The San Francisco call., 1896-09-23
THE EXAMINER" AND SILVER.

The publication in our columns a few
days ago of the inventory and appraise-
ment OF the Hearst estate opened the eyes
of the people of California to the real rea-
son for the recent action not to say selfish
interest of the Examiner in the cause of
silver.
In our Issue of yesterday appeared an
other interesting collection OF equally
authentic extracts showing that within a
year that journal of ofcivilization" has been
an active partisan on both sides of the
question. We present to-day additional
and even more interesting data, drawn
from the editorial pages of our contempo-
rary and furnishing an excellent plummet
by which to sound the depth of its pres
ent sincerity in advocating the cause of
silver.
A year ago both the Examiner and its
Eastern double, the New York Journal
advocated the present standard. To-day
both are garrulous and vehement in the
forlorn cause of silver monometallism,
which they denounced last year, and, in
the case OF the Journal, even as late as last
July.
The excerpts from Examiner editorials
which were reproduced in our columns
yesterday were written with more feeling
and ability than is usual with our incon-
sistent contemporary. They expressed
that papers emphatic protest against such
vagaries and dangerous doctrines as are
embraced in the Democratic platform and
advocated by the Presidential candidate it
now supports. The further extracts
from the files of our contemporary
which appear IN our local columns of
to-day are even more radical in their de-
nunciation of the Bryan policy than were
the excerpts quoted yesterday. Ir what
appeared in the quotations printed in THE
CALL of yesterday the Examiner contented
itself in denouncing the silver mono
metallic idea as unsound, and in predicting
that it would cause the worst financial
crisis ever known in this country. It will
be seen by the quotations reprinted to day
that the Examiners editor grew so weary
of the vociferations of the silver men that
he called them children of the "Windy
West" and in another editorial, speaking
of President Cleveiand's views on money,
the paper says they might be echoed by
every man of ordinary sanity in the coun-
try" which implies by negation that ad-
vocates of any other policy than Cleve-
lands we're insane in 1895.
But the Examiner went further than
criticizing the Silverites of the West and
commencing President Cleveland's views.
1t entered the field of constructive politics
ana boldly advocated that this country's
only escape from the gold basis, in the
event of failure to make an
International agreement, would be
free coinage at 25 to 1. On May 4, 1895, it
said: ''To maintain parity alone it might
be necessary to make the proportion % to
1. Our experience has not encouraged us
to believe we could do this alone at 16
to l."
1t might be interesting to know by what
logical processes the silver mine owner
who now conducts two journals favorable
to free coinage at 16 to reached the pre-
posterous conclusion that such course
would save the country and make univer-
sal prosperity.
case as follows:
THE free coinage of silver under proper
international agreement would help our
trade with all the world, but free coinage
by this country alone, unless it succeeded
in bringing both metals to parity, which
would hardly be possible, would certainly
injure our commerce with countries hav-
ing the gold stan dard. We see the same
effect now in countries that are
on a silver basis. The fluctuations
in the price of silver so disturb inter-
national exchange as to make trade be-
tween gold and silver using countries par
take of the nature OF a gamble. ALI the
profits OF a transaction may be wiped out
by a change in the silver market, or, on
the other hand, they may be doubled. This
is encouragement to legitimate CON-
merce and tends to put trade in the hands
of spectators"
If that monometallic silver journal be-
lieved free coinage at I6 10 l would "put
trade in the hands of spectators when