The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-07-04

remedy is applied. "
Lord Beaconsf1eld had enough to do with
the prosperity of England from 1916 tc
1873 to know how it was caused, and in
the latter year he said emphatically:
1T is the greatest delusion in the world
to attribute the commercial preponderance
and prosperity of England to her having
a gold standard. -
Alexander Barring of the great banking
house under his name said as long ago as
| 1928, that "a gold monometallic standard
| exposed the country to stringencies which
cramped and reduced the circulation of the
currency, and increased existing distress,
and he urged them to return to the double
standard ON the ground that it was less
subject to those sudden jerks and changes
so fatal to credit and commerce -
| Besides this it was decisively and be-
yond dispute proved that the facts upon
which Lord Liverpool who put through
Parliament the silver degradation legis-
lation of 1916 were not facts at all. Not
only had the remedy been empirical and
unscientific, but the diagnosis had entire
ly mistaken the nature of the disease.
PREDICTIONS FULFILLED.
The disasters predicted came slowly
after, just as l have shown on the au-
thority of economists legislation and even
diminished or increased production oper-
ate slowly upon the solidity of an estab-
lished monetary system, but the disasters
got there all the same and lost nothing
of their severity by the delay. What
greatly delayed and restricted the mis-
chiefs wrought by the inconsiderate legis-
lation of 1916 was the conduct of France
in maintaining bimetalism in her own
| territories and those of the Latin Union,
and SO keeping good the monetary value
of silver coins, and the definite proper
lions between gold and silver from that
time till 1877, during which long period
| had occurred those remarkable sudden ac-
cessions to the worlds stock of metallic
money by the gold discoveries of Cali
| fornia and Australia and the develop
ment of the silver bonanzaS of Nevada
and Colorado. But in 1877 France seemed
to have lost her financial good sense when
she drew her associates in the Union into
a total suspension of the coinage of the
five franc piece, the cardinal denomlna.
| ton OF her silver currency. 1t was not
SO much to initiate or succumb to Eng
land, as it was with the idea that in some
way this measure would injure Germany.
| When anything touches or is believed to
touch the old antipathy gendered by his
national humiliation and defeat the
Frenchman invariably loses his head.
| AS 10 UQ6 CnCCU VI UllS L ICliCll 1ICO
coinage of silver in maintaining the price
of silver bullion and the conventional
proportionate values of the two money
metals at Is 10 to l for a period of nearly
sixty years, viz from 1921 to 1877, the
opinions l am about to cite are OF such
over whelming authority as to foreclose
all further discussion.
| On this point President Walker in his
address before the Springfield Board of
Trade makes this condensed statement:
FsMichel Chavelier, the great mono
metalist of France has made the fullest
admissions regarding the effect of the law
of 1903. Indeed, l know of no European,
whose opinion is worth quoting, who to-
day denies the effect in question. In
1886, the British commission, under the
craftsmanship of Lord Herschel, which
was composed of six binetalists and six
monometalsts, unanimously reported.
every member signing the report, that
it was, essentially, the operation of the
French law, which for seventy years kept
silver and gold so closely together
When the French support of silver 50
effective for more than sixty years was
withdrawn silver bullion-not silver coin
went down with rush all over the
world Carrying with it the credit and sol
yency of governments like the Argentine
Republic, and of great railway and manu-
featuring corporations, arresting the
growth in population and wealth Of great
and enterprising peoples like those of tn e
United States, whose steady industrial
advance had been registered in the crea-
ton of new states in the newly occupied
regions of the Center and West. Finally
the blow fell upon the very people who
had contrived and maintained the mis-
chief, the English nation
But it fell principally upon the classes
engaged in agriculture commerce and
1foc nd tho la borhpc
dent upon them. But these classes do
not control legislation. England, which
ever party is uppermost, is straight
plutocracy. The money lending element
shapes her foreign and domestic policy.
Most of her international quarrels and
wars are to take care that her money-lend-
ers shall not be defrauded. English
bond holders determined the occupation
of Egypt. Investment in Turkish securi-
ties prompted the Crimean war. The
heavy investment of British capitalists
in India is the basis of the diseased sus-
picion of Russia
The merchants, the manufacturers,
the farmers may form, as they have. BIZ
metallic leagues, and their Boards OF
Trade may memorabilia Parliament. as
they have, to rehabilitate silver; but
while the Bankers Association of capital
lists stand at the side of the Chancellor OF
the Exchequer, he dare not promise to
disturb the gold standard, that gives
them premium on the interest and prin.
cipal of their enormous loans.
The effects of the demonstration Of
silver on British manufacturers and
trade in India, China and Japan have
been strikingly set forth by MI. Jamie
son, English Consul General at Shang
hal Silver being the currency of those
countries all the products of those coun
tries are rated at silver prices as is also
human labor. Interest on English debts,
and the balances if any of contributors tc
the national exchequer actually paid in
silver rupees. have to be increased by the
premium on gold. This is a simple ad
dition to the burdens of the public and
private debtor. But if they would have
British cottons and other manufactured
articles these too must be paid for with
labor reckoned only at the old silver
wages plus the discount on the silver
rupee This oxaction they are learning
a way to avoid
Thessclass of goods they used@a to buy Of
the English manufacturers they have
found out how to make for themselves
The first spinning mill was erected il
Japan in 1868 with s. 1856 spindles. Ii
1898 there We're 46 mills with 600 900 spin
dies In the near future with the stimu
lus to enterprise and invention, which {
successful war and an enormous cash in
doTpitv will olive and the orders know