The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-08-07
The limited States and Silver.

| derstand the science OF money and power
of the United States is constantly cropping
out. The Philadelphia Record is among
the dullest of the large morning dailies on
this point, In recent issue the Record
narrates a transaction which was made by
a grain shipper of Philadelphia, who was
unable to sell a cargo of American wheat
in Liverpool because the wheat shippers
in Brazil were able TO lay grain down i'll
that market for less per bushel. The
shipper from Argentina paid f.. 20 per
bushel in the money of that country and
could undersell the American shipper
who could lay the grain down for "a cents.
The editor of the Wig eagerly snaps at
this bait and proceeds to comment i'll this
| wise
"When this transaction took place gold
in Argentina commanped premium OF
325 per cent, and the gold price of wheat
| i'll Liverpool, after the payment of freight
and insurance, was about 7oH cents per
bushel. But the victivms of the Silver
delusion i'll this country, who are blind TO
the currency depreciating effect of free
| coinage, would have the American farmer
believe that if he could get 81 20 in silver
for wheat which he now sells for 80 cents
he would experience real benefit -
1t is not the American farmer that is
blind OH this phase of the money question
but the editors of the Record and Wig,
who are the victims" in this instance
Argentina is one of the weak silver
states of South America, which few
years ago was robbed by the gold trust of
England. 1t is silver money country,
but is on paper money basis at present,
as the United States was for II years
during and after the war. Gold was at a
fluctuating premium during that time, 10
to 2S7 per cent, and wheat was as high
as 81 so to $500 bushel The American
farmer did not suffer then as now. He
got SI.25 to $3.50 per bushel in Liver
pool for his wheat paid in gold. Silver
was then worth $I.3337 all ounce in gold
i'll this and every country on the globe,
and could not be bought here at less than
that to buy wheat in India, Russia, Ar
gentina and other silver countries. A
bushel of wheat was then and is now
worth an ounce of silver, less cost of trans
portation to Liverpool, in all those
countries.
An onnce of American silver at the
time of the Records transaction was
worth just about 7oH cents in London,
and the shipper from Argentina and India
was enabled to lay down the wheat for
what he could buy an ounce of American
silver.
And now let us open the United States
minis to free coinage of silver and see
where the victims of the silver delusion"
live-whether in the Record and Wing
offices or on American farms. With free
coinage silver would be worth $I.29 $40
cents an ounce. No man OH earth could
buy an ounce of it for less than that price,
hence the Argentine wheat shipper could
not purchase wheat in that country and
| lay it down in Liverpool for less
And now we don't want the Wing or
Record or anybody else to take our word
for this We will just prove it, which is
the better way to knock out all opponent.
There is ~. S. mint report of 1889, about
$2I6, S92, 800 of silver mined in the world,
annually, and pretty nearly the same
| Sc cold Of sc TO
The silver product is distributed in this
way. The United States produces $64,
ooo, 900, and the American continent, in
Guiding the above sum, produces about
$I6S, S4S,ooo. The continent of Europe
produces about SIG, 1000, ooo and the three
continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, pro-
duce annually about $4S, o49, 900. That is
not nearly enough silver to supply the
demand of those nations for subsidiary
coin. In 1894 Europe coined $50, 900, 900
to supply the demand for small coins. In
the face of these faces the people of the
Eastern hemisphere have to come TO
America to buy their silver and must pay
American price for it. We assert as a
logical fact that when the United States
opens her minis to free coinage, not an
ounce of silver can be purchased for less
than its coin value here. Because we
have the silver. The nations south of lis
are silver money nations. If they can get
$I.29 worth of goods here for their ounce
of silver, they will not sell it for 70 cents
to European nations in exchange for
goods. When exchange is 81. 20 here and
70 cents in London they will come here to
deal, and we can furnish every kind Of
goods in unlimited quantities.
Can the United States maintain silver
at $I.29 per ounce i'll gold? They can
and the reason is as clear as sunlight al
IL M, one of these hot summer days.
First we own more silver than any other
nation. We own $780, 900 miles of rail
road which require millions of money
every day i'll use to pay fares. This is
cash not credit. We have more domestic
or internal trade than Great Britain and
Ireland, France and the German Empire
combined. This vast trade requires money
and lots of money to move it. Our ter
ritory is seventeen times greater than
France and more than five times as great
as the territory of Great Britain and Ire
land, France and Germany combined