The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-05-02
S|LV LVER'S FRIENDS.
Some of the Great Ones of Earth
Among Them.
The international Bimetallic
Congress Meets in London.
MIR. BALFOUR'S SPEECH
A Return to Silver is Absolutely
Necessary.
Governor of the Bank Of France
in Sympathy.
MIR. BALFOUR'S SPEECH
Lidderdale, the World Famous
Financier Endorses.

LONDON, May 2-The international
bimetallic conference under the auspices
of the bimetallic league, was called to
order in the Egyptian hall of the Man
sion House today, the lord mayor,
Lord Evans presiding.
The proceedings opened with an adj
dress by the lord mayor after which
Prof. Shield Nicholson read a paper on
''the fall in the general level of prices in
relation to the appreciation of gold and
the divergence in relative value of gold
and silver"
During the afternoon the Right Hon.
A j. Balfour, the Conservative leader in
the house of commons, made ad-
dress, which was followed by a paper
by Leonard Courtenay, NJ p, on "The
practicability of maintaining a ratio be-
tween gold and silver under an interna-
tional bemetallic agreement"
This was followed by a discussion.
A banquet will be given this evening
to the English and foreign members of
the conference.
There were about 400 delegates pres
ent at the opening session today, among
Mass; Mr.. Vanderberg. president of the
Bank of the Netherlands, Amsterdam
Henry Geynuschi of Paris. president of
the French bimetallic league: David
Murray, president of the South Austria
liam Bimetallic league; ThOs. Salt, late
president of the bankers institute; Sir
Malcom Frazerm, general agent in Lon
don for Western Australia, the Right
Hon. w. Lidderdale, ex-governor of the
Bank of England. and numbe of prom
inent foreign and British tinanciers, as
we'll as many members of parliament.
Object of the League.
The object of the bimetallic league is
to urge upon the British government the
necessary cooperation with the other
nations for the establishment of
hea nj at
fixed ratio.
Among the letters of regret was one
from Archbishop Walsh of Dublin. The
archbishop said that he personally
glad to see the conference discuss the
aspect of the case in which Ireland was
most deeply concerned, namely the
ruinous effects of the present artiticially
created dearth of money upon hus-
bandry and its interests. Concerning
the currency question generally the
arch bishop wrote: 81 can only say the
experiences of years ago will but serve
to deepen the conviction of the irresisti-
BILE strength of the cause of international
bi-metallism. The practical feature
of the recent experimental tampering
with the currency of India ought surely
be sufficient to finally check any further
development of the disastrous doctrinaire
policy which has SO long held ground in
England"
NJ. Magnin in Sympathy.
NJ. Magnin. also sent letter applauding
the aims of the conference and saying:
"The silver question imposes itself more
every day upon financiers. The whole
world requires it's solution in its general
interest. 1t is intimately bound up in the
commercial and industrial prosperity of
all nations. l am a resolute partisan of
the rehabilitation of silver"
Prof Francis A. Walker wrote applaud
ing the gallant, gaining fight for the
restoration of silver to its historical place
in the currencies of the world, which the
bi-metallic league is making"
President Andrews of Brown Univer-
sity, Providence, r. l.: "Our cause is
making rapid progress and we are certain
to succeed"
During the discussion which followed
the reading of Prof. Nicholson's paper,
DIR. Arendt, member of the Prussian
diet, declared that bi-metallism was max
ing progress in Germany and he thought
that if an international conference was
had, it would have very different results
from the Brussels conference.
sTr. Baifour's Speech.
The feature of the conference was the
speech of Mr.. Balfour. He said that
many who were suspicious of the double
stands-d i and bimefallic system now rec
ognize in view of the great impending
dangers, that the best safeguard is to re-
habilitate silver as one of the great in
struments of the monetary transactions
of the world
1t was absolutely necessary that the
monetary functions of silver should be
restored if business was to be carried
upon a gold basis. The differences of an
International agreement, he insisted,
were merely as to the details and if any
question should be settled by an interna-
tlonal agreement, surely this one should
be.