Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-09-05

/ QUESTIONS ABOUT SILVER.
An InquirinE Correspondent Gnidsd II n
Right Path
| correspondent writes: ST hay,
!. been very much interested IN studvin,
the coinage question, and would lils
| to ask your views ON the following
questions:
1t Tree coinage of silver wer,
adopted. allowing that the value o
property and products would be in
creased. would this not work hard
ship on the saIaried man, for with tn.
price of everything higher, his salar,
would not go as far to make purchases
as it does now2
Would foreign countries accept
silver in payment of our debts to them.
Would il not ruin our credit?
Silver could not be shipped bacl
epd forth like gold, as The bulk Is toe
grat and it would cost too much
money!
~ SILVER weighs too much for con.
venience. PEOPLE do not like 70 carry
it
free coinage. world IL not result in
drawing all the gold out of the coun-
try and leaving only silver, which, ac-
cording to nearly all contracts, is not
acceptable in payment of debts, even
in the United Statese'
The question of wages we have dis
eussed several times and have shown
that wages invariably rise when prices
rise, because prices only go up when
the demand for goods increases An
increased demand, as we showed IN
an editorial lately. means an in
creased demand for labor and a conse-
que ut rise in wages Prices have fallen
enormously the last two years, but so
have wages
This branch of the subject cannot be
better answered than by quoting from
a reliable authority who writes:
NO gold standard country has ever
paid labor as high as the United States;
the United States has never paid farm
laborers SO poorly, nor was the product
of such labor so low as at present, nor
was there ever so many artisans and
mechanics working On half time, not
withst3nding the efforts of their
unions to preserve the rate of wages
per day The greatest reason for the
free and unlimited coinage Of silver in
the United States was admitted by
German monometallists at a meeting
of the German silver commission at
Berlin, June "a. 1894, to-wit: The
admit that the intro
duction of bimetallism would be adj
vantageous to the working classes and
that it would enable the debtor classes
contend that the higher prices would
constitute perceptible disadvantage
to those with fixed incomes"
The answer to the second question:
would foreign countries accept silver
in paymen: of our debts to them?
would it not ruin our credit?'' has been
very fully given by Senator Jones in
his discussion OF our international
trade. Il gold went to a premium. We
would have to pay in gold when deal
ing with gold-standard countries; but
we had to do that during the war and
from 1s62 to 1879, but that did not in
lure our credit, and this country was
in the height of prosperity part of
the time mentioned. Our foreign trade,
however, is only one-fftieth of our en-
tire trade, and only 65 per cent. OF our
foreign trade, is with gold countries
Our best opportunities for its extern
sion is with bimetallic and silver coun-
absolutely control the market In the
article by the Mexican minister in the
June North American Review the effect
Of a silver standard on a eountry's
trade is fully discussed, and clearly
shown to be advantageous We call
Dur correspondents attention to the
following dispatch from the City of
of recent date:
notwithstanding the fact that the
largest cotton and print mills in the
country are running overtime to sup
ply the domestic demand. the import
IF cotton textiles from England the
first half of the present year, increased
over :, 600. 900 yards The increased
of the country and the pros
,ect of a large crop this year is caus-
ng great augmentation of the de-
rand in this line. Mexican bonds In
europe continue to rise. partly owing
% the certainty that this government
financial condition of the treasury.
The government receipts from in |
ernal taxes and customs are likely to
.xceed the anticipated reports of FL
lanee Minister Limanour, who has |
aiken a conservative view of the prob |
bile receipts"
Evidently Mexico has no trouble to !
,uv all the foreign goods she wants. |
md her credit is not impaired by her |
rec use of silver. The ability to pay |
Is debts is with nations, as with Elm /
IividuaIs, the criterion by which their I
redit is Judged and esta blished. The |
,eople of the United States would be |
,etter able to pay their debts with /
more money in the country than with /
ess, therefore their credit would be /
,etter. Furthermore. the balance of |
rade for twenty-five years. with four |
been largely in favor
# this country. The anxiety of Eu-
opean investors to lend money to
lima shows that even silver stand |
Is not what bimetal1ists
dvocate. By the way-does not impair
nations credit
As for the shipment of silver back |
nd forth, millions of ounces of silver
re shipped abroad from this country /
nnnally. as the weekly reports in the
financial columns of the papers viii
how England coins that silver for
se In the east in the ratio of Is TO L !
nut she cunningiy persuades this eoun-
ry that a similar policy would be our