Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-05-03

8 ver-using countries taken from ther
r by India, and wishing, it would seen
t to influence legislation in the Unite
3 States, the English Government in
manner almost merciless to India, b,
telegram, closed the mints OF its In
} dian Empire to all except to Govern
ment silver, and not satisfied will
that act imposed duty of per cent
on all silver arriving in Indian ports
Does any careful student of American
history suppose that in the days o
Washington, Hamilton and Jefferson
such bold game on the part Of the
British Government to affect none
tary legislation in the United States
would have been successfully
The expert ment of closing the In.
dian mints to the white metal appears
to be failure. There are mutterings
of discomfort among educated Hin
docs which are ominous of trouble for
Great Britain. The first year of the
experiment has resulted in India 3
debt being increased by, it is estimat-
ed, an amount equivalent to about
$5O, 600, ,OOO-a vast sum when it is re.
membersd how low are the wages
which its laboring population receive.
Just prior to the year 1857, Lord
Canning when about sailing for India
to assume the duties OF a Viceroy said
Il cannot forget that in the sky of
India, serene as it is, a small cloud
may arise, no larger than a mans
hand, bnt which growing larger and
larger, may at the last threaten to
burst and Overwhelm us with ruin"
| His prediction was soon verified. The
soldiers known as Sepoys in the British
army in India, who may be said to
have represented the educated class of
the Hindoos, rebelled against British
rule. A war broke out which, it
seemed, might result in India regain
ing its independence of Great Britain.
One result Of that war may we'll be
very interesting to Americans when
speaking OF silver. AS England was
obliged to pay her armies in India in
silver, she had great trouble in getting
enough of the white metal with which
to carry on the war. American silver
dollars were eagerly bought by the
Government OF Great Britain--as they
very likely would again be bought if
England became engaged in a war
with Russia, or in any war in which
India became involved-at premium
Of four or five cents on each dollar.
1t may here be incidently added
that silver has always been found in
valuable to nations engaged in foreign
wars. 1t has been found that there
are certain great advantages in being
enabled to pay soldiers in silver
money.
EFFECTS OF A RETURN TO BIMETALLIC
COINAGE.
Whatever may be said OF the mo-
tives OF some of the advocates of a
gold monometallic coinage system it
may we'll be believed that there are
many well-meaning people who have
apprehensions of various kinds as to
what would happen if the United
States government should re-establish
its historic bimetsllic coinage system.
The fears of weli-meaning men, how
ever unfounded, should be dealt with
in q kindly spirit. Some people may
fear that should the mints OF the
United States be reopened to the coin
age of silver just as they are to gold
that so much gold would go to Europe
and so much silver would take its
place that Americans having gold OBJ
legations to meet would not able to
get enough of the yellow metal with
which to meet them. Let it here be
supposed that an American wished to
change one million of dollars in silver
into gold. He could do it 80 easily if
it should not be convenient for bank
ers and dealers in exchange to do it
for him, by drawing on the gold of
Great Britain, that it would seem that
there are Englishmen who fear that if
the United States government re-
adopted its bimetallic coinage system
that England could actually be drained
of her gold to a large extent, by the
people OF the United States. A mer-
chant of the United States could buy
stocks and bonds of well-known rail-
road companies paying for them in
silver money, which would be legal
tender in the United States, and could
have them sold in the stock exchange
of London in legal-tender money
there, which is gold. Merchants could
buy, with silver, cargoes of agricultu-
raj produce, or of merchandise of any
kind, from silver-using countries,
which would command gold in Lon
don. 1t seems that as rule the peo-
pie Of the United States export more
merchandise to gold.using England
than they import. Even in the year
ending in the middle of 1893 the peo-
pie OF the United States sold to British
merchants merchandise to the
amount of $344,Ol4,451 more than
they bought Of her. The balance OF
trade account between the United
States and Germany was in favor OF
this country to the amount of $22,-
GA ,OOJ. On the other hand the peo-
pie of the United States bought many
millions Of dollars more from silver
using countries than they sold to
them. Could the people OF the Unit
ed States have settled these balances
with silver instead of having to buy
with gold silver exchange, they could
have saved gold.
There are some people who do not
seem to realize that if II large amount
of gold-say several hundred million
dollars-went from the United States
| Il al.