The times., 1894-06-08
ENGLAND AND SILVER
THE WHITE METAL Is USED TO FOS-
TER BRITISH INTERESTS.
The Decentralization OF Silver Is Discrimina-
tion Against an American Productions
Only Relief Is to Tax British Freight and



Shipping.
We, with our near neighbor, Mexico
are the principal producers Of silver.
Nearly all the worlds supply comes
from North and South America. Tho
production of all Europe is insignificant
Until lately neither Great Britain nor
any British colony produced any silver.
Under these circumstances England saw
that by demonetizing silver it would
decrease the value of a commodity 1t did
not produce and conversely increase the
value of the goods it wished to sell in
American countries. Some IA years ago
Germany, which proposed by the aid of
protection and subsidies to its mercan-
tile marine to become an exporting ma
tion, followed England's lead and also
demonetized silver. Lately England,
seeing that we were staggering untlor the
effort to hold up the price Of product
common to so many American coun-
tries, tried to give us a coup de grace by
demonetizing silver in India.
The demonetiZation of silver IN Eng
land and Germany was an effort, by
discrimination against one Of our prod
ucts, to obtain an undue advantage in
trade with us. The demonetization OF
silver in India was as distinctly a hos
tile act as any "order in council" that
led to the war of 1919. If even an old
pair of Jefferson's s or Jackson IS political
breeches were left in the White House,
this action of England's would have
been resented as the orders in council
were.
With these long continued hostilities
to one at least of our interests apparent
to the whole world and fully under
stood by all of our Legislators, large
part of the Democratic party and ap-
parently all of the Populists propose to
reward Great Britain, principally, and
Germany by opening our markets to
their manufactures, increasing the
amount of silver, debased in value by
their action, which we will have to ex-
port to pay for service in transporting
our ocean freights and goods received
from them. And almost concurrently
| with the demonetization of silver in In
dia by England that unconscionable
Judas, Fithian, proposes TO reward
Great Britain by destroying our ship
building industry in favor of British
shipbuilders. AS he says, his only reason
for not trying to hand our roasting and
lake trade to the English is his fear
that by trying to do too much at first
he may not be able to do anything for
the interests of the nation to whose capi-
talists he is so parasitic
All Americans will welcome Senator
Lodges declaration of opposition to this
supersubservient attitude of Great Brit
| aims servants in our congress and will
| agree with his reasons for opposition.
He says i'll part:
1t is England which is today the great enc
my of any effort for the restoration of silver to
| the worlds currency. 1 do not mean the whole
| of England, but the bankers and the mighty
| moneyed interests Of London.
| England is held in her present position by
the banking and moneyed interests of London.
| speaking in broad and general way. She Is
| In great difficulty with her Indian exchanges.
| She is in great difficulty with her manufac-
| turers. She needs relief. No one who has fol-
| lowed the English newspapers or the discus
| sion of the Indian currency question can fail
| to see that the movement in favor of silver is
| is governed in her attitude toward silver solely
| by her own interests. She is not engaged in
| maintaining the gold monometallic standard
| because she is in love with what some persons
| declare to be an economic truth. She Is en-
| gagged in maintaining it because her bankers
and her capitalists believe 1t pays. The rest Of
| the world stands either ready or anxious to do
| something for silver, and the gold monometallic
| policy of Great Britain now in force among all
great civilized nations is, 1 believe, the great
| enemy of good business throughout the world
at this moment.
Therefore it seems to me If there is any way
| in which we can strike England's trade or
strike her moneyed interest it is our clear pol
icy to do 1t in the interest of silver. Nothing,
| in my judgment, as the senator from Iowa
| (N1r. Allison) pointed out the other day. can
| help England so much in her present difficult
| ties as to open the markets of this country to
her under the proposed tariff bill.
| The senator advocates striking her
with prohibitive duties ON the produce
of her colonies, saying, '"There is only
one way to deal with England on this
question, and that is to make her feel it
in her pocket.
Possibly, however, the senator is not
making his attack ON the most vulnera-
BILE point A differential duty on all
goods from England would undoubtedly
Il
be unpleasant to that country. But she
would not care greatly for the impover-
ishment Of her colonies. Has she not for
the past year added to the e16, 532, 215
in gold drawn trom India for imperial
| taxation o.: additional sum Of 80, 946, =
200 in silvcr made absolutely neces-
sary for ex.iGIgc by rho low value of
silver? This low vlluo she has procured.
She would ,ae al OF her colonies bless
ed with hcland's prosperity with more
or less equanimity il it would injure us.
The most vulnerable point of attack is
her shipping, that Fithian wishes to
protect and foster. If we would give no.
tice Of q termination Of the convention
which prevents us imposing differential
duties ON imports in British ships, that
prevents our imposing differential har-
Dor and dock dues ON her shipping, we
would see the Indian mints reopened
instantly.
If Mexico and the silver producing
countries Of Central and South America,
which are invited to increase the taxa
tion Of their people that British bond
n -