The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-09-12
CERNDSCHRS OPINION.
cona,nuea from Ea..orIal n.ags

vStHaVUVlt vi tlstUul
Continued from EDITORIAL page
with silver -lponometallism in the
united states, the war to the knife he
tween gold and silver win agitate the
elvlll2rd world for many years vet, and
YOU know as well as [ do that the results
Of the struggle will be disastrous to those
European countries which are at present
living Hnder u single gold standard, and
III particular TO England and France.
Il have always been the adversary of
the ont and out silver men of Amprica-
That is tn say, tho party which demands
the free coinage of the silver dollar in the
United States without reference to the
action Of European nations-hecau6e
their monetary conception is diametri-
cally OPPOSED to mine. They are mono
mPtallisrs, like the m0nometallists of the
City of london, and the triumph of their
cause, SD far from putting an end TO the
monetary anarchy in which the world
has been writing since 1873, will merely
aecentpate 1t, by rendering more burden
some for Europe the economic conse-
quences of the divergence between the
two standards.
"Bnt it l = were a citizen of the United
States. and We're convinced that Europe.
by reason Of Englahd's attitude. is fixealy
hostile tn the establishment of d stable
m0nrrafy parity between gold and silver.
obstinately rejecting all IDEAS Of inter
%national himetallic agreement, then L
should cease 20 be an international
bimetaliist-which nearly all my friends
IN thB United States are-and should
go over unilesitatingly Is the camp Of
the silver men.
casa matter of fact, in their present
situaGion, the United States az
Aanericit, that great aud Youthful nation.
snfter muUh more from the merciless con-
illicit that has been in progress between
gold and silver since 1873, than England.
a very wealthy country, creditor Of the
rest OF the world. possessing Of
every Kind ana enormous financial
reserve, which enable her To endure Nith
cDnparativeteasn'the economic competition
OF those nationS whose monetary standard
is 'lcpreciated IN regard to gold, like the.
countrI"s OF the Far East, Mexico. the
Argentine Republic, etc.
The United STATES of America, on the
CONTRARY, are debtors to Europe for a
portion Of the SINUS which they have
employed in rhe development of their
Industrial system, and must necessarily
Iiqnidate their debts abroad by realizing
upon the products Of their soil and Of
their manufactures.
Now, as, 0u the OtEer hand, these
foreign debts are contracted ia guild and
as, Ul the other, American products in
Europe have to recon with the depressing
competition of similar products exported
by countries having a silver standard, or
paper money, it follows that the apprecia-
ti0n pf gold, in regard t0rsilver, that has
taken place since 1873, has had ii twofold.
result 1or the United States-which have
remained faithful to the single gold
standard since that d~ate-namely ~ 1t
has diminished by half, on American
territory, the value in gold of all the
national products which are subject to
the said competition. and ~ it has
doubled the real burden of the debts CON
tractPd abroad in gold, since double the
quantity of American products is now
required to discharge the annual liabilities
arising from those debts.
''gne native products of England have
evidently felt the depressing influence of
the Rame competition with similar pro-
duets from countries whose monetary
standard has been deprecated in regard
to gold; and in this respect English
agricu;turists and manufacturers are
preindtcially affected in the Same way as
the agllculturists and manufacturers of
the United States, For this reason an
understanding betw cen the two countries
looking to the re-establishment of the
equilibrium between tire two monetary
standards, and the maintainanee Of u
stable parity Of exchange for the future
was logical, reasonable and desirable for.
the world az large,
"But, ii the interests of English agri-
cuiturists and manufacturers are seriously
affected by the competition of countries
having a deprecated monetary standard,
the exterior finances of the United King
dom do not suffer thereby, since England
has no debts contracted abroad; and in
this respect at least the English escape
that particular evil from which the
finances of the United States of America
suffer SO cruelty.
Furthermore, England being 4 large
creditor of foreign countries, the London
bankers can argue-as Sir William Har-
court did in SO categorical q manner in
his speech ofthe 10th. of March last in the
House of COmmOns-that the English
capitalists recover, by the increased pur-
chasing power of the gold due them from
abroad, the amount which, owing 10 the
fall III the gold price Of products imported
into England by debtor countries, is lost
by the agriculturists and manufacturers
of the United Kingdom.
''Is this the case with the United States
of America7 No most assuredly not; for
they are debtors in gold to foreign coun-
tries, and it is with the proceeds of these
same products the gold prices of which
have been deprecated by the competition
of silver standard or paper money conn
tries, that they are obliged to pay their
foreign debts.
Therefore, the present monetary situa-
tion in the United States is doubly
unfayorable to the economic interests Of
that great nation, since, owing to the
state of affairs now existing, the gold
standard countries of Europe, and par
ticularly manufacturing countries like
England, find it enormously advan-
tageons to purchase their raw materials III