Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-18
Ex-Representative Coombs Discusses
the Motives Of Their Agitation.
ALL IN THE INTEREST OF PRODUCERS
Difficulties ind Change Of Ratio
Between the Metals.
COST OF AGE

by Star reporter today and was not in
clined to discuss the silver question. be-
cause, as he said, he had been quoted fire.
Quently on that subject of late. But when
asked what he thought of the claims OF
the silver advocates that they would have
majority in the national convention, he
replied:
"The undue haste in holding some of the
preliminary conventions, particularly in the
state of Illinois, leads me to believe that
the advocates of silver are afraid of the
campaign of education, and are very anx-
ious to convert the democratic party in the
various states to their doctrines long
time in advance of the general convention
of the party. This will, of course, very
much injure the party if they should sue
coed in committing any considerable por-
ton of it to their theories.
No Free Coinage Platform.
But hav, no idea that the party in its
national convention will adopt the plat
form of free coinage. 1 have gone over the
electoral vote CT the various states ana L
find that concedirg them all that they
claim. including the state of Illinois, there
is still a large majority for sound cur
rency. We have at least year for the
campaign of education, and our work IN
that direction is only just begun. l hope
the fight Will be square and f1nal one,
uIequivocal in its demands for sound cur
repcy ard with no vague promises in rela-
ton to b!metallism
THE newspapers few days ago. con-
t.nued Mi. Coombs, contained what pur-
ported to be an interview with ex-Speaker
Crisp in which he is represented as eX-
pressing some doubt as to the advisability
of urging the fight for the free coinage of
silver at the present ratio of 10 to l, as 1t
was too evidently in the interest of the
producers of silver.
Il hope that he was correctly quoted, Tor
1t would mark an awakening to the fact
that they are the only people who would be
price of silver today in London is 30 5-S
pence. which equals 81 IL cents of our
money at ruling rate of exchange. This
makes the value Of a gold dollar $3O.13 in
silver. The proposition of the silver pro-
ducers is that government shall fix the
value of gold dollar by statute at SIG
silver-a clear profit to the silver producer,
over the market price, of sl4I3.
DitiicuItiesfinn Change of Ratio.
TT does not seem possible that any con-
siderable body of men, outside of the pro-
ducers of silver, can seriously entertain
such a proposition and yet the change of
ratio would be accompanied by almost in
surmountablc difficulties, some of which
it would be well to give due consideration
to at this time.
IF the new silver dollar to be coined was
to contain the equivalent in value of a
gold dollar We should be obliged to put
into it 1913 grains of standard silver in
place of the i12ia grains contained in the
doll& rs now in use, while under the ratio
of 10 to 1. This would necessitate making
them nearly double in size and too heavy
for convenience. Each dollar would weigh
l $40 of an ounce avofrutipois, or $40 is
pounds. There would be this advantage in
1t, that when man had silver dollar in
his pocket he would know it. There would
be no manner of doubt about it. It is true,
! oh "a a tn on a he
pacity of his pockets.
Another almost insurmountable disad
vantage would be that it would necessitate
the recoinage of every dollar now in the
time they would be dIscredted and abso-
lutely useless as a currency. The director
of the mint informs me that it would re-
quire at least ten years to recon at a new
ratio the s423 100000 which have been is
sued by the government. OF course, this
process would have. to be repeated every
time there was change in the value of
silver.
Cost of Recoinage.
''In order to recon the present output at
the new ratio it would be necessary for the
government to purchase nearly 2S3,5O0OO0
ounces of silver, which, at the present
price, would cost about 190,OO0,000, to
which must be. added s465O,OOO, the esti-
mated cost of recoinage, making altogether
$194, 650, OC0 necessary as a further invest
ment in the experiment Of silver. These
obstacles to free coinage at an honest ratio
will have the effect of dividing the silver
forces.
Doubtless the advocates of further silver
coinage will meet this argument with the
statement that they really don't expect the
silver coin to so into circulation, but to be
deposited with the government and have
silver certificates issued in it's stead. The
question naturally arises, why, then, resort
to this enormous expense and complicate
the problem by the accumulation of such
IN immense body of silver? Their answer
to this would be that there would be a Sc
curity for the silver certificates. In reply
we might ask them another question. Is It
reasonable to suppose that in case govern
ment should desire to retire the certificates
from what it could realize upon the silver
thus coined it would ever be able to
do it? 1t is generally conceded by those
qualified to judge that we could not dispose
of the bullion now in the treasury within
three years at a price exceeding 40 cents
per ounce if it should be thrown upon the
market.
Instignted by the Producers.
zone caa,.ot help coming to the deliberate
conclusion that the attempt to increase the
currency in this indirect and expensive
way, involving, as 1t does the possibilities
CT enc rmous loss to the government, for
government must eventually pay the loss
consequent upon this action, without COM
irg to the deliberate conclusion that 1t is
irstigated by the producers of silver for
the purpose of making market for their
wares. The fact that the focus of this
agitation is in the silver states is further
Indication to guide U.S. If they can secure
the free and unlimited coinage of silver at
the ratio of 16 to they can afford to spend
in influencing public opinion a great many
millions Of dollars. That amount would be
a trif1irg investment compared to the profit
" hich would inure to them. No such
gigantic scheme for the enrichment of any
class CT producers at the expense of the
reople at large has heretofore been de-
vised and 1 cannot help thinking that
when the intelligent people of the country
come down to the facts of the case there
is no possibility of their succeeding.
aside from the probable direct loss which
their scheme would entail upon us, would
be the indirect, but no less positive one, of
what we should lose by the severing of
financial relations with the other great ma
tions of the word. 1T we put ourselves
upon a silver basis we certainly clog the
financial channels and interfere with the
free course of trade. We produce enor-
nous quantities of the articles that the
world wants, and If we are on equal terms
we can supply them to the buying nations
in competition with any other producers
At the present day it Is a fair estimate
that o1e-seventh, or 100000 of our peo-