New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-09


science has been quickened.
THE ARGUMENT FOR FREE COINAGE
The address Of the Bimetallic party is much
:hc most reasonable document yet issued in the
interests OF free coinage Presumably. az 1t
differs materially from speeches and documents
previously emanating from Messrs. Warner
Stewart and other signerS. II was largely the
work IL senator Jones' OF Nevada. IL urges
that for twenty years silver Republicans nave
hccn fighting In vain within their party, ana
silver Democrats within their party. because al
ways one house OF Congress or the other or
the President rendered action impossible the
statement that there has not been n Congress
for twenty years which, except for the iniiu-
",nce Of Executive patronage or The fear OF an
Executive veto would not have voted to open
"ihr mints again - silver on the same terms
"aS t. gold" seems IN extravaganza. for Execu-
tive influence has rarely been potent, while the
concentrated votes of commercial States. in
which such action would ruin any party. have
IN all times been sufficient to prevent H.
'rhi, Is the perfectly legitimate influence which
tii,. address mistakenly calls the control OF the
money power" The millions who inhabt the
great commercial States have the same clear
right ~ have their opinions and wishes consid-
cred bv their congressman that the minority or
voters IN silver States have 80 often eXerted
7, is not fair reasoning, but savOrs OF impu-
lcnce to assert that this great body or citlzens
has been acting for twenty years without an
honest desire 10 serve the best interests or me
whole country. and that only the mlneowners
and workers have that desire
Tho address argues that better prices under
"cylstinZ conditions cannot be expected.
debtor nation cannot maintain an even ie'ei oi
prices with creditor nations This Is state
mcnt strangely contradicted by our own experi'
cncr. and It is supported In the address only py
the following:
~. sin Gle gold standard be maintained In the
I-piiol states only by forcing down the price lever
~ commodities here enough below the price lever Oh
,b.r countries 10 turn gold this way. or. at any
rate TO induce our creditors 10 take coni''ou'n VI
go for what We owe them instead OF demanding
gold. ,,-,,o,
necessarily operates TO eXpel gold.
This reasoning denies certain facts OF record
From July t. 1871 to July /, 1879, the merchan-
disc excess OF exports over imports was 49,
900 O0o. Yet the net imports OF gold were only
$1,000 600 Then prices were indeed extremely
low. and the country was paying debts In com
,,odi,i.s because there was not, until some
months of 1879 had passed. such confidence
abroad in our monetary system That capital
.ow.d This way for investment. But from July
|. 1879. 10 July l. 1881, following successful re-
siImptlon the merchandise excess Of exports
over imports was only Si21.Oo0,OO0, and yet the
mot imnorts of gold were Sl15,OOO0 600. because
foreigners arrived at such confidence In our
monetary system that their capital came here
largely In those very years prices were hlgh
about the highest known for many years.
Again in lSs5-sG there were net exports OF gold,
but prices much lower than IN lSS'-SS,
when the net imports Of gold were S1o,oO.ooo.
In 1889 prices dropped sharply but In that year,
instead OF imports there were net exports or
gold-nearly $5OOO000O In short, n closer ex-
animation Of the facts will disclose that In al
most every case heavy exports and not imports
of gold have been associated with low prices
here the movement being governed far more
by confidence OF Investors abroad In the value
Of American investments than by any change In
mercha ndse account. Ignoring or denying this
ono vital fact destroys all the reasoning Of the
address.
The claim that industries in India and Asiatic
countries have been stimulated as never before
by the low price Of silver Is a strange one for
intelligent men, The manufacture Of cotton In
India Is not large now rs 1t was three years
ago when silver was almost 90 per cent higher
than 1t is now, and the production Of wheat Is
4O.O00.0OO bushels less than 1t WAS ten years
ago, when silver was rs per cent higher The
other Asiatic countries, Of which the statement
Is equally erroneous do not compete with lis
in any OF our great exportable staples In the
presence Of such conditions largely imaginary
or missta,ed, the address argues that the gold
standard here cannot be maintained by an in
definite issue OF bonds" Nor could II be under
the actual or any other conditions; the way TO
maintain the credit OF n nation Is not 10 borrow
indefinitely, but to pay, as we did In 1SII-I9,
until foreign creditors scrambled over each
other I'm their haste to invest money here. as
they did in 1SS0Sl. The fatal error again ap-
pears Of forgetting that the worlds faith is Of
more use TO us than all exchanges Of metal.
The sure way 10 maintain gold standard. or
any other Is to so stimulate home industry, and
so restrict competition with foreign industry
thar our prosperity Is known to all the world
1T Is believed that the United States has