Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-26
ELI PERKINS ON SILVER.
He Explains Why Some Dollars Ar
Worth More Than Others.


Worth More Than Others.
Eli Perkins has been down in Mexico and
from thence he writes the editor Of the
New York Mail and Express his views on
the silver question. His communication Is
dated Juarez, Mexico. June 10. and Is as
follows:
The London Economist has been full of
transcendental articles lately on free coin
age and essays on silver. These articles
have not given much light to the plain,
logical thinker. Down here in Juarez, Mex
leo. light comes to me on the silver ques-
ton.
Ell Paso. Tex. has q population Of about
ten thousand thrifty. enterprising Ameri-
cans. Just over the Rio Grande Is Juarez
It has about three thousand Mexicans, who
i've In adobe houses, and eat when they
get q chance. Juarez Is in the zona libra,
or free Zone. where they have actual free
trade or course. no factory could exist
In the free zone. Everything comes here
cheap from Germany. Belgium and France,
with Just the freight added. So everyt thing
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 silved. When
I took out Mexican dollar in Mexico and
asked what 1t was WORTH they said:
We give you 4S cents in gold"
But how about this American dollar?"
asked. holding out our dollar with In God
we trust on 1t.
"Oh. we give dollar in gold for that. That
got Yankee nation behind it-good as gold /"
And this ten-dollar greenbackr' I said,
holding out one Of Senator Murphy's Troy
bank notes.
That gold. too. We send 1t over to Ell
Paso and get gold for it. But by and by
You Americans have free coinage-free
silver-and Wen be all right then"
"How? asked.
why. when you have free coinage we
WIN melt up our ffty-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 a dollar in gold"
Then what will you do?"
we 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 500.
found. In China and India. two years
ago. that the poor people there had lost hall
their wealth by shrinkage In silver. A man
formerly worth million was worth $500,
Oco. When i got back to America found
no American had lost q cent. Our good
government had put a gold dollar under
every one OF our 'In-God- we trust" dollars.
w. took care Of our own silver. England
took care Of her silver. too. and any silver
with Queen "ictoria's face on 1t Is good as
gold. So with French silver and German.
but not the Indian rupee, Chinese, Japa-
nese and Mexican silver
But now l find many unthinking Ameri-
cans demanding that the seven civilized ma
tions having population of about three
hundred millions. shall put a gold dollar
under the silver dollars and rupees Of /,
2OO.OOO.OOO 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 $500 900 900
OF silver now in circulation, but we can't
nelp out Mexico. China, India and the L.
2O,OO,OOO barbaroCs natives who have tons
OF silver while we have ounces. No civil
ized nation or nations can ever fix a COM
mercial value for the worlds silver again.
IL must take Its place with wheat and coal.
The present silver dollar IL fat, like our pa
per greenback. and Its a rich government
behind II that makes the people have faith
IN II. III our conhding people should one
day demand gold for all our fiat silver coin
and nat paper money now in circula ton the
government could not redeem it Could
they. Mr.. BlandT