Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-09-27
GETTING SILVER INTO CIRCULATION.

A Question on This Point Answered; Also
Cue About tho Indian Gentleman.
4 correspondent residing in Guthrie,
o. T., asks rs this question:
Granting that the United States have "freo
and Unlimited coinage Of s.lvor" how will
that got more money in clrculatiOnq In other
words suppose India sonds $4,000, go Of silver
bullion here to be coined, won't this bullion
be coined into American dollars free and then
"handcd over" TO the indian gentleman2 How
| viii that holp Tic American fprmerg Won't
this Indian gentleman buy gold with his
American dollars and then take tho gold out
Of the countryi
Idle money, like idle men, earns
nothing. Under free coinage the owner
Of bullion, either silver or gold, would,
when he found it to his advantage, tako
it 70 the mint, have it coined and re-
ceive back either his bullion coined or
its equivalent in coins. What would he
then do with it? Hide it in vault? 1t
would purchase for him nothing there.
No. lie would invest it in sono enter
prise and would Go so in the firm conf
doucc that in tho exercise Of ordinary
business precaution he would realize
profit on his investment Why this con-
fidenco? Because FREQ coinage would
constantly add to tho volume Of pri-
mary money thus meeting the increased
| demand which comes from year to year
upon the nations stock Of money by
reason Of tho increase in business conse-
quent upon increase in population, and
thus holding steady the value Of the
dollar instead Of permitting it to in
crease from month to month as it does
nov This constant increase in the
value Ct the dollar produces a constant
decline in the value of all other kinds
Of property. To illustrate: Suppose to-
day a man were to measure the wheat
in his storehouse and find that lie had,
according to the measure used, 10000
bushels Let MIN then lock the store
house and not permit any wheat to be
removed therefrom for year. At the
end Of the year let Us suppose that he
again measures tho wheat in the store
house, and that this time he finds only
5000 bushels Let us further suppose
that he, in his endeayors to ascer-
tain why he has less wheat now than
he had when he measured it before,
compares tho bushel measure used at
the last measurement with the bushel
measure which he used at the first meas
uremeut. and that he finds tho last
bushel measure is one-tonth larger than
at first, he viii have discovered a con-
dition Of things similar to that which
nowadays exists at tho end Of each year
when tho business man comes to meas
ure his property and ascertains what
profit he has made during the year just
past
Tho business man finds that, meas
ured in dollars, he has accomplished
little if anything and this is so not be-
cause he has not added to the sum with
which he starts, but because the dollar
the thing with which he measures that
sum at the end Of the year-has increased
in its measuring power. His debts have
remained the same. Such condition Of
things deters men from entering new
enterprises-deters them from putting
money into property, sometimes called
business. The reverse would be true
under free coinage Of both gold and sill
yer. Men would then make profit be-
cause the steadily increasing supply
would prevent the dollar from increas-
ing in it's measuring power-in its
value-and this would encourage new
ventures in the development Of the ma
tion's resources, and these ventures
| would put money into circulation.
The Indian gentleman spoken Of in
the question would have his bullion
coined into American dollars and have
it handed back to him free Of charge.
But after receiving it back it would be
of no moro value to him than before it
was coined, except for the purposes Of
investment in the United States. He
would consequently invest it either in
the produce of the factory or the farm,
or in some other kind of American
property. This would create demand
for American products and who does
not desire such demand? Free coinage
would bring us the entire trade of the
silver using countries in the world-a
trade that, without the aid OF any gold
standard nation, would start every mill
in the country and make every farm
bloom with prosperity.
Yes, the Indian gentleman might buy
] gold with the American dollar, but The
World -Herald's interrogation may rest
assured that the owner Of the gold would
not part with a dollar Of it unless he
obtained what he thought it was worth
! in American silver dollars. He would
then part with it, and he will do the
very same thing today under the gold
standard. Free coinage has nothing to
do with the matter at al-Omaha
World Herald.