The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-07-29
SILVER TWENTY YEARS AGO.
interesting Experience I'm the Profits
OF Money Changing.
Monte Cristo Mountaineer.

Monte Cristo Mountaineer.
Twenty years ago this summer Custer,
Keogh and the greater part OF the
Seventh cavalry
Rode down to death on the field
at Little Big Horn. Rain-in-the-Face,
GaH and Sitting Bull, with the INCA
Papa Sioux and Northern Cheyennes, had
doubled on Terry's command north of the
Yellowstone and were heading for the
Canadian line. The daily papers were
Wild to get the latest press report from
the far north, and the writer was sitting
at the key in the Omaha telegraph office
when this message licked in: VIII you
take position of conductor Omaha to Os-
den and return once a week at s75 and
board? (SigneO Pullman Pacific Co."
We would and did take a train of five
full cars out the next noon. Shortly be-
fore the train started pleasant old
lady asked If we would kindly get her
some silver" We asked her chow much
she would like" She took out her pocket
book, handed us $3.50 and pointing to the
financial column of the Omaha Daily
Bee lying on the seat beside her, said:
''Silver is $lo4 here this morning. and /
wish to sell my greenbacks for all can
get" We had never heard of such a
thing as selling greenbacks." but there
was no time for explanations, so rushing
into Jake Markets. and over to the emf
grant restaurant, we bought 500 in silver
halves and quarters. paying therefor Si04
in her greenbacks.
Upon handing her the S1Oo In silver and
remaining s55 of her $3.50 in greenbacks
she asked us to keep the SO until We
reached the Fremont or Grand Island,
Neb., eating house and get rid of the
remainder Of her greenbacks at those
places" We told her that selling" and
getting rid of greenbacks" sounded
queeriy and begged her to enIighten US.
She said: you've never been in Ne
vada and California or you'd know; we
use gold and silver money there, and of
course I save money by getting silver
Now the writer was just as dunder-
headed then on the subject OF money ss
very large proportion Of Americans are
today, and that gray-haired, old lady
actually had TO show us gold coin quoted
at sl.2o, silver coin at s1.0i Cat Omaha, re-
member) and explain that silver coin
and gold coin were interchangeable ex-
actly at par from Ogden. Utah, wesr-
ward. and that by buying her 500 in sill
yer az Omaha for sL04 in greenbacks and
carrying the silver coin until she arrived
in gold-standard country, she
could exchange it for five $50
gold pieces and actually make
profit of The difference between the price
OF silver, slo4. and the price OF gold, $50.
or exactly SIG in greenbacks, on her s1.04
investment.
A little reflection convinced us that
every mile we Travelled westward with
greenbacks in our pocket made us poorer,
but It required three round trips between
Omaha and Ogden before we mastered
the situation. Flood, Fair, O'Brien and
Mackay were accommodating their vast
fortune, Haggin & Tevis were a close
second, with Archie Bor.and, Jack Cash
wiler. Hearst, old man Reece and a
h. -
mines to the top notch. Everybody had
money and east-bound passengers spent
their silver coin freely at every eating
station and the landlords would hoard II
because It paid to do so.
On our return to Omaha We visited
the two national banks. the State bank
and Caldwell & Hamilton's, then over 10
Council Bluffs to Pusey & Officers and
the two other banks there, buying 500
silver coin for si15. and carrying il to
Ogden turned II into gold even up and
bringing IL back to Omaha received $3.50
in greenbacks for II, an actual profit Of
SEA in six days time. Then the possibin-
ties at the eating houses and banks
along the line dawned upon us. for The
trains only made about twenty-five miles
an hour, with long stops for meals. and
there was ample time for "hustlfng"
We found the old saying. don't carry
Goals TO Newcastle" exactly reversed
when applied TO silver coin. Using green
backs "a the standard. the prices were
exactly as follows: East Of Council
Bluffs. silver coin. sf.03: gold coin, $50:
Omaha, Fremont and Grand Island sill
YER coin, 81 o.: gold coin, $50; Sidney.
Cheyenne and Laramie, silver coin, S.6
TO s10s; gold coin, $50; Rock Creek,
Rawlins and Rock Springs. silver coin.
81 70 10 S.I5: Green River and Evanston,
silver coin, Sis; gold coin, $40; az Og-
den. silver coin. $40; gold coin. 81 % or
gold and silver at parity at or near he
silver mines but Is per cent. apart i.0s9
miles east. at Omaha.
And then an exceedingly curious con-
fusion Of values would manifest itself.
The Carson mint and Virginia City assay
ers would put their official certifcatio1s
on each silver brick shipped East 10 +he
Philadelphia mint; these silver bricks
were laid I'm rows on the floors OF the
express cars under the feet OF the mes
sengers. and as the exorbttant express
charges cut down the value % the bull
lion in an evsr-lncreas,ng ratio. the ril-
yer coin in our pocket and gripsack 1--WE
bought Il on the eastward trips quite ire
quently) was regularly Increasing n
value with every mile substrscted IF IN
the total mileage we had 10 travel 70 get
hack 20 the locality governed by the
double standard OF gold and silver mar
the mines a. Ogden and vicinity.
Now this little history OF the writer's
experiences IN 1915 IS strictly true. and the
hand some profits and observations we
made firmly convinced US that silver must
te reCkOref with exactly as oit-tirne
rr.st rnille~s reckoned with their grfsts.
viz: The mil boy went after the grain.
TIE miller ground 70 and took toll o0t OF
II in payment for transportation and
manufacturing expenses.