The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-05-09
May Z, 1894.
Free Coinage Of Silver.
B%1sHopv1LLE, S. C.

blSH0PflLLE, .. y.
Editor ". and s. Would the free mint.
age of silver prove to be q fraud and a de-
fusion? Prof. R. Means Davis has thus
characterized it in an article copied by you
from the Christian -4dOocah.
We ask the above question to-day, MD
languishi1g churches, crippled missions, de.
caying brotherhood societies, decreasing OF
railroad earnings. mercantile failures I'M
parallelled, closed manufactures, closed
mines, laborers begging bread, the circulation
of 8 millions of tramps, agriculturists reallz-
ing no more than two-thirds of the cost OF
production for their produce and the relgnlng
of bigotry in national authority.
Follow me and ponder our s LII a
day like this, in the which no thoughtful
man can see aught of encouragement in the
future, we are gravsly told by one of our
national educators that a return, after years
of deviation. to the original design of the
constitution is fraudulent and d~elusive, equiv
alent 10 the prayer, ''God bless the rich, the
poor can Deg"
His defaclng illustration is apt and telling,
but how could it be otherwise, after silver
had been Disseminated against, o%ut-lawed
and bounded down for years, simply because
its volume was too great 10 be trusted up,
while on the other hand gold is trusted up
by a syndicate aud through their influence
and because "a good many people have never
had an opportunity to study the financial
problem the gold standard has become
almost universal.
The weight agreed upon was 25 S-l0 grains
of standard gold to the dollar, hence that is
its artificial or value as IA money metal. Now
Il. c.---1 .-l:-..l ~:-,-a ~ -oJ3 nhtoiro
in this nation.
The official figures on the output OF gold
during the year 1898 for the State OF Colo
RADIO in round numbers were 10 millions of
dollars at u cost of production or mining OF
50, 200, 900 OF just % cents on The dollar.
That cheap bullion was brought by the
cart load 10 the U. S. Mints and by law the
image and superscription of 10 millions OF
people were impressed upon 1t, and every
Is $40 grains was declared a legal tender for
one dollar, and that too in the face OF the
fact that the first cost was only % cents on
the coined dollar, and further the miner SIM
ply pays his hired help, pockets the balance
aod divides not with a single soul"
In South Africa, English capitalists own a
mine which produces annually gold to the
amount of "a millions Of dollars, ssal value
at a cost of I millions of dollars.
After the war the country was flooded with
exception clause greenbacks. The govern
ment offered interest bearing bonds in ex-
change for same fer the purpose of Destroy
ing that class of currency. Instantly the
hoarders OF money-the masses do not hoard
money, they use it 10 facilitate exchange
gathered in the greenbacks and made the ex-
change at par and sat down and drew their
interest, until the government offered to store
or keep safe their bonds and allow them for
pocket money 80 cents on each dollars
worth of. bonds, said bonds to continue, as
before, to draw the same interest, which
proposition they eagerly accepted, and it is
further written that they pocketed that 80
per cent, and walked off without dividing
with a SOUL
Now, is there any "6st" or artificial when
mixed in such transactions as the foregoing!
only IS cents in each gold dollar and SO cents
in each paper dollar.
Now, if the Professors argument demol-
isbes the theory of free silver what effect Will
it have on our present practice OF free gold
coinage and bank note exchange?