The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-26
FOUND MUCH DEPRESSION
England'S Active Interestin the
Cause of Bimetal-
ism.
LOSING CONSIDERABLE TRADE,
Foreign Feeling Very Intense in Ref
erence to American Sc
CuritieS.

ST. PAUL, March 25-President J. J.
Hill of the Great Northern Railway. well
known as an able financier, has Just reached
nome after an extended visit in Europe
and IN the Eastern States. His statements
are OF general interest. He said
Il found there was a great depression in
some OF the countries of Europe, particu-
larry In Great Britain, and more especially
IN the cotton and iron industries. The
United States is England's best customer.
and our imports have been largely re-
duced, to the advantage of this country
and to the corresponding disadvantage of
Great Britain. The English manufactur-
ers and landlords owning agricultural lands
are taking very active interest in bimetal-
ism and the greater use of silver They are
realizing fully that Argentine. Australia
the East Indies, China and Japan.
which are on silver basis, forcing their
labor to accept payment in silver, which
they buy for about so per cent of the value
OF gold, have margin on the labor alone
that enables them to undersell the Eng
llsh farmer or manufacturer in markets
which England has heretofore controlled.
England is either compelled to give up
a large amount of the worlds trade. which
she has heretofore controlled or increase
the use of silver in the world to such an
extent that it will not be possible for her
competitors to take advantage of the lower
cost of their labor growing out of the
difference of gold and silver. If the silver
men in the United States will only let
Congress alone and leave the matter to be
worked out by the commercial profit and
loss account of Great Britain the latter
nation will be compelled to join with Ger
many, France and our country in bringing
about a condition of things that will enable
the English people to meet the COMPETE
ton of other nations on something like an
equal footing.
1.-THE feeling abroad against all classes of
American securities, whether national or
otherwise, is very intense. Good and bad
were more or less classed alike. This feel
ing, however, is gradually wearing away.
The low prices of wheat have already
found, during the past year, new market
for that product. The California and
west coast wheat, that has heretofore
gone to Europe, is now going in shiploads
to China in the form of flour, where it is
taking the place of rice, formerly used by
the Chinese"
HAS your opinion changed regarding
the ratio of gold and silver?"
"That is immaterial. The proportions
of gold and silver taken for 1000 years
as long as we have history upon the mat
ter-remain practically the same. For a
period of ten years or more, one or the
other may show slight change, but the
ratio remains at 1914 or 16 to 1. And, if
gold and silver were interchangeable for so
many hundreds of years in the past, it is
difficult to see what has occurred to pre-
vent changeability now, provided all
nations are willing to receive it."
"How did you find the feeling regarding
an international monetary conference?"
France and Germany are willing. and
the landowners and manufacturers of
England are now waging an active cam
paign to bring the British Government to
recognize the necessity of enhancing the
value of silver not so much for the reason
that they like the silver any better, but
that they desire to increase the cost of sill
yer paid to labor in other countries and in
that way to increase the cost of production
of the many commodities that England is
interested in supplying the world with and
in restoring the value of her own agricul-
cultural lands.''
"Why cannot the other nations act indie
pendently of England?'
Simply because England, or London, is
the financial clearing house of the world,
and all commercial balances are practically
adjusted through the medium of sterling
exchange or British credit"
Mr.. Hill thought the present ratio of 151I
to would be as good as any other, pro-
vided all parties agreed to accept it. This
view he based on the proportion of the two
metals in the world.