The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-12-07
sNAcs FOR THE sILvERITEs
A Good Lesson for Them In the Nicaragua
Loan Affair.


Loan Affair.
A very interesting story from Mica
ragua appeared recently in the press
dispatches. All the Central American
states have the silver standard, and |
their dollar is worth 4S.6 cents in our
currency. This dollar contains 347.2S
grains of pure silver, or about "a grains
less than the dollar of the United
States.
Something over two years ago the
government of Nicaragua, country
whose silver has never been stricken
down." wished to borrow 100000 silver
dollars. The loan was negotiated on
the stipulation that the money fur
nished should be silver, but that II
should be repaid in gold. The interest
was to be "a per cent. per annum.
There has, of course, been a revolu-
ton in Nicaragua since the loan was
made, and the present government has
refused to carry out its terms. 1t has
decided that as the bonds were sold for
silver they must be repaid in silver.
The interest is also scaled to 10 per cent
The creditors have agreed to these
terms, as well indeed they may, as they
are still getting a rate OF interest that
ought to be highly remunerative.
The rule laid down in this settlement
has certain bearing upon questions
that have arisen in this country. Last
winter Secretary Carlisle had made
contract to sell number of bonds Tor
gold. but under the law he could only
make them payable in coin. The pres
ident informed congress in special
message that if authority were granted
to make the bonds payable specifically
in gold a saving of sixteen millions OF
dollars in interest could be made. 1t
was represented that as the bonds were
| sold for gold and nothing else they
could not equitably be paid in anything
but the same metal if the creditor &c
r,anded such payment. This consid-
Grafton had no effect upon congress,
| which proceeded to throw away the SIN
4 teen millions of dollars. The men re-
| sponsible for this action have been
abusing Secretary Carlisle ever since
for paying too high a rate of interest
1 for the bonds.
The action of the free silver country
of Nicaragua, though in its own inter
est. has laid down the same rule TINT
was epunciatel here last winter. The
bonds, having been sold for silver, must
be paid in silver, thereby plainly imply
ing that if they had been sold for golc
they would have been paid in gold. The
/ Ix-c
for silver value, the silver dollar not
\ being kept at par with gold i'll Nicar-
aqua, as it is here, by the policy OF the
government. There would have been
\ no advantage, therefore, in paying our
bonds in silver unless, in the meantime,
gold had gone to a premium. But the
free silver men sacrificed sixteen mil
. lion dollars for the chance of paying
the bonds in a currency inferior to that
for.which they were Soda species oi
commercial morality that is repudiated
even in Nicaragua.
The people who think free coinage oil
; silver makes money plenty and interest,"
low are invited to note the placing oil
Il loan in Nicaragua at twenty-four pei
II cent. If they say that our credit IS
} | vastly better than that of Nicaragua
we agree with them. But how long
: would il be so if their system OF paying
| gold obligations in silver were 10 pre-
! vail? And that is just the point. i
/ pays to preserve the public credit We
= cause the better the credit the lower thu
I linterest.-Louisville Courier-Journal.
l..
The Price of silver.
r The average price of silver fer las
lyear, 1894, was 6Sha cents per fine ounce
q this corresponding to ratio OF $3.50 t
r /. and giving 49.1 cents for the value o
t, the pure silver contained IN the onite'
n States dollars The 69h cents per ounc
d Mt which silver is selling in New York j
# an advance of cents per ounce iron
l. the average for last year, and CORES
: ponds to 533. cents for the intrinsi
$ ,alne of the silver dollar of the Unite
'e States. The improvement is sti
Is greater from the bottom pointat whic
Is the. silver dollar represented As cents c
y real. value and 50 cents OF confldenc'
p-tI II she uld be observed that the recen
d rise is ascribed directly to the fact tina
l. 1.-The stock of bullion silver in store /
Il New York city is reduced to less tina
lie 10000 ounces. Undoubtedly a big IL
'f crease in the quantity on sale would a.
lc press the price again.-Chicago Tri'
y une.
IdI SOUND MONEY SAYINGS.
Id lit is reported that the silver den