The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-11
ELI PERKINS ON FREE COINAGE.
II would bankrupt Us and Make Us
the Laughing stock of Civilization

From the New York Sun
81 spent a year in Japan and China,
said Eli Perkins, land made careful
study of the free coinage Of silver. Dur
ing my travels | found that the twelve
millions of barbarian or uncivilized races
have the free silver system, 50 to THAT
is any man can coin a dollar or a taeI
piece / found that the remaining three
hundred millions Of the civilized popula-
ton of the earth have the gold dollar un-
der the silver dollars that they have
coined, 16 to l.
Il went into the banks OF Hong Kong
and Shanghai, and, taking a Mexican sill
yer dollar from my pocket. coined In
formed that It was worth 50 cents. / then
exhibited an American silver dollar and
was told II was worth 100 cents In gold. !
also learned that the wealth of the peo-
pie OF these countries had deprecated 30
per cent. under the free silver standard
Property at once time worth $1,000 was
worth only 500 / returned to America,
and, stopping at San Francisco / found
that no American citizen had lost cent
for, a good government had put a gold
dollar under every coined silver dollar,
making 1t worth 100 cents in gold
Il went down into Mexico and found that
they nave the same dcbased money that
they have in China, Japan, South Amer
lea and all Africa and India. / found that
every Mexican had lost half his wealth.
The Mexicans wanted free coinage"
continued Mr. Perkins 'fbut they wanted
il in the United States. When | asked
them what good free coinage in the Uni
ted States would do them, they said:
Why 1t would double the value of all
the silver In Mexico and all the world
We would take our 80 cent silver to your
mint and get your coined silver worth 100
cents to the dollar in gold Then we
would get the gold and bring it back TO
Mexico.
asked.
Why of course with free coinage
your 100000 Americans would have to
put gold under all the commercial silver
in the world.
"The Mexican was right" continued
Eli. There ares according to our mint
reports, S5,2l. ,5f6 worth Of silver In the
world; $5,lO4 96l 900 worth of silver has
been dug out of the mines since 1892
Even governments like Japan, which has
75.GOo,0OO silver yens dollars with no gold
under them anu each yen worth ~ cents
would seD4 ship load OF melted yens to
our mint and get our dollars worth 100
cents, and take back ST, 600 900 In gold to
Japan. It looks pretty TO read about
Is. 100000 people with S75, 100000 in godl In
their treasury going into. free coinage-
putting gold under every debased silver
dollar of l,200. 600 900 people. II would
OF South America. Mexico, Asia. Europe
and Africa But 1t Is preposterous. We
could never do IT.
THE farmer in China is selling his rice
there have not changed. but the laborer
there once getting cents Is now getting
3k cents. He has lost half OF his wealth
who has lost in America? why the
miner viii lose If he keeps on mining, but
the wheat raiser and cotton raiser are
selling their wheat and cotton for silver
worth as much as gold. They are on
gold basis. Double the value of silver
and the miner would grow rich, but the
farmer would stand stil.
But" continued Eli, we are talking
about impossibilities. This country, If it
went into free coinage, would 90 into
bankruptcy in a week. The whole world
would unload on us. They would get our
little S75.o00,000 worth Of gold In week,
and we'd be the laughing stock of civiliza-
ton"
"By free coinage" continued Mr.. Per
kins the silver miners wealth would be
doubled at the expense or wreck of our
nation: but the wealth OF the cotton and
wheat raiser would stand still. Free coin
age. If successful would lift silver up to
gold: but gold. which the laborer has been
paid for his wages and the farmer for
his produce, would stand still. When 7
asked Sibley and Weaver and the Denver
bankers If free coinage would raise the
price of meat or cotton or gold they all
said