The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-05-03
PRESIDENT ANDREWS AND
SILVER,

SlLNEk.
For a long time back the free silver
monometallists have regarded Presi'
dent Andrews, of Brown university,
as one of their strongest opponents.
There has been nothing to show that
he INDUCED in all their fancies and
theories, further than the fact that
he has been friendly to silver and be-
lieved in it's largest possible use in our
money system. And so they have
claimed him as one of their own. But
while he is true friend of silver, he
is not a silver mOnometalliSt, and
does not believe in the attempt being
made to force this country into the
free coinage of silver at Ii to l
ratio without any reference to the
other nations of the world. lie re-
Gently wrote a letter to the Chicago
Record in which he defined his posi-
tion upon the question, and it is that
of a true bimetallist. and the silver
extremists can hardly charge him, in
view of his record and their former
claims, as being prejudiced against
the white metal. In this letter he
reiterates his belief in international
action, and thinks the outlook is bet
ter than ever, and that all that is
needed now is patience. The ques-
tion, he says, is whether in planning
to secure the rehabilitation of silver,
it is best for the United States to pro-
coed alone, irrespective of the acts
and policies of other nations, or to
wait a reasonable time longer in the
hope of securing the cooperation of
number of the greater countries of
Europe"
He holds that it is an impossible
task for this country alone, great as
it is, and boundless as are it's re-
sources, to perform the vast work Of
reconciliation single-handed. He
points out the fact that in attempting
to do this we would lose our stock of
gold, for the reason that the boarding
of gold in the banks of all the ma
tions of Europe is still going on, and
bids fair to increase rather than di-
minish and that they would take
advantage of the slightest opportu-
nifty to get our gold away from us,
and free coinage by this country
alone would give them the opportu-
nifty they are looking for. When they
find we have no intention to assume
it alone, they will find the only way
out of the difficulty is to enter into
an agreement with US.
AS to the effects of free coinage by
this country alone, he says:
eff we take the metal (silver) alone,
and that course results, as | antici-
pate, in the expulsion of gold, we
Shall have in the first place finan-
cial crisis worse than any ever Suf-
fered in this country. This is because
we cannot in long time, even by
working our minis day and night,
coin silver enough to take the place
which would be vacated by gold.
Prices would surely fall. Immense
numbers of failures would occur.
Laborers would be thrown out of
work. Altogether dreadful par
OXysm in our business would be pre-
cipitated. Slowly the gap left by
gold would be filled by the mining
and coinage of silver. Prices would
then gradually rise. At last they
would become higher than now, more
approXimating the Mexican and Jap
anese level. Some advantages would
doubtless spring from this elevation
of prices, but it is mistake to sup
pose that it would redress the
iniquity caused by the fall of prices
since 1873, because the rise and fall
would in the overwhelming majority
of cases not apply to the same par
ties. In most instances the very men
who have profited by the fall would
manage to profit again by the rise.
Moreover wages would rise more
slowly than values at large"
Here is dispassionate view of the
effect of silver recommendation by a
man who is extremely friendly to
silver, and has made a close study of
the subject, and is as able to judge of
the probable effects as any silver adj
vocate in the country.
The only purpose which the free
coinage agitation is now serving is to
postpone any international action on
silver for while bimetallism senti-
ment is growing abroad, the friends
of the gold standard are able to keep
1T under control, and will do so as
long as they have any hope that the
United States may possibly resort to
free coinage of silver upon it's own
hook, and so give them our stock of
gold