Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-10-22

G.: Where does the ''cheap silver
come from?
| M: About half is furnished by the
United States, the rest largely by Mexico
and South Africa.
G: How can it be made higher in
price?
M: By opening our mints to its free
coinage at the ratio of 16 to l, $1.29 per
ounce, as before 1878.
G.: But wouldn't we have to coin all
the cheap silver that these 800 millions
Of people own?
\ M: No, sir; because their silver is al
ready coined at ratio of Is or Isl to l,
that is $1.4 or 81 33 per ounce, and they
would lose the difference between $l.29
per ounce and $1.4O or $l.33 per ounce,
also cost of transportation. Besides,
what would they do with silver bearing
our mint stamp-ship it back, or buy
goods with itf
G: But free coinage of silver law
would give the mine owners large
profit.
NJ: Yes, to the successful ones; but
they are Just as much entitled to helpful
legislation as We wool men,; in fact, that
special plank for wool interest which the
Republican platform contains reads:
"To all our products, to those of the
mine and the field, as we'll as those of the
shop and factory, to wool, the products
of the great industry of sheep husbandry,
as we'll as to the finished woolens, we
promise the most ample protection"
That promises ample protection to all
American products, which includes silver
as we'll as wool. / regret that Mckinley
is not true to his past, or the Republican
party's past, or to this platform.
! G.: How so9
NJ: He advocates financial policy
that shuts the mints against our own
minerals and compels the national treas
ury and individuals to borrow the prod
ucts of English gold mines and pay that
rival nation enormous suRs for interest.
1t is neither fair nor good policy to ig-
more the silver miner. You can't dis
criminate against him and not harm de-
pendent industries. We will help our
wool interest directly by giving the sill
yer miner the legislation he asks for;
and would also help all other American
farmers at the same time and for the
same reason. Our wheat, cotton, ETC.,
are exported in large quantities and
must compete abroad with crops raised
In silver countries, the cost of producing
which has been paid in ''cheap silver"
The farmer and woolgrower are alike in.
jured by this competition. The WOOL
grower has received some help by high
tariff, but no duty can add to the price
received for wheat or cotton exported, so
the only way to protect those is to raise
the price of silver.
G: Yes, see how $1.29 an ounce for
silver would hurt foreign competition,
and am glad you made the point that
higher duties will not increase the price
of farm exports. Many combine general
farming and wool growing, and this in
formation should reach them.
M: You see, then, it is practicable to
protect the gold and silver miner, the
wool industry and general farmer all by
opening our mints to silver.
G: Yes, but l never understood the
sub ject before.
M: The foregoing are not all the ad-
vantages which would result from free
coinage. The benefits of gold and silver
mining are distributed more widely than
any other industry. 1t competes with no
other. The opening OF one factory may
close another, but We can't have too much
gold and silver, especially that taken
from our own mountains. The product
of silver and gold mines adds to the per-
manent wealth of our country, and by en-
larging the volume of money increases
the purchasing power of the people. The
miner is the best customer of the farm,
factory and railroad, and as he produces
nothing that be consumes, all his needs
create demand for labor in other lines. II
is stated by Carroll D. Wright, I think,
that each gold and silver miner under
ground gives employment to ten other
men, directly or indirectly.
G: can see that this industry creates
demand for everything, and produces
the money to pay for it. But when this
government establishes fixed mint
price of $l.29 for our silver, coins it, is
that not making STAT" money!
NJ: No more than by its fixed mint
price of $2O.67 per ounce for gold, re-
gardless of what it cost to produce, which
in some mines would be 50 and in Others
$40 per ounce. Why favor gold and dis
criminste against silver!
G.: But would there not be an over
production of silver?
M: My rance being in New Mexico,
gave me an opportunity for practical
study of mining. found it was far more
difficult to wrest silver from natures
storehouae than to increase the wool clip
or coal product. Nature welded gold,
silver and other metals. Often silver and
gold are linked, very generally silver is
COM bined with lead, frequently with both
gold and lead, also copper and zinc. All
Eve of theee metals are mixed In many
mines. So that every ounce of silver
produced means more or less of all these
others.
G.: This conversation has been very
instructive. Let me summarize it. That
legislation is best which benefits the
greatest numbers. You have shown:
1. That by opening our mints to silver,
az they are to gold, needed money would
bs taken from American mines, and we
save the interest paid for the use OF
British gold.
2. This mining would put in operation
dependent industries, and thus create
new home market for our factories and
farmers.
Y.A fixed mint price of $l.29 per
ounce for silver would destroy the ad-
vantage given competitors by cheap sill
yer, i. g., it would protect American farm
srs, manufacturers and labor at the sx-
pense of foreign rivals, and not as does
high tariff, make all our people contrib
ute for the direct benefit of one class.
4. That bill imposing high duty on
foreign wool can't pass the senate until
silver is restored to the place it occupied
for eighty wears prior to 1873.
s. Therefore, the only way to restore
prosperity is to elect Mr.. Bryan.
M: Correct. Although heretofore q
Republican, consider that party has for
feised all claims to my allegiance by it's
radical departure from previous plat
forms. 1t is intensely humiliatiug to an