The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-04
Converted From silver to Cold.

] u
ties who are fair minded men should go
TO Mexico or any other coun-
Try that has the silver stand
/ ard. they would quickly become
converted to the gold standard. just
as Dr. r. D. Spalding of Atlanta was. an
/ account Of whose change Of views was
given in an Atlanta dispatch published in
the Morning News yesterday. DR.. Spald-
/ ing was the CHAIRMAN OF a committee that
wentsto .tt6Cidy ot>sRxIco to invite Pres
ident Biaz to visit the Atlanta eposition.
When he hft home he was an ardent adj
vocate OF the free and unlimited coinage
of silver. Being very conscientious man
he made a thorough study, while in Mex
leo. Of the silver question. as 1t presents
itself in that country. The result was he
became converted to the gold standard
the standard which this country has had
for more than a half a century.
DR.. Spalding became convinced that II
this country should open it's minis to the
free and unlimited coinage of silver it
would very quickly have silver as its
standard of value, and that the American
silver dollar would then have only little
more than half the purchasing power it
now has. He also became convinced from
what he saw that such state of affairs
would tend to make the rich richer and
the poor poorer. He found that in Mexico,
Notwithstanding the coinage Of silver is
free and unlimited, the volume of money
in circulation in proportion to the popula-
ton is very small, the greater part of the
silver bullion being shipped abroad in
stead Of being converted into Mexican sill
yer dollars.
DIT. Spalding found that wages in Mex
leo. are far below what they are in this
country, and the wage workers being paid
in a deprecated currency find it almost
impossible TO earn a decent living. In
fact, the wage workers are the slaves of
the wealthy people. DR.. Spalding does not
want to see a similar condition of affairs
in this country, and for that and other
potent reasons he returned to Atlanta en-
tirely cured of his silver craze.
1t is remarkable that the silverites re-
fuse to see that what they propose would
reduce this country to the condition in
which Mexico finds herself There is no
good reason to doubt that Mexico would
adopt the gold standard tomorrow IL she
could. but free silver coinage has caused
all her gold to disappear
tits a source of great satisfaction that
the people as they study the silver qtes-
ton abandon free and unlimited silver
coinage. They are beginning to under
stand that tho efi,,a- auitatf nae rta1
by the silver mine owners for a purely
selfish purpose. They are gradually I'M
Outstanding that there has been no APP
probation of gold, as the silverites claim,
but that there has been a great deprecia-
ton Of silver, owing to the overproduction
Of that metal. Even at the present price
Of silver the production of silver is enor-
mous-much greater than it was when
the price of silver was much greater than
it is now.
It's doubtful If the price OF silver could
be raised greatly and permanently If all
the nations should make the coinage of
silver free and unlimited. The output of
silver is too great to justify any consid-
cradle rise in the price of it.
II has not been long ago since a Euro
pean syndicate undertook to bring about
rise in the price of copper by buying the
output of all the copper mines in the
world? What was the result? The
output was greatly increased, and the syn
dictate was wrecked. If all the nations
should open their minis to the free and un-
limited coinage of silver the price of sill
yer might rise for awhile, but the output
would be increased SO enormously that the
price would fall again.
This country is on a safe monetary basis
now, and it will stay on that basis The
silverites are simply wasting their time
in continuing the agitation in behalf of
free silver coinage.