The herald., 1895-11-29
TO THE EDITOR
Answering Editor SeiISirk

are strong IN your CoHNlcbion- oh tue
money question, and present your views
forcibly, you are fair-minded and will
give roo m to counter views if couched in
respectful language.
On this assurance | venture to submit
a roply to certain arguments that have
appeared in your columns, e6itorially
| and in the cores pondence of Mr.. Selkirk
of San Bernardino. | may be wrong !;
all of us are Iiaols to err; but l have
given the subject smature consideration,
swayed only by an earnest desire to be
| right, and am honest in my convictions.
| do not agree with the Express and
many other advocates OF free silver coin
age that it would bring the commercial
price of silver up TO N.29, an actual
parity with gold as commodity. | do
not care whether it would or not. l con-
! slider that of minor consideration. 1t Is
Lot worth while to dispute that, indie
| pendently of the lessened demand which
the suspension of coinage has produced,
silver as mmodity has deprecated in
value, as compared with gold, i'll tho last
thirty years. This | admit, is due 10 the
lessened cost of production as compared
| with the yellow netal. But whether 1t
costs 6S cents an ounce to produce IL, as
nov, or S1.32, as in 1872. does not affect
its 'compactness, durability and con-
venience for use as money" as MIR. Sell
Kirk has expressed it. In tness respects
l think you must confess silver is Just
as good now as it was when first adopted
by reason of these qualities for money
metal.
The consensus OF the worlds opinion,
even IN gold and double-standard coun-
tres, including ours, is that silver, ire
speclve of the cost OF production serves u
very useful purpose as money metal.
~ $ k,,f nj fin
ure. The relation OF supply and demand
| is the chief factor. There are very few
! products or commodities that Will stand
The test of stesdfast intrinsic value. The
lemons that were recently sold for $50
box were no better. perhaps not quite
so good as they were some months
earlier, when they could not have been
sold for more than Sl.50. In the one case
they were lat parity with $3.50, in the
other with $3.50, in gold, but they were
| identically the same Lemons, and the
parity was no more ARTIFICIAL In the
| one case than the other.
| My experience here in California I'M.
presses me that President Cleveland,
| Secretary Carlisle and all of you who op-
pose free silver coinage are mistaken In
| your impression that it would drive our
gold out of the country or be ruinous TO
teaches different lesson. Singularly
enough. it is a point which has never
been touched upo. by the Express, nor,
so far as / have observed by any OF the
distinguished champions OF free sivler.
In 1863 the California legislature, over
whelmingly Repu blican in both branches.
passed what was and Is known IS "spe-
| cihc con tract law" 1t was introduced
/ and most ably championed by that dis.
tnguished Repu blican, after wards chief
! Justice of our supreme court, Sllas W.
! Sanderson. But in respect to il, harder
/ Il 80 E.,h t do in, tn
repeal it. which would PROBABLY have
| been successful but for the presence and
| active opposition of those other distln G.
uisheo Republicans, John p. Jones, now
a senator from Nevada and the late
Judge David Belden OF Santa Clara. That
| law purported simply to provide for the
enforcement of specific contracts tor the
payment of coin, hut soon all written
| contracts we're made payable IN gold,
which was construed as establishing a
| binding custom. 1t effected a reisction
| of the green back, and the man lost his
credit and was dlsgraced who, in the d.
sence of any specific contract, olYered TO
BAY his debts in currency which the
government had declared to be legal
tender for all debts pupllc and private.
1t he's been the habit OF certain classes
to f, licitate California on thus ''main-
tanning the stability of her monetary sys-
TEN. 'She simply maintained contraction
| of her currency, while that of the east was
abundant. Thousands OF men possessin G
! large capital in greenbacks wended their
way hither to make investments, but
when they found that they must Hrst sell
their money at 40 cents on the dollar
| (there was time when greenpacks sold
| in San Francisco as low as So cents) they
returned and made their investm ents and
| improvements where their money passed
! at par. 1t has been estimated that from
| two hundred and fifty 60 five hundred
| mi linnc nf u TINS dTiVan away
| from the state. If it had not been, at he
| end of ten years it might have been piled
up and burnt in a bonfire and the state
would have been immensely the gamer
! The prices of land, labor and products
were more sta le'' in consequence, but
the inflated prices at the cas-. we're far
from being in proportion to the premium
| on gold. NominallY the prices OF labor
and products were from 80 to % per cent
| higher there than here, when the pre-
MUM on gold ranged from 100 to $50 per
| cent. Which proves that our gold was
/ worth at least dounle the price as COM
m odity that it was worth as currency,
! which was not by any means the limit OF
our loss, by thinking that we we're wiser
| than our brethren OF the east in rejecting
! the greenbacks.
Statistics show that these "depreciated
| greenbacks' did not drive gold out OF
the country, They temporarily drove
! 1t out OF circulation, to be sure, nut they
supplied a much larger volume OF accept
| able currency, which aided enormously
TO the activity of trade and enterprise and
/ the creation OF permanent improvem ents.
| But AT no time during the green back
! era did tine export OF gold reach the
/ dimensions that it has since the dem one
| uZatiOD of silver.
! hardly think you will attempt to con-
| trotert this statement of facts. 1T estao-
| fishes, maintain, That the country
| needs and you'd be enormously Dcne-
! fitted by a more abundant currency. And
/ | maintain that the silver dollar is better
| than the promise to pay a dollar. nd
/ That the silver dollar. though admit cd
/ 10 unlimited free coinage, would never
] reach the standard Of depreciation that
| vas reached by the greenback W hich even
! at It's lowest rating added incalulably to
! the CounirY's wealth and to improve
ment, that will last forever. Admit If
| you please that gold will mcasurably re
! tire from circulation and will 20 TO pre-
mum, silver circulating at but so cents
on the dollar with gold as a com modify
! the s0-cent silver dollar will do more
| than the 4J-cent greenback dollar did,
| ana it accom- lished a glorious mission.
| NILSSON RI DEMOCRAT.
Ontario, Nov. ~ 1888.