The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-06-08
Mr.. HOWELL'SSPEECH
He Addresses the Senior Literary High
School Society.
ON THE COUNTRY'S FINANCE
The Uses of the Metals and Their
Standing I'm the Nations of
the Commercial World
Explained.

Butte, June Edwin Il. Howell. the
well-lxnown attorney and political econ
omist, gave an interesting talk TINS
evening on the elementary propositions
of bimetallism. before the Senior Lit
crary society of the high school. He
explained to the young men and worn
en- Of the society the history of money
ard the different laws of America
bearing upon II. and especially as they
related to gold and silver coinage ana
the effect the decentralization of silver
had on the purchasing power OF gold.
As the purchasing power OF money in
creases. he explained, prices must go
down, and 1t has two evil effects. The
first effect is that the farmer. with
debt or a mortgage to pay. finds that
I'm the gradual decrease i'm prices II
takes each succeeding year a greater
amount of wheat to pay the same pro-
portion of debt. and finally he nnds
that the farm which was worth twice
as much as the mortgage. now Is
worth no more than the amount OF the
mortgage. and a foreclosure folloWs
The debtor class, however, is not the
only one affected. The investors also
suffer by IL. The capitalist invests in
western enterprises-say i'm railroads
The shrinkage in values by the pur-
chasing power of money affects the
railroad stock until the property Is
worth only half what 1T cost TO con-
struct it. The result is that the invest
ment loses and the investor says the
country is worth nothing and puts his
money In the banks or safe deposit
vaults and Is afraid to make further IN
vestments. Really, the worst effect OF
the decentralization of silver is the stop
page of investments. Prices now as
L, nralN HnIf rlaf hot
years ago. Our eastern friends say
that this is due to a period of imitation
through which they say we have passed
i'm the west, but the fact is that II Is
due to the appreciation in the value or
money. They say i'm east that we now
have silver and gold on parity and
say that that is true bimetallism. 1t
is not bimetallism, but pure monomet-
allism. Bimetallism is not question
Of how many metals money is made
out of, but a question of how many
metals we shall have in money of final
redemption.
Mr. Howell explained the different
kinds Of money and their functions.
In 1892, he said. the silver dollar was
made the standard of value, and re-
manned so up to 1873. In 1873. in an
swer to a clamor for greenbacks, law
was passed to continue in circulation
S346 00o, 900 in greenbacks and for the
coinage Of limited amount Of silver
fiat money, the same as paper money
and that is what the silver in circu-
lation to-day is. The reason 1t passes
at par with gold is because 1t has tie
fat of the government behind Ii.
The people are beginning to realize
the great mistake that was made when
silver was demonetiZed, and their only
question now is how 10 get back 10
silver without taking a great tumble.
OF course II Europe would agree TO
Col
he easy enough. But England. being
a creditor nation. refuses to agree TO
il because IL would not be 10 her ad-
vantage 20 do SO. Germany and
France. however. are almost ready TO
come into such an agreement The ag-
ricultuTdl classes recognize that blmes-
allism is their only salvation. Two
years ago there were very few silver
men in the East. but now Wall stree
is full of men vino talk for Information
al bimetallism. They begin to see that
the prosperity of the nation depends
upon the restoration Of silver. The
people Of the West, however. believe
that America is big enough to settle
the question Independently of the rest
Of the world. There is a great deal OF
talk about 50 cent silver being coined
into a dollar under free coinage, and
about paying off 800 worth OF debt
with $50 worth of silver. but past ex-
pcriencc shows that such a condition
would not result. In 1890, when the
Sherman law was enacted the market
value OF silver rose between August
and October from sc cents 10 Sl.l9. or
within 10 cents OF par. with gold.
| The trouble with the law was that the
government would not take all the
silver and the remainder flooded the
market and the price went down
again. During that time twice as much
| silver was sent to India. China and
other silver using countries, and the
| United States did not become q dump
| ing ground for the worlds silver.
The free coinage Of silver in the
! United states would establish parity
! between the two metals all over tn"
| world. Mr. Howell declared that even
| If silver would drive all the gold into
hiding and the white metal would not
rise above so cents. IL would not be a
| very great calamity. One-third or less
| of the money in circulation is gold and
| most of that is In the bank vaults.
! suppose all the gold would be driven
| from circulation and silver would rise
/ To so cents. wheat and farm products
| and prices generally would rise i'm pro-
| norton. The owners of gold would see
! that property is going up and business
| would again be stimulated. Silve.
| would not buy so much in the markets
of tie world as gold would. and tho
| gold would be used to shut out Eng
| land with her imports and the Ameri-
can manufacturer and the American