The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1895-09-19
CIRCULATING SILVER
With Free Coinage How Ii Would
Gel Among &he Peoule.
A Query Is Eut to the Editor or the
Omaha WOrld-Herald Which, He
Answers I'm Plain, COMvInc-
Ing Manner Business
Man and Contraction.

a correspondent residing in Guthrie
O. T., asks us this question:
| Granting that the United States have ssfree
| End unlimited coinage Of silver how will
| that get more money in clrculationp In Other
WORDS suppose India sends 500 O0O, coo of silver
bullion here 10 be coined, won't this b.,llcr
be coined into American dollars free and tller
handed over to the Indian gentleman? How
will that help the American farmer? Won't
his Indian gentleman buy COLL with lis
american dollars and then take the gold out
Df The country2
Idle money, like idle men, earns
nothing, Under free coinage the owner
of bullion, either silver or gold, would,
when he found it to his advantage, take
1T to the mint, have it coined and re-
ceive back either his bullion coined or
its equivalent in coins. What would he
then do with it? Hide it in vault? 1t
would purchase for him nothing there.
NO. He would invest it in some enter
prise and would do SO in the firm conf
dence that i'll tho exercise of ordinary
business precaution he would realize a
profit on his investment. Why this con.
tidence? Because free coinage would
constantly add to the volume of pri-
mary money, thus meeting the increased
demand which comes from year to year
upon the nations stock of money by
reason Of the increase in business conse-
quent upon increase in population, and
thus holding steady the value Of the
dollar instead of permitting it to in
crease from month to month as it does
now. This constant increase in the
value of the dollar produces constant
decline in the value of all other kinds
of property. To illustrate: Suppose to-
day man We're to measure the wheat
III his storehouse and find that he had,
according to the measure used, 10000
bushels. Let him then lock the store
house and not permit any wheat to bo
removed therefrom for year. At the
end Of the year let us suppose that he
again measures the wheat in the store
house, and that this time he finds only
5000 bushels. Let us further suppose
that he, in his endeavors to ascer-
tain why he has less wheat now than
he had when he measured it before,
compares the bushel measure used at
the last measurement with the bushel
which he used at the first meas
urement, and that he finds the last
bushel measure is tenth larger than
at first, he will have discovered con-
dition of things similar to that which
nowadays exists at the end Of each year
when the business man comes to meas
ure his property and ascertains what
profit he has made during the year lust
past.
The business man finds that, meas
ured in dollars, he has accomplished
little if anything, and this is SO not be-
cause he has not added to the sum with
which he starts, but because the dollar
the thing with which he measures that
'um at the end Of the year-has increased
Il its measuring power. His debts have
'emained the same. Such condition Of
;hings deters men from entering new
nterprises-deters them from putting
money into property, sometimes called
business. The reverse would be true
1nder free coinage Of both gold and sill
1er. Men would then make profit be-
ause the steadily increasing supply |
would prevent the dollar from increas~
ng in it's measuring power-in it's
'alue-and this would encourage new
'entures in the development of the ma
ion s resources, and these ventures
would put money into circulation.
The Indian gentleman spoken of in
he question would have his bullion
oined into American dollars and have
handed back to him free of charge.
But after receiving it back it would be
no more value to him than before it
vas coined, except for the purposes of
Investment in the United States Ho
7ould consequently invest it either in
he produce Of the factory or the farm,
r in some other kind Of American
roperty. This would create demand
or American products, and who does
OF desire such demand? Free coinage
'ould bring US the entire trade Of the
lver using countries in the world-a
ade that, without the aid Of any gold
andard nation, would start every mill
| the country and make every farm
loom with prosperity.
Yes, the Indian gentleman might buy
Did with the American dollar, but The
'orld-Herald's interrogation may rest :
'sured that the owner of the gold would ,,
1t part with dollar Of it unless he !
'tained what he thought it was worth :
American silver dollars. He would :
ZEN part with it, and he will do the
'ry same thing today under the gold
andard. Free coinage has nothing to
, with the matter at all.