Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-10-17
SILVER TRUSTS
DOODLE FUND.
NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES
Its Members "Chip In" to Elect
Bryan and to Make a Profit
of Ga Cents an Ounce
on Their Silver.
[snecial Correspondence. /

=.
secretary Of the Bimetallic league of the
silver states. has let the silver cat out of
the bag. He has exposed the plans of the
silver mine owners, has called upon them
to chip In" one month profits from their
silver mines TO help elect Mr.. Bryan and in
augurate an era of free silver, and he has
pointed out to them how in return for this
assessment they will be able to make a
clear profit of ga cents an ounce ON every
ounce they take to the minis to be coined
under free silver regme
The aims, objects and hopes of the Sill
yer trust, to which Mr. Merrill APP
pealed, were frankly set forth in a letter
which he wrote for the Salt Lake Herald
Of Sept 81. In this letter he reminds the
silver mine owners Of tthe great benefits
that viii accrue from the adoption of free
coinage with its restoration of silver to
its place as full legal tender money at a
ratio of Is to / and the Immediate return
of silver to it's former price of $t.29 an
ounce" If Bryan is defeated, he adds, we
must expect to see silver sold at price
that will be given it simply by its demand
| for use in the arts, which Will certainly be
not more than 40 cents per ounce. =" In
view of these facts, he asks how the own
ers of silver producing properties can afford
not to contribute mt least the additional
profits they receive for their own silver
product for one month to the Bryanite
campaign. He closes with direct appeal
to wealthy and we'll known silver mine
owners as follows:
81 appeal TO Messrs. Mcintyre and Gun
ninCham of the Mammoth, Keith and
Kearns of the Silver King, Chisholm and
others of the Centennial Eureka, Ryan
/ - ti,.A 4 I1af.f md nf he
Eureka Hill, DAILY of tho DAILY, West Beck
and associates of the Bullion Beck, Farms
worth and Sharp of the Horn Silver, and
the owners of the Sioux, Ontario and other
| silver mines of this state, who can well
afford to assist in this cause, to figure up
| the average monthly silver product from
| their mines and multiply the product of
/ one month in ounces by GA cents, which is
/ the additional price they will receive for
! their product--all of which viii be profit
| and at once have that amount contrib
uted and placed in the hands of the troas-,
urer of the bimetallic parties to assist Mr..
BRYAN in the wonderful campaign he is
making almost unaided. If we can secure
the additional profits of one months prod
uct of the western silver producing mines,
| it will insure success to the election on
Nov. 81
| This frank, candid and powerful appeal
to the selfish instincts of the mine owners
naturally produced profound and imne-
date effect. They knew how unstable the
price of silver is, and they were eager to
do anything which gave promise of BOOM
| ing its value and of returning to them, ac-
cording to Mr. Merrill's admission, Il
handsome profit of GA cents an ounce.
The mine owners organized that very
\ -. tn.ff. arfr
alliance for mutual profit. A call had
been issued that afternoon, and Mt night
ga liberal representation of the leading
business men of Salt Lake City respond
| ed, - and several of the silver mine owners
to whom Mr.. Merrill appealed were pres
! emit
The meeting created what will be
| known as the Bryan campaign financial
| committee, which will be general com
! mittee to have charge of collecting funds
! in Utah to assist the silver campaign.
| The committee is composed of 80 MEM
] bers, including these mine owners whom
! Mr.. Merrill directly addressed Messrs
! DAILY, Packard, Beck, Knox, Mcintyre,
! Kearns, Farnsworth, Cunningham, Chis-
/ holm--and Merrill himself This commit
tee organized at once with X. G. Cham
bers, president of the Salt Lake Herald
/ company, u prominent free silver organ,
| as chairman.
"After the meeting" says The Herald,
''the subscription list was started among
i the gentlemen present with results which
proved eminently satisfactory. The work
of raising funds will be pushed with will
to the end that Utah's financial assistance
| to the silver cause will rebound to the sim
certify of her people in their desire for free
silver "
Thus was set on foot the movement
among the silver mine owners of Utah TO
help themselves and to make profit of GA
cents an ounce on their silver by electing
Bryan with the aid of big campaign fund.
But the Utah silver mine owners are not
alone in this highly patriotic scheme to
place in their pockets this handsome profit
of 100 per cent ON each ounce of their com
modify All the silver mine owners will
want to share in this glorious division,
and under free coinage they will be per-
fectly free TO do so.
just think for a moment what their
profit would be- No less eminent an au-
thority than f. o. Leech, ex-director Of
the mint, estimates 1t in this way: The
annual product Of the mines is l75, 600, 900
ounces, worth at the present market price,
90 cents an ounce, sl13, 750 600, for which
our government is TO pay, when silver is
worth 81 % an ounce, 1925, GOO, 900 in gold
IA snug little profit to the owners of sill
yer mines of SIP, 250,0 900 on the present
annual product only. But with silver ut
81 20 an ounce under free coinage this out
put will of course, be enormously in
creased, and the profits of silver mine
owners win Increase corrcspondingly NO
wonder the silver mine owners responded
at once TO Mr. Merrill's appeal and less
wonder that the passing around of the hat
at the salt Lake City meeting was accom-
plished with "eminently satisfactory re-
suits