The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-01-02

ted In my three articles on the low
price of cotton, that the inevitable re-
suit, of discarding silver from the
mints would be contraction in the
circulating medium, which would
double the burdens of all debts, taxes
and fixed charges, and by proportion
ately reducing the price of all the
products of labor, produce, as was
said by Prof. Walker, "suffocation,
strangulation." That it would, as was
said by Delegate How, double the
weights of existing obligations and
compress the worlds activities into
half their existing scope; consign the
nineteenth century to a pauper's
grave and lay the heavy hand OF
paralysis on the cradle of the twen-
tyieth."
Said Prof. Walker: Against so
great a wrong to civilization and to
the hopes of mankind, the represen-
tatives of the United States here pres.
ent raise their earnest protest and
warning" Thisis the official voice of
the United States upon this question.
It is the "dew upon the fleece" but as
there seems to be quite a number of
''incredulous Gideons," will now
seek absolute confirmation by showing
the ''dew upon the ground" for the
response to the American delegates by
the representatives of the monetary
agencies of the old world dove-tails ex-
actly with the expression of these dele
gates in sustaining my position. The
first witness I shall produce, is one
who perhaps more fully than any
other voices the sentiments of the rul-
ing class in Europe. DR.. o. I. Broch,
delegates from Norway. (See Inter
national Monetary Conference 1878,
page 27.) "Mr. Broch recognized that
the United States had great interest
in having other countries make equal
use of two metals for their monetary
circulation and give equally to both
the legal tender character. The United
States fear that if the States still sub
jected to the regime of paper money
resume specie payments with the single
gold standard, this will Immediately
produce the double consequence of
augmenting, in high degree, the
value of gold and of depreciating that
of products of any kind; a result which
from their point of view, as a great
producing country, and as great
debtor State, would in fact present dis
advantages. The United States have
a heavy debt, and it must be admitted
that a rise of gold would, with
one blow, aggravate the weight of
this debt. But Mr.. Broch, observed
on the other hond that if, with the
double standard, the unlimited coin
age of silver be admitted, as the United
States demand, it is also to be feared
that everywhere the price of provisions
and of the necessaries of Life will be
considerably increased; which is an
other evil, and a far more serious one
than the one just mentioned" In his
address at the conference of 1881 (see
International Monetary Conference
1881. page A, DR.. Broch says: IAN
other unfortunate result of the univer-
sal adoption of bimentation at the
ration of to 15t would be an augmen-
tation in the monetary wealth of the
world, and, as consequence, depre-
citation of the metals, accompanied by
a corresponding and general rise of
prices. *** On the day when the
proportion of ISL should become un-
iversal and obligatory, silver would
rise 1S per cent, gold would fall and
the pices of all commodities, especially
of those which come from the East,
and are paid for in silver, would ex-
perience a considerable advance. y =
A rise SO general, so sudden, and so
considerable, would throw the econo-
mic and commercial world into con-
fusion, and would carry disturbance
into all classes of society. It would
change all the relations OF mankind
themselves, and would be
toa reduction of all debts. !"
This idea of denying free mintage to
silver, to make money scarce, and
increase its value, and depress
the price of all the products of labor;
also to prejudice the United Ssates, by
using cheap silver to discount the price
Of her great staple exports by pur-
chases of wheat and cotton in the East
runs through the whole tenor of fnan-
cial opinion in Western Europe. We
see it plainly manifested in the last
conference of 1892 by the English dele
gates, both Mr.. Ross Wilson andAl-
fred De Rothschild. Mr.. Wilson said,
(see International Monetary Confer
ence, 1892, page 81 "Wbat, may I ask
are the supposed evils that we are
called upon to remedy2 AS far as can
be ascertained we are met here to en-.
1eavor to raise the price of commodi-
ties. Such an objects entirely opposed
to the economic doctrines which are
accepted in the country from which I
come. Cheap goods andnot dear goods,
plenty and not scarcity, have always
been held to be conditions of profitable
trade"
Mr.. Rothschild (see same, page 69
said: Advocates of bimetalism main
tain that the fall in the price of silver
has brought about a correspondingfall
in the prices of various commodities.
This may or may not be the case; but,
the former hysothesis to be
correct, I am not prepared to say that
it would be misfortune for England
Or the world in general nor do I share
the opinion of certain distinguished
of that theory who deplore
the fact of the Indian exporter being
able to send wheat remuneratively to
thus interfering seriously
with the interests of the British farm
ers; but I hold that wheat at30 a quar-
ter instead of As is rather a blessing
than otherwise. De Rothschild like
the average Northeastern statesman of
this country; a fundholder and speak