Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-10-08
woRLo.s NEED or silver.
The United states Has Advantages Which
She Ought re Use.


The United states Has Advantages Which
She Ought re Use.
The New York Financial News, in a
lengthy editorial discussion of the topic
suggested by the above head, calls at
tention to the fact that since our repeal
of the purchasing clause of the Sherman
act there has been a steady increase in
our exports of bullion, amounting TO
everything not used here averaging for
1894 over three and tenth millions of
dollars per month, for 1895 over three
ard half millions per month, and for
the eight months of 1896 over four aud
a tenth million dollars per month.
The Financial News publishes in the
same connection an interview with
Wall street business man, which the
Penny Press deems worthy herewith of
reproduction:
This silver finds its way to India,
China, JapaL, the Straits Settlements,
to countries all over the world using
silver Oriental countries are sinks for
silver, will absorb any amount and
never give up any. Their business and
their demand for it expand and increase
constantly This is true in other coun-
ropean countries we sell it to. the
cheaper they get it the more there is
in exchange with the ultimate buyer.
As to the latter, the cheaper they get
il the more there is to them in building
up their industrial and commercial COM
Dctition with gold-using and with bi-
metallic countries. The difference in
price between coinage price and what
we get for it, say, half price, is not only
direct loss to US on valuable and i'm
portant export, but it is bounty to
oriental countries to help them expand
their business in competition with us.
Protection and cheap silver cannot go
together. The one is protection of our
home market to the home manufac-
turers. The other is bounty to the for
eign manufacturer to the extent of fur
nishing him money worth dollar for
so cents, and with it he is becoming
competitor. If the price was full coin
age price as IT would be under free coin
age, we would not only get twice as
much per ounce for what silver we could
spare but we should cease to give our
industrial and commercial opponents
the advantage over US which we now
give them. We are the largest silver
producers in the world; Mexico is next
and South American countries produce
a large part of the remainder, and with
free silver coinage in this country we
would control the worlds silver.
silver alone is the money of nearly
billion, or two-thirds of the worlds pop
ulation. The operation of the appre-
ciating gold value has been. so far as it
applies to silver itself, to enable Eu-
roDean exchange dealers to buy silver
from silver producing countries at half
price and to sell it TO silver using coun-
tries which produce no silver. at full
price. Appreciated gold has served to
make all export, or selling countries,
sell their exports at half price, as meas
ured by gold. and of course this has
brought their domestic trade down to
the export price level.
The United States, as the largest
producer, by free coinage could control
the silver situation. With silver here
at coinage price we would get all Next
can and South American surplus sill
yer, or else force. countries buving it
direct to pay coinage price. There
would then ensue, in silver-using coun-
tries, a struggle for silver, such as has
come for gold in gold-using countries
since the yellow metal was started in
the scale of appreciation by throwing
out silver from the minis. Then the
European countries would have to fur
nish their oriental and other siIver-us-
ing customers with silver or lose the
trade of those countries. There is no
question as to what they would do. The
cold would come for it, at coinage price
Making silver worth coin price will in
crease the worlds demand for it. The
United States has advantages as a pro-
Queer and as the neighbor of the other
producers, and in her own wealth and
power to be master of the silver sisua-
ton; if she Will only exercise it,