The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1896-02-14
a DUMPTNa eR0UND YOP sILVER.u

silver of the wOrld?p Well, We letthem
dump everything else here, why not sill
yer? No one is afraid of their dump
ing too much gold here, OF toe much
sugar, tea, coffee or anything else. Sill
yer seems to be the only thing to be
afraid Of; and, can anyone tell why?
We have to pay for what gold We get.
We get no more goods than waare will
ing to pay for in other goods or in
money.
Are we likely to get more silver than
we are willing to pay for? Is anybody
really afraid other countries will give
US silyer-force it on US for nothing?
Who ever heard before of a country
being hurt by an inflow Of the precious
metals? Such talk is foolish. The sim
pie truth is we would get, under free
coinage, as much as we are willing to
exchange goods for and no more. No
one will be compelled to exchange gold
for silver. If silver became abundant
more of it would have to be given for
goods; fewer goods for the silver. Can't
our people be trusted any longer in
such trade?
Let US inquire, however, where all
this silver is that is coming here. In
the first place, the coined silver of
Europe, or of India, would not come
here because it is worth more in gold
at home than it would be under free
coinage here. The ratio Of coined sill
yer to gold in Europe is 1515 to 1, and
in India 10 to /; while OR ratio is 16
to 1. Hence the loss, including loss in
weight of coins, and cost of sending
coins here, would not be less than 4 per
cent on European coins and per cent
on Indian rupees, Instead, therefore,
of merchants sending foreign silver
coins here, if we had free coinage, any
one having such coins in this country
would make a saving by sending them
home rather than taking them to our
mint to be melted into bullion. More
over, it would be simply impossible to
withdraw these coins from the circula-
ton of the countries where they are
now in use as the circulating medium.
Their withdrawal would so revolution
ize prices as to CONFUSE all Europe.
We have only to consider, therefore,
silver in the form of bullion, and as
there is never any large amount of this
metal carried in stock as bullion, the
question is practically limited to the
annual production. II we assume that
the annual production will rise again
to slGOOOOO9O, from this must first be
deducted what is consumed in the arts
and subsidiary coinage, not less than
S60,0O0,0OG for both. Then there would
be left s1O0OOOOOO for money, for the
United States and the silver countries
of the world with a population of 9OO.-
100000 of people, and with the trade
land with it the demand for silver of
South America, Africa and Asia con-
stantly increasing. Is this a threaten.
ing prospect?
The United States will soon need an
annual supply Of s1OO,OOO,OOO of money,
and is therefore in no danger of a food
from silver, and without silver where
is the money supply to come from?
But if in any event there were danger
of an over supply of silver there is an
easy way to provide against it and at
the same time greatly improve our
financial system. Our money system
| is now constituted, in round numbers,
as follows:
Told say. ,,,....., --............. S50O,0OO0O0
Silver, or silver certificates. 5O0,0O00O0
Paper-..... ............ ......,..... 5J0,001CU0
IotaI..'''''' ;-..,.....S l,5OO,WOOO
Of.this 81, 000O0O,OOO are in the hands
of the people, doing the every work of
money; S5OOOOO,00O are held as reserves
in the banks. Out of this, or on this
100000 as foundation, the banks
erect a superstructure of credit, known
as bank credits, of s4,5OOOOOOOO. In
other words, they add to the s500,OO0,0OO
of actual money they hold, S4,OOO,OO0,OOO
of credit money-money made with
I pen and ink on books of depositors and
called deposits. Right here, in this
mass of credit money, lies the storm
centre of every panic that has ever
taken place. When a scare begins de-
posltors of real money begin to draw
it out: then comes a collapse of the
credit bubble.
1t is perfectly plain that if at any
time the entire S50O,000,0O0 Of actual
money should be drawn out of the
banks the entire mass of s4,0O0,O0O,OOC
Of credit would. for the time being, be
absolutely extinguished. Suppose now
| instead of only five hundred millions
in actual money in all the banks, they
we're required to increase their re-
serves TO a thousand millions dollars
in other words, reduce the credit part