Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-11
he Comes Out squarely Against Free
d Coinage
A VIGOROUS LETTER on FINANCE
United States Cannot Alone Main
tain the Parity Of the Metals.
GOLD THE POOR MANS MONEY

Senator Roger O. Mills Of Texas has
written letter to James G. Dudley. chair
man of the democratic state committee of
Texas. in which he comes out sQuarely
against the free coinage of silver by the
United States. Independently of other ma
lions. In hts letter he says:
II have been called upon to give to the
People Of Texas an expression of my opin-
ion on the financial questions now being
discussed on the stump and in the press of
the state. I have spoken in and out of
Congress on all the phases of the pending
controversy, and had supposed that my
opinions We're known to all of my con-
st:tuent3.
that l am in favor Of retaining both gold
and silver in our circulation, and have
been ever stree the coinage question has
been brought. into controversy. I advocat-
ed the unlimited coinage of silver and gold
at III to l as long as l could see prospect
OF keeping them both In our circulation.
United States Can't Go Alone.
1.-THE continued fall of silver and the pro-
gressive abandon ment of it as a standard
of value by other countries has separated
the two metals SO far that the conclusion
mas been forced upon my mind that the
United States alone cannot bring them to
par and keep them at par throughout the
world at that ratio.
II would be glad to have all the minis
OF the world open to the unlimited coinage
of both gold and silver at Is 1-2 to l or 10
to l. But this is a result that cannot be
produced by any one nation. because no
one country Is able to control the demand
and supply of all the gold and silver in the
world. We must ascertain what we can do
Independently of other countries and what
the best interests Of the people Of the
United States require US to do"
The Senator reviews at length the corten-
tons in behalf of free coinage of silver at
16 to l. and the argument that it would in
crease the prices Of all commodities. saying
the latter would be true If the increased
coinage Of all other countries kept pace
with ours. but that increased coinage by
this country would not increase prices in
other countries.
This being So the gold dollar as the COM
mon International measure of value. would
go to Europe. because 1t would buy more
commodities there than here, while the sill
yer dollar would remain in this country.
The Senator then announces his opposition
to this substitution of the silver standard
for our present standard. and in an argu-
ment of much length gives reasons. polit
tcal and business, in support of his position.
He quotes statistics to show that wages
here have risen under our present standard,
while necessities have fallen in value, and
comments on these figures as follows:
Gold the Poor Mans Money.
ut has been said that gold is the rich
mans money. These figures prove that 1t
is the poor mans money, and the money of
every one who works for wages.
The wage worker Is always cheated by
any deprecated money, more by deprecf-
ated paper money, because 1t has no in
trinsic yaille to check its expansion. The
wage worker always gets the most for his
service within the, dollar in which he is
paid is the dollar of the commercial world.
The whole people. except spectators and
commercial ga mbiers. are injuriously af-
fected by appreciated money of any kind.
but the injury is felt with crushing effect
by the man or woman whose life depends
upon constant employment and daily earn
ingS"a =
In conclusion. he advocates payment of
the public debt rs rapidly possible. OPP
poses the sale of interest-bearing bonds
in. time of peace, and favors issuance of
Notwithstanding treasury notes to tide
over temporary deficiencies in the reve-