The Monitor-register. [volume] (Woodstown, Salem Co., N.J.) 1892-1972, 1896-10-30

the treasury, to either export or hoard
it, and leave the holders of the remain
ing 5000, 600, 900 to take their pay in
silver
That this gold will almost immedi-
ately be exported Mr.. Bryan admits.
On Sept. 80 at Tammany hall he said,
"You know that with gold as our only
primary money and the fact that the
little quantity of gold can be drained
away at moments notice by foreign
creditors, it leaves us. :" etc.
AS all our national bank notes are re-
deemable in greenbacks they, too, would
fall with greenbacks to silver basis.
In short, Mr.. Bryan's election would,
as soon as the present gold in the treas
ury is exhausted, put our currency on a
silver basis, and all debts, except
where otherwise expressly stipu-
lated, would be paid in silver.
1t will be observed that this would
all happen, even if no free silver
coinage act should ever be
passed.
AS interest on government bonds
would henceforward be paid in silver,
and also all dividends ON stocks, foreign
capitalists would dispose largely of their
| holdings in these, and thus necessitate
| further large remittances of gold.
Their correspondents here and Dor
| rowers of foreign money, being called
on to pay up, would be compelled to call
in their loans and draw their balances
out of bank.
All creditors in this country who pre-
fer gold to silver dollars (Which includes
| the bulk of them) would demand all
debts due them paid, and, getting green
backs or treasury notes for their bank
balances, would present them at the
treasury for gold before it was too late
If impossible to get gold, they would
buy sterling exchange or exchange on
Canada. 1t was reported that prior
to Oct over So, 900, 900 in gold had
already been deposited sin Canadian
banks to avoid the risk of the coming
election.
In short, every man who had
a dollar coming to him would
want that dollar paid him while
it was still worth 100 cents and
The business houses and other debt
ors called on 70 pay up would be COM
PEELED to call on their debtors, and thus
all the debtors in the country would be
called on to pay up Immediately. The
demands on the banks would compel
them to call in their loans, and, if not
paid, to sell or try to sell the collaterals.
Debtors would be compelled to sell
their property at any price, and where
all debtors were sellers at once the de-
clines would be such as we have never
seen before. because there has never be-
fore been such wholesale calling in OF
debts, and consequently selling, as this
would cause.
Business houses the country over, be-
ing unable to collect balances due them
or to realize on their stock, except at
ruinously low prices, if at all, must fail.
Nothing could save them.
Small depositors, nervous and follow
ing the larger ones, would draw their
balances and runs ON banks would be-
come general.
With these runs upon all the banks
they must either break or suspend. In
the cities the stronger ones could COM
bine and suspend, but the weaker ones
and all country banks would fail.
The panic and ruin would far exceed
that of 1873 or of 1898, the latter of
which, called the "silver panic" was
caused by the apprehension only of
going on silver basis This panic would
be caused in part by actually going
on that basis.
Mr.. Bryan admits this: In the Chi
cago convention he sale "When you
come before us and tell us that we shall
disturb your business interests, we reply
that you have disturbed our business in
terests. And the St. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat reported his saying: 81 think it
(neaning the victory of the free coinage
movement) will cause panic. But the
country is in deplorable condition, and
it will take extreme measures to restore
it to condition of prosperity"
In the general scramble by foreign
and home creditors for gold, as there is
not enough to go round, it would neces
sarily go to premium, with the inev-
liable result that the $517, 900, 600 of
States would be exported or boarded.
Railroad stocks with gold mortgages
ahead of them Gas gold must be bought
to pay interest, thus increasing if not
doubling this fixed charge and to that
extent diminishing or entirely wiping
out the net earnings applicable to divi-
aends), with earnings diminished by the
business collapse, would in the general
panic become absolutely unstable.
The bottom would have dropped out of
them. Banks, therefore, would become
absolutely unable to realize ON their col
lateral, and though combination
might save the strongest for time ulti.
mately many would fail.
Decentralization would follow.
Factories, mills, building operations,
ETC., would shut down by wholesale and
all classes of workman, mechanics and
laborers generally, except farm hands,
would be thrown out of employment.
Wages, instead of rising, must in the
near future fall, even though paid for
in deprecated dollars.
AS unemployed laborers could buy
neither food nor clothing, the dimin-
ished demand would cause the prices of
grain, cotton and all farm products to
fall, as is always the case even in small
panics
OF course all mortgages past due or in
default would begimmediately called in,
and if not paid foreclosed and the mort
gageors largely wiped out.
1t is needless to say that there would
be no money to loan, for who would
lend a hundred cents, or even
50 or 80, in order, later on, to
get back but 81?
The farmer hopes to profit by q 5 |
cent dollar with which to pay off his
mortgage at half its face.
How will this work?
On the 9th of November next there |
would be no more silver dollars in cir |
culation than today, nor on the 9th Of |
March next, since no more could be |
coined until after free coinage act had |
been passed.
Such law could not be passed with
out the most desperate fight by the op-
ponents of free silver We could not rea-
sonably expect that the bill would be- |
come law before next September.
Gold would go out, but no silver |
would take its place. Financial strin-
gency would exist for nearly year.
During all of this time farmers would |
have no crops to sell and could not get |
much of the cheap silver money. They |
would, however, be paying silver prices |
for everything they have to buy. They
could not easily obtain money with |
which to pay debts, and mortgages |
would be foreclosed by wholesale.