The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-03
The Opinion of a Statesman.


The Opinion of a Statesman.
1t Is worth while to repeat what
James G. Blaine said in the United
States senate. Feb. Z. 1873, on the silver
| question, at time when the bullion
value of a silver dollar was 80 cents
more than 1t is today. Said he:
Our line of policy in Joint movement
with other nations to remonetize silver
| las proposed by the st. Louis PLATFORM
is simple and direct. The difficult prob
| lem is what we shall do when We aim TO
re-establish silver without the co-opera-
| tion of European powers. and really an
advance movement to cucrCe these powers
| into the same policy. Evidently the hrst
dictate of prudence is to coin such Il dol
| lar as will not only do justice among OUT
| citizens at home. but will prove pio-
| lection. an almost barricade against ;he
gold monometallists of Europe, who, when
| ever the opportunity offers, quickly draw
| from Us the $lGO 900, 600 lnow sGl2. O0Ol OF
| gold coin we now hold. II We coin silver
dollar of full legal tender, obviously below
the current value of the gold dollar. We
are simply opening our doors and inviting
| Europe TO take our gold. With our gold
flowing out from us we shall be forced TO
the single standard and our relations with
the leading commercial countries of the
world will not only be embarrassed but
crippled.
The proposition then before congress
was the free, unlimited and indepen-
dent coinage of silver dollars of 4l2la
grains each. Mr.. Blaine continued
At current rates of silver the free COIN
age of a dollar containing 4l2ie grains.
worth in gold about 92 cents, gives an i.
legitimate profit TO the owner of the bull
lion, enabling him to take ~ cents worth
of it to the mint and get 1t stamped as
| coin and force his neighbor to take 1t for
full dollar. This is an unfair advantage
which the government has no right to
give to the owner of silver bullion. and
which defrauds the man who is forced
| to take the dollar. 1t surely follows that
| If we give free coinage to this dollar OF
| inferior value and put it in circulation we
| do SO at the expense of our better coinage
| In gold; and, unless we expect the invari-
able experience of other nations to be in
some mysterious way suspended for our
peculiar benefit, we inevitably lose our
gold coin. 1t will flow out from us with
the certainty and force of the tides. What
gain, therefore. should we make for the
circulating medium IT, on opening the gate
for silver to flow in We open a still wider
gate for gold to flow out? II ] were TO
venture upon Il dictum on the silver
question | should declare that until Eu-
rope remonetiZes silver, va cannot afford
to coin a dollar as low as 4l2is grains. II
we coin too low dollar before general re-
mcnetization our gold will leave us. II
we coin too high a dollar after general
reconciliation our silver will leave us. 1t
is only an adequate value before and after
general reconciliation that will preserve
both gold and silver to us.
If that was true Of silver dollars
worth 92 cents, how much more fool
ish and dangerous would be the attempt
to give free coinage to dollars worth
only SO cents? Mr.. Blaine further
said:
Were congress to pass law today de.
claring that every legal tender note and
every national bank note shall hereafter
pass for 95 or ~ cents on the dollar. there
Is not constituency in the United States
that could re-elect a man who supported it,
and in many districts the representative
would be lucky II he escaped merely with
q defeat ut the polls. Yet II is almost
mathematically demonstrable that the
same effect will follow from the coinage
Of all inferior silver dollar. Assurances
from empires and scientists in finance that
reconciliation OF the former dollar will
at once and permanently advance its value
to par with gold, are worth little In the
face OF opposing and controlling facts.
That remonetiZation will have a considera-
BILE effect in advancing the value Of the sill
yer dollar is very probable, but not enough
to overcome the difference now existing
difference resulting from causes indc.
pendent OF our control in the United
States.
The difference then between the bull
lion values of the gold and silver dol
lars was only s cents: to-day it is Al
cents. If we couldn't bridge an Scent
chasm by independent free coinage IN
1878, when many nations were favora-
bly, disposed towards silver, how can
we hope to bridge 47-cent chasm now
by such action in the face of the opposi-
ton of the principal nations Of the
world?
viii the Scranton Times, which loves
to quote from Mr.. Blaine's speeches,
please answer?
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