The Charlotte Democrat., 1896-08-06
Significant Talk IN England.
Washington Post.

We believe that the London Financial
News is regarded as an authority on both
sides of the Atlantic, and yet it is saying
strange things just now about the free
silver movement in this country.
'There is plain moral in the remark
that if the United States would venture
to cut herself adrift from Europe and
take outright to silver she would have
all America and Asia at her back and the
command of the markets of both coun-
tries. The barrier of gold would be more
fatal than any barrier of custom house.
The bond of free silver would be- stronger
than any bond of free trade. There can
be no doubt about it that If the United
States would adopt silver basis tomor>
row British trade would be ruined before
the year was out. Every American
would be protected, not only at home, but
in every other market. Of course the
United States would suffer to certain
extent through having to pay her obligs-
tions abroad in gold, but the loss of ex-
change under this head would be a. mere
drop in the bucket as compared to the
profit to be reaped from the markets of
South America and Asia, to say nothing
of Europe. The marvelis that the Unit
ed States have not long ago seized the
opportunity. 1t has been piece of luck
that it has never occurred to the Ameri-
cans to scoop US out of the worlds mar
kets by going ON a silver basis, and it
might serve US right if, irritated by the
contemplate apathy of our government
toward the silver problem, the Americans
retaliated by freezing out gold. 1t could
be easily DONE" :
We have heard this prophecy before.
It has been made by more than one
European writer on finance. Moreton
Frewen has insisted that the United
States was blind to its own interests in
hesitating to adopt free coinage Of silver
and then enter into a commercial union
with Asia and South America. He has
insisted that nnder such an arrangement
| the silver countries of the world, while
they might sell to England, would dc all
their buying here. Prof. Ahrent, the
great Gepman authority, has also argued
that the United States, if followed by
Germany, Belgium, and Italy-as he
thinks it would be, sooner or later-could,
| through the medium of free silver coin
age, almost destroy England's foreign
trade. He has been extensively quoted
ny tu0 SOi0 MouI OuC Sutouy 0S W INC 0ik~
| 6culty, in his opinion, OF our acting alone
He has invariably said that concert OF
action among the nations named above
would give them the control OF commerce
in every quarter of the globe. And now
comes the London Financial News with
the positive statement that free silver
coinage by the United States, acting indie
pendently. will multiply its trade beyond
conception and isolate Great Britain SC
far as concerns the silver using countries
1t is needless to say of cours e, that th'
Post does not intend to surrender its CON-
victions at the instance of British news
paper. The Post, however, believes il
q fair and impartial discussion of pub
lie questions and We therefore reproduc
this rather unexpected utterance as
contribution to the controversy-a con
tributlon, by the way, from q sourc
| hitherto regarded as of high authority