The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-08-27
The Unknown TefrorS Of Bimstallisr
Carefully Considered.
1.-THE PROPHETS and The FACTS
Free CsissGe Will Make she Eng.
itsh Bend and Mortgage Holder
work for International Binaet-
sm--sciensific Facts.

less--based on the gold standard, has no
terrors for them, but should the basis be
changed to silver, then by some magic Of
finance things unspesksble will happen.
II by chance one should say that mono
metsllism will not be the result Of free
silver coinage the angry reply comes back,
"You are ignorant. You are presumptu-
GUS. You are farmer" You may es-
TEEN yourself fortunate II you are not
called an anarchist or pirate or the
Lord knows what.
The men who favor tree silver coinage
maintain that It will not bring about
monometalism and q deprecated curren-
cy, and in this view it is worth while to
consider what monometallism on silver
basis would entail. First, as to interna-
tionsl exchanges, it would give the
United States an enormous advantage in
trade with China, Mexico and other coun-
tries 10 the south and west whose bust.
ness is done on silver basis. There
would be no question of discounting ex-
changes where currsncies are ct par one
with the other. We want that trade.
England has most of that now. Can
England afford to give the United States
the enormous advantage OF currency
interchangeable dollar for dollar with the
money OF the most populous countries OF
the earth? Those people are buyers
mostly of manufactured products. 1t is
a peculiarly beneficial trade. II in our
exchanges we speak the same financial
language of those countries, we shall es-
cape the friction and expense oil transla.
ton.
Here, then, is one inevitable result Of
the recommendation and the deprecated
currency with which we are so solemnly
and sometimes Observation-Disclosures
Does anybody suppose that England
would permit us to retain that advantage
when she can 30 easily put herself on
equal terms by adopting bimetallism her.
self? That is one way to get information.
al bin etallism.
Perhaps some one will say that we
should lose the trade with England while
we are gaining that Of the countries on q
silver basis. England buys nothing Of
consequence from America but bread
stuffs and cotton. Now, If she could find q
country on gold basis able to supply
her with bread, no doubt all her trade
would go there. But there 10 no country
in the world on q purely gold basis that
produces the cereals in quantity except
America. The same thing ID true of
cotton.
But is there not something else2 OF
course there is something else. There is
that weird financial prophecy that the
British bondholder will come over here
and dump his securities by the million
on the market. The banks will foreclose
all the mortgages. The insurance COM
pauies will pay their policies in 50-cent
dollars. Financial crash, ruin. convul-
sion, chaos.
Pshawl
Imagine the British bondholder- do
not speak in terms OF aversion about that
admirable person-cutting of his nose to
spite his face.
Imagine the well. groomed money-chsng-
or taking his turn at the pillow tail after
he has foreclossd his mortgage on the
earth.
But let Us follow. our prophets and agree
with them that the British bondholder---
for whom, We repeat, we have the high
est respect-is fool. He holds, let us
say, ten billions of American securities.
He brings them over here and dumps"
them on the market for 50-cent dollars.
That Is the prophecy.
We viii suppose that the British bond.
holder-we speak of him in represeta-
tive and respectful sense--is disposing OF
his securities in carload lots; he can only
do 30 by selling them to the people Of
America for whatever they are minded to
give. be they 50-cent or l0-cent dollars.
The intrinsic values which those securi-
ties represent will not be changed or de-
stroyed by the transfer. America can
stand it just as long as Europe. This lie
the prophecy.
We did not make 1t nor picture the aw-
full fate Of the British bondholder when
he pulls the world about his ears, poor
fellow. That is the forecast OF the Ameri-
can financier, based on his knowledge
that the British bondholder Is a fool.
Now we reiterate our admiration for that
amisble and useful person and we don't
agree that he Is fool-not that kind OF
fool. Neither do we want that be should
be parted from his money. Al political
bugaboo he grows tiresome, and, We
hasten TO add, 1t lie crying shame that
80 excellent and respectable man should
be used rs a scsrecrow.
Our friend--our useful and admirable
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