Birmingham state herald., 1896-09-02


 inclusive, namely, $2,526, SS4. 900, by the enormous sum of $1 ,4S2, ,927, ,469 or just about $1 apiece for every man, woman and child now living on earth. This ex- cess of coinage has been effected by the conversion into coined money of just that much of the worlds stock of gold acquir- ed before 1873; and to attain 1t all the hidz ing places of the yellow metal from the cradles to the graves of humanity, have been ransacked and ri1ed.
 The significance of these figures cannot be at once comprehended They prove that it is impossible for gold alone to do the money work of the world, which has been unwisely imposed upon it. They show that even with the great stimulus given to it's production, and with all the improved processes therefor the needs and demands of the world have far out stripped it's supply. The fierce struggle for it has enhanced it's purchasing power in spite of its increased production, and thereby depressed the value of all other productions of human industry in com parison with it, and this struggle grows in intensity every day. This explains why all other values except it's own are going. down and must continue to go down as long as the present order of things continues, for gold can hardly do it's own proper work, much less that which silver ought to do
 These figures show further that the entire production of gold and silver to- gether falls immensely short of the worlds need. Add the underproduction of the two metals together and it appears that not enough of both have been taken from the earth since s1S73 to supply the worlds imperative needs by $1,521 737,- 392. How long at this rate of overcon- sumption before the old stocks of pre- cious metals vii be gone and there shall be famine?
 Here then we have demonstrated by cold statistics that the worlds welfare requires an increased production of both gold and silver. There is no danger, ex- cept to shylocks, of there being too much of both or of either of them. It may be that American miners will reap larger percentage of benefits resulting from the remonetization of silver and the reopen ing of our mines than some others. This is right, because they have been the chief sufferers by the war on it. Moreover, we are of the number of those who prefer to give to our own American miners the temporary difference between the com mercial and coinage values of silver bull lion-if any such thing there can be un- der free coinage. which we do not ex- pect-to be employed by them in devel- oping our country's greatness, rather than to perpetuate that difference by maintaining the present ruinous gold standard for the benefit of British money brokers, who are now using it to destroy and degrade our producers of wealth by bringing upon them the deadly competi- ton of the half-fed, half naked ryots and coolies of the east. Besides, who was ever crazy enough when tormented with thirst to refuse to drink from fountain of living water merely because the first finder who had expended his strength and risked his health and life to discover it, enjoyed it's first and deep est draught? If our millions of American workers outside of silver mines, the pro- ducers of nearly all our wealth and greatness, are typified by such a fool, then we know nothing of them.