Birmingham age-herald., 1895-05-13
HENTZ ON THE QUESTION.
THE wELL-KNowN MERCHANT WRITES
Absurd Theories in Finance Are Nothing New, But Are Short-Liyed-This Country Alone
 Cannot Keep Silver on Parity.

merchant, whose name is known all over
 the south as perhaps the largest dealer in the country in the great southern
 staple:
 ''The most important question before
 the country at the present time is the
 sound money, in which every one is in- l terested-the laboring man and the | farmer as well as the capitalist. It is
 nothing new to have absurd theories of finance, which live for time but, like
 all untruths, flourish only a little while. l The greenback craze is sample of financial fallacies. Since it has l died very few of it's adherents 1 are willing to acknowledge that
 they entertained such unsound views. l The advocates of free coinage of l silver at 16 to are anxious to have 1 this government coin all the silver that
 may be mined in this country and even brought from Europe and receive silver l dollars for the same, which are worth
 now $1 in gold. Those which have al-
 ready been coined will continue to be of that value, providing the government does not undertake the free coinage of silver. Congress was wise enough to repeal the Sherman silver purchase act and stop piling up silver in the United States treasury. Had that not been done gold payments would have been sus-
 pended long ere this, which would have
 been followed by panic; all the bank and savings banks deposits and life poll cies would have been paid in Appreciated money; the wage earning class and the widows and orphans that are living on a small incomes would find the buying
 power of their money greatly reduced, hence the cost of living would be greatly increased.
 If congress should pass free coin
 age of silver bill it would be impossible
 to keep on a gold basis. This country
 could not keep silver on parity with
 gold. and it is very doubtful if 1t can
 be done for a very long period by the
 leading natios. We ought not to try to
 do it without an international agreement.
 Should this country be forced to silver
 basis gold would cease to circulate as
 q money. It would be merchandise Ike
 it was during the war and the heavy con-
 traction in the volume of circulating me-
 dum would cause a great depression in
 values. It would be impossible to have
 upwards of $500, 900 of gold taken from
 the circulation without serious conse-
 qucnccs, as it would take the hints of
 this country many years to replace with
 silver dollars the vacuum made by the
 withdrawal of gold.
 "If the silver bought by our govern
 ment under the acts of 1878 and 1890 was
 sold at the present price of silver the
 loss would be over $150, GOO. France
 and other nations that compose the Lat
 in union saw when Germany stopped
 
 they wished to keep on a gold basis The
 continued agitation for free silver coin age since the repeal of the Sherman act has caused Europe to withdraw capital invested in America and thereby led to large exports of gold, as Europeans feared receiving payment in silver. Gold payments would have been suspended during the past spring had not Presi-
 dent Cleveland couragcously sold United States bonds freely. The agreement he made with the syndicate to take $62, 000,- 900 of the bonds and to do all in its pow CT to prevent the shipment of gold and
 also to import gold was great service
 to the country. It has caused confidence
 to be re-establshed and trade to revive.
 In fact, many persons think that it was worth $60 900, GOO to the country to bring about the changed condition. Therefore, the moderate profit which was made by the syndicate upon the bonds ought not to be begrudged.
 Tt is necessary to stop this free sill yer craze and show the world that we want only sound money. This will fur ther increase confidence and prosperity. The low prices for the staple articles of trade were due to the over suplpy and
 restricted demand. America has now Ar genuine, Australia, New Zealand and h. dia to compete with in the European wheat markets. About six years ago tho United States exported flour to Argentine.
 "As to cotton the decline was due to the enormous crop of 1S94-95, about 10,0000O0
 
 Prices have advanced nearly 25 per cent from the bottom on the expectation that the next crop may be a short one and that the worlds trade will further inn prove.
 "The American cotton planter has very | little to fear from other countries. In- l dia's shipments to Europe from Septem- Der l, 1894, to May ?, 1895, show decrease of nearly 100000 bales, compared with the | same period last year. Our cotton plant | CTS should desire only the best money for l their crops, that which has the greatest purchasing power, which is gold or it's | equivalent The European markets to a | great extent control the price.
 Surely the south cannot have forgot ten the effects of the depreciated Con- 1 federate money. For some time before. | the war ended 1t required $25 in Confeder-.
 ate government notes to buy one dollar
 in gold Tt is a great mistake to attribute the | decline in the prices of merchandise to | the appreciation of gold. The Bessemer, l steel process has had deal to do with | it. It has certainly enabled the products | of the Dakotas to be sent to the seaboard | as low as could have been done thirty l years ago from Buffalo to New York. | Cheap transportation also applies tor
 other parts of the world. very inter- l eSting article was recently published in | the Iron Age. It said it was insult 1 to every inventor, every engineer and | every captain of industry who had aided l in modern progress to attribute the de-E | cline in prices to the alleged appreciation | of gold. It showed that the cost of pro- | ducing copper in the great Quincy cop1 | per mines in 1864 was 26.T cents per l pound, but owing to the use of high ex- | plosives machine drillings, stamps for | crushing, better methods of handling
 more economical engines for hoisting | and pumping, reduced cost of transpor- | tation and cheapening of supplies, the | cost of production was reduced last year | to 5.eS cents per pound. h 1870 the | uapes of miners were S46 09 in currency