Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-08-14

Maintaining the Gold Standard.
To The National Bi1netallist:

Maintaining the Gold Standard.
To The National Bimetallist:
In discussing the finanial question,
one important aspect of it has been
overlooked-the aspect
presented to the governments point
of view. Both platforms of the two
great political parties admit that the
free and unlimited coinage of both
gold and silver would be the best
thing for this country: but there is
this broad difference between them:
the Republicans want this country to
servilely submit to the present mono
metallic gold standard until England
and other nations give their consent
to change-until we are permitted
by other nations to do for ourselves
what is best for us; while the Demo
Gratis claim that we are great enough
and strong enough to declare our
financial independence of England
and the rest of the world, and that we
ought to do it-that we ought to
prove ourselves worthy of our revolu-
tionary sires by throwing off En-
glands financial yoke, just as our an
cestors threw off her political yokein
1776. They are willing to pin their
faith to the prowess of the United
States, and with their government
stand or fall. No servile submission
to British financial tyranny for them
they are Americans.
The Republicans want us to wait
until our European masters say we
are free, and may do as we please.
But will these masters ever say it?
No! A thousand times, no! Why?
Because they have too good a thing
as it is to ever consent to a change in
our financial system. Just look at it
for moment! Let us examine the
facts!
From March ], 1889 (the beginning
of the Harrison administration to
July 49, 1896 (the present time), the
government has been steadily losing
gold. 1t has lost during the above
period of seven years, four months
and twenty-five days the enormous
sum of $433, $50, 536.S1 in gold, as fol
lows:
Gold in the treasury March i. 1889 $23o,21O,7l70(
Gold in the treasury March l. 1893 1O3.2Sl,21S,91
Total loss of gold under Harrison S127 O26 OJ
Gold in the treasury March 1, 1893 $lO32s4, 1870
Total gold bonds issued since
that time OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 2G2 GO Coo. O(
Total premium on same. ......... $1,000. 900. OF
Total gold held by Cleveland 1896, 2sl,2lS9l
Gold in the treasury July %, 1896. S97SO, 1901
Total loss of gold under Cleveland $sO65 ,osS,7s
Total loss of gold since March
l, 1883. S433, sac, 53G.S
This represen is an average loss O
$3.50, OH, 963 SO per year in gold! The
highest annual output of all the colo
mines in the United States during thu
same period (March l, 1889 to July %
1850 was during the last fiscal yea
QS96), when it reached $44, 100000 il
round numbers, but that was only {
little over half enough to pay the av
erage annual loss alone, even if tn,
government had owned it all; but thu
government did not own one cent o
it, except What it bought. The mex
highest annual output of all the mine
in the United States during tina
period was $39, 100000, during tn
fiscal year 1894, not half enough t.
meet the annual loss of the govern
ment since March 1, 1899.
But assuming that the output O
gold last year (the highest since 1878
will be the average for the next lei
years (when 500, 100000 of the $262,
900, 900 of gold bonds issued by thi
administration will mature) and tina
the average loss of gold during til,
last seven years, four and two-third
months, will be average loss for th,
next ten years (when these bonds ma
ture); and, assuming for the sake o
argument, that the government vii
own every cent OF gold that will b.
mined in the United States during
that time-where wonld it stand a
the end of that time under the opera
ton Of the present system?
The annual output being $44, 900, 600
and the annual loss being $S6,0l7,