The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-05-02
value of the coin at present, there
fore, comes from it's stamp.

value of the coin at present, there
fore, comes from it's stamp.
If free coinage be substituted for
the Bland bill, all profits will go into
the pockets of the owner of the silver
bullion. He is said to be able to pro-
duce it at the mines for forty cents an
ounce, or about thirty cents for the
quantity contained in the dollar. He
brings along his cheap bullion by the
cart load, gets it stamped, puts the
dollars into his pockets, without d.
viding with a soul. 1t is all his,
metal, stamp, profit and all. The
miners may bring a hundred million
ounces Of silver, costing them forty
million dollars, and take away a
hundred and twenty-nine million
silver dollars without any other per-
sons being a cent the richer. Yet
all this accrued profit comes from the
'.fat" on command of the aggregate
people of the United States.
Silver men say that free coinage
will make the bullion value of silver
equal to it's coin value, since no n
will take less for a lump Of silver if he
can get a dollar for it by sending it to
the mint This is approximately
true. Whether coin will go down in
value as opponents of free coinage
claim, or bullion will increase, cannot
be discussed here. But on the
assumption of the silver mel that
both silver coin and silver bullion
will rise to the value of gold, it will
be seen that government, by adopting
the free coinage measure, will simply
vote large sums into the pockets Of a
certain class. 1t is strange that those
who inveigh most against %enriching
Eastern gold kings are clamoring for
a measure that will gratuitously put
from fifty to seventy millions a year
into the pockets of the silver kings
of the West.
The masses are doing this because
they are not informed. They feel
that they want more money, and
think that free coinage is the only
means Of securing it. Trey ought
to understand that il is an unsafe,
unjust anu roundabout way of reach
ing their end
lfthey insist on having more silver
they can procure it much more
cheaply and directly that through free
coinage. They have only to enact. a
measure similar t. the Bland bill,
make the. government purchase silver
bullion at the market rate, and coin
it at a profit, to the whole peo-
pie. Silver miners will then receive
Legitimate. profits only. because the
market price of silver will. to some
extent. conform to cost of production,
instead of being arbitrarily fixed by
statute.
There is a very wide gulf between
offering to purchase all the silver that
is produced at market price, aud
offering to give $1.29 an ounce for it
when it can be mined for forty cents.
For sake OF argument have as
sumed that a further issue of silver
is desired, merely to show that in
such a case free coinage is a very
poor expedient for securing it The
Southerner has no silver He will
simply stand by with watering chops
and e the Western miner pile up
further wealth at his expense. There
is nothing to bring this money here
any more than to bring the capital of
the Northeast. here.The South is
asked to4play catspaw for other sec
tons alternately.
There are in circulation FIVE hun
dred millions in gold and six hundred
millions in silver, besides greenbacks
and national bank notes. We do not
need more silver. We do need a
banking system that will allow the
South to issue paper money on gooo
security for local needs Eastern
men want no banks because they
desire to have a purely gold basis
Western men want no banks because
they will then have no opportunity to
sell forty cents worth of silver for a
dollar and twenty.nine cents. But the
South does want banks and in
this ~irrepressible conflict between
Eastern gold and Western silver lies
Southern opportunity. If the South
will stand for banks, as a balance OF
party power, it will secure them
Free silver coinage is a fraad and a
delusion.-Christian Advocate.
Repeal Will Soon be Under Dis
cussion.
THE President Is in FAVOR of the Measure.