The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1895-03-28

corn to so cents, but wool (Ohio medi
am, securely held up to 55 and cotton
to II.
In 1874 Holland stopped coming sill
yer, and the Latin union restricted the
coinage to $2S, 000, 600 per annum. 1t
was then found that Germany was shov.
Ing her old silver upon the market, and
sudden fall in the value Of the metal
occurred, which in the United States
was then attributed to the Big Bonanza
just opened i'll the Comstock lode Mo-
nometallists still assert that it is the in
creased production of silver which has
caused It's decline, but the truth is sim
ply matter Of acknowledged figures.
All the increase Of those three years
amounts to but ia trifling per cent Of that
thrown out Of use by the demonetizing
nations, and even now the two metals
are almost exactly equal in amounts, as
they were in 1871.
In 1876 Holland reluctantly gave
way and demonetized silver, while Den
mark, Sweden and Norway took stops
to carry out their previous resolutions,
and the United States adopted a law for
the resumption Of specie payments on
Jan. l., 1879. 1t is asingular and most
suggestive fact that not one American
voter in a thousand knew that this
meant resumption on gold basis; that
President Grant, who had signed the act
OF 1878, congratulated the country on
the fact thatresumption would be made
easy because OF the increased production
Of silver, and that in the heated cam
paigns of that year the orators for re-
sumption habitually spoke for the two
metals as basis. EARLY in the year the
trade dollars, coined for the trade with
China, came into use quite extensively
and were eagerly taken by the people
without the slightest suspicion that
they were not as good as gold. Mover
theless agricultural products continued
to decline until three years of very short
crops i'll western Europe brought grain
up again.
In 1876 the Latin union limited the
total silver coinage to 1920, 900, 900.
The United States took from the trade
dollar whatever legal tender power it
possessed, and the people discovered that
silver had been demonetized. The next
year the Latin union stopped all coinage
of silver save for small change and de-
clared for gold basis exclusively In
1878 the United States began the pur-
chase of So, 900, 900 worth of silver per
month and its coinage into dollars but
the secretary Of the treasury discrimi-
mated against them from the start,
praccice maintained to the present.
There was great bank panic in Eng
land, the famous Glasgow City and
West OF England banks failing, followed
by prolonged depression in trade. The
next year the United States resumed OH
a gold basis, but farm produce after
slight advance continued to decline
Failures Fellow Silver Demonstration.
In 1881 the Argentine Republic made
a feeble attempt at bimetallism on the
ratio OF to 1873, but both silver and
gold were driven out by paper money,
and the great initiation began there
which terminated a few years later in a
terrific panic. In 1884 came trade de-
and labor crisis in France, and
labor troubles in the United States, with
great strikes and some rioting.
In 1890 Roumania demonetized sill
yer, but the United States again be-
gan to buy under the Sherman act. In
1891 the whole paper money system of
The Argentine Republic went to smash,
and the grand panic there was followed
Immediately by the greatest failures ever
known in Great Britain, and those in
turn by widespread bankruptcy in Aus
;ralia and financial troubles in nearly
9very one Of the European countries.
The United States was temporarily
saved by the Russian famine and tho
ailures Of crops elsewhere, which once
more sent wheat above dollar and for
he last time
In 1898 Hungary resumed
pecie payments on the gold basis. In
liza made desperate attempt to adopt
ne gold standard, and the general panic
cached the United States. The Sher-
nan act was made the scapegoat, and
congress repealed it. Farm produce at
nee resumed its downward course.
The Creditor Nations Gain.
ooVA w tIl1S pOluI l nave made
rices in agricultural produce, as those
re of most Importance to us, but this
not quite fair, as the decline in other
nings has not been SO great. find it ,,
difficult to make satisfac-
Dry table representing the average de- :
line Think it perfectly safe to say that
n the average of 30 great American sta
les, the purchasing power of gold is to- !.
ay at least 40 per cent greater than it '
as in 1878. In other words the value :
uncoined gold has changed four times :
J much as that Of uncoined silver-a :
per cent advance against 10 per y y
mt decline.
And here is, to my mind, the most >
fact in the whole busi- '
with all the world IS creditors y
aking unceasing war on silver for a !:
1arter OF century and nearly all the =
wmakers of the great commercial ma =
ons doing their bidding, with every y y
)ssible kind Of discrimination against y