cents in gold"
But how about this American dol
lar?" | asked, holding out our dollar
with In God We Trust on it.
"Oh, we give dollar in gold for that.
That got Yankee nation behind it
good as gold"
And this ten dollar greenback?" 1
said, holding out one of Senator Muir
phys Troy bank notes.
That gold, too. We send it over to
Ell Paso and get gold for it, But by
and by you Americans have free coin
age free silver-and we'll be all right
then"
How" asked.
why, when you have free coinage
we will melt up our fifty eight cent
dollars and take them over to your
mint and get them stamped like yours.
Your Government, when you have free
coinage, will make them worth dol
lar in gold"
Then what will you do?n
I'VE bring it back to Mexico and buy
two of our cheap dollars with it,"
And then WHAT"
why, we melt them up and buy
two Yankee silver dollars, worth as
much as four of ours. We soon give
you $4,000, 900 worth Of our silver and
we get your 100000, 900 in gold"
| found, in China and India, two
years ago, that the poor people there
had lost half their wealth by shrink
age in silver. A man formerly worth
million was worth $500,000. When |
gotback to America l found America
had not lost cent. Our good Govern
ment had put gold dollar under every
one of our "In God We Trust" dollars.
We took care of our own silver. Eng
land took care of her silver, too, and
any silver with Queen Victoria's face
on it is good as gold. So with French
silver and German, but not the Indian
rupee, Chinese, Japanese and Mexican
silver.
But now l find many unthinking
Americans demanding that the seven
civilized nations, having a population
of about three hundred millions, shall
put a gold dollar under the silver dol
lars and rupees Of 100000, 900 half
savages. But the civilized nations
have done all they can with silver.
Our silver dollar is worth 100 cents in
gold in Bombay, Mexico or Yokohama.
We have put gold dollar under our
own S50O,000,000 of silver now in cir
culation, but we can't help out Mexico,
China, India and the ZOO, 900, 900 bar
barous natives who have tons of silver
while we have ounces. No civilized
nation can ever fix commercial value
for the worlds silver again. 1t must
take its place with wheat and oats.
The present silver dollar is fiat, like
our paper greenback, and it is rich
government behind it that makes the
people have faith in it. If our confid
ing people should one day demand
gold for all our fiat silver coin and fiat
paper money now in circulation the
government could not redeem it; could
they Mr.. Bland
w. II. Nelson, who is in the drug
business at Kingville, Mo. has so much
confidence in Chamberlain 3 Collie,
Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy that