St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-08
TAX ALL IMPORTS OF MERCHAN.
Disc FROM GOLD STANDARD
COUNTRIES.
burdens for MiIIionsefC Consumers
to Benefit Only Silver Pro-
ducSrs.
To the Editor of the Globe.

IlOn DIT the present tlnle. am IN Ia
vor of the free and unlimited coin
age of silver at the ratio of Is to l,
provided accompanying legislation is
enacted that will make certain the
concurrent circulation of gold with
the silver thus coined To this end
1 propose the following:
1. The free and unlimited coinage
Of silver at the ratio of 1G to 1.
2. The raising OF present tariffs on
imports from all gold standard coun-
tries so per cent.
8. No free list Oh imports from gold
standard countries, but a duty of %
per cent of value on present free list.
4. The collection of all duties on i'm
ports in gold, and gold only.
5. The declaration that all gold OBJ
legations of the government, as the
law is now construed by the treasury
department, be paid in gold.
I think it will be generally admitted
that the gold currency will circulate
if it remains in undiminished volume
in this country. The danger Of its
disappearance from circulation lies in
the possibility that it may go to for
eign lands, as it certainly would I'M
der a system of free silver coinage
without legislation that would cause
it to remain in this country. Our gold
goes to Europe to settle balances Of
trade. In referring to balances of
trade in this connection l mean the
net balance, after including payments
Of interest and principal on indebted
ness to foreign money lenders, as
these payments ordinarily occur, and
all other charges, such as the sale of
American securities on the American
market by foreign holders, etc. 1t
seems to me that the above proposed
plan, if placed in the United States
statutes, would result in the retention
OF the present stock Of gold in this
country, and would also largely in
crease that stock by accretions from
Europe. This plan would remove the
possibility of a general unloading in
the. American market of American
securities now held abroad. All gold
securities would stand exactly as
they do now, payable in gold, and any
fear of depreciation of the value OF
other securities would be considered
by buyers as we'll as sellers, and would
affect the price so that there would
be no profit in selling. In fact, under
this plan any such fear would be
groundless. Neither would this plan
affect new loans, because these loans
can be made on gold contracts, if de-
sired by the lenders. It would soon
be seen, however, that gold loans We're
no better than other loans, where sill
Yer was just as good as gold in the
every day exchanges among the peo-
pie. 1t is known that free silver would
result in an advance of prices, ard
dealers could then buy commodities
cheaper in the single gold standard
markets of Europe than at home, in
the absence of any remedial legisla-
ton. Gold would flow to Europe to
buy these cheaper commodities, and
soon this country would have no gold
left. But the above plan would pre-
vent this, as it would compel the buy
er to pay at the custom house, in adj
ditional tariff duties, the whole
amount of his gain, or more, and
there being no profit in such transac-
tons, the trade would remain in this
country. Then this plan, on account
of the higher tariff, would reduce the
amount of imports, and there would be
larger balances of trade in favor of
this country, which the gold standard
countries would have to pay in gold
They could not pay in cheap silver.
because there would be no cheap sill
yer. No silver miner would sell sill
Yer that he could coin into current
money at full value for a price less
than that value. The gold standard
countries have no silver mines, and
if they send US their gold to buy our
wit bcI
we would have both the gold and the
silver, and they could not get the sill
yer back without paying US more
gold for it. In short, no well-informed
person who is honest will deny that
there would be heavy balances of
trade in our favor with the single
gold standard countries, and that it
would be practicable to settle these
balances only in gold, as our CONNER
cial transactions with these countries
would necessarily have to be on a gold
basis. l can see no escape from the
conclusion that our stock Of gold
would be largely increased by these
balances and the large output of gold
from our mines, and if the gold is
here it will circulate. 1t is needless
to explain what an impetus and
country to all lines of industry. bust
ness and investment by such an
abundance of money, and Sound
money, too; every dollar of it worth
its face in gold. To my mind the pro-
posed prohibition of gold contra Ss,
and other similar legislation, would
defeat its object. Let the people
make all the gold contracts they want
~
of gold in the country to pay them
with. If we can make the gold cir
culate along with free silver. the
whole question is solved. Let us make
every gold standard nation that trades
with us contribute to our store of
gold. On this line free silver coinage
can be made the greatest financial
success the world has ever se.n.
Otherwise it is doomed to failure.
The st. Paul Pioneer Press of June
2S, 1879, expressed the opinion editor
tally that the thirty million silver dol
lars coined under the law of the pre-
vious year reached very near to the
limit beyond which depreciation would
take place. F'inanciers generally were
Of the same opinion, but the country
now has six hundred million dollars
in silver, and although silver bullion
has fallen from 81 per ounce in 1879 to
CT cents in 1895, there is no depreciation
in the value OF the silver dollar The
reason of this is that as long as sill
yer and gold circulate together, silver
will maintain its parity with gold. The
balances of trade with foreign nations
have been so much in our favor that
our gold could not go to foreign coun-
tries, hence it had to remain here and
circulate with silver. If the balances
of trade had been heavily against US,
so that our gold had been sent abroad
TO make settlement, silver dollars would
long since have deprecated in value.
The effect OF these conditions the finan-
ciers of 1879 did not think about. The
question of conditions is as important
as the question of intrinsic vnlueE. In
Russia the paper rouble, representing
silver, is at a slight premium over the
silver rouble it represents, although
that government does not redeem the
paper with silver or anything else.