Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-08-21
FOR SILVER COINAGE.
VIEWS OF PRESIDENT z. BENJAMIN
 ANDREWS.

The Eminent Economist and President of Brown University Says That Free Silver Would Revive Business. and He Clearly shews Why.
 Rev. Henry ". Pinkham, pastor of the First Baptist church in Denver and friend of President Andrews of Brown university, recently wrote to Mir An drews asking these questions:
 l. Do you favor the free coinage of silver at the ratio of IS to by the United States without waiting for aid from other nations?
 3. Could the United States, having adopted such free coinage. maintain the practical parity of the gold and the sil- yer dollar?
 3. Would not free coinage ty the United Stotes alone lead to complete displacement of our gold? Why not?
 4. Woule not the effect of the recent increased production of gold as com pared to silver be counterba1anced in the event ef free coinage by the stimu- Jus thus given to sily1I mining and by the influx of foreign silver?
 5 Would not the advantages of free coinage be iaore than negatived by the injury to OFT credit, thus causing q with drawal Of foreign capital?
 In reply President Andrews has writ 1 ten:
 My DEAR FINKHAM--I was delight ed to receive your letter of the 9th and will endeayor to answer your questions in their order as well as can.
 "s1. do.
 "2. believe so.
 ''3. do not think so People would not hoard or export gold in face of movement certain to cheapen gold. It seems to me rather likely that the re mobilization of silver by us would be the occasion of setting free vast amounts of gold now hoarded for military and other l purposes.
 't4. This is partly answered under the last Further, there would be no influx of foreign silver. Undoubtedly free coinage by us would increase the total amount of silver produced, but the new silver could not be mined at so low marginal cost IS at present prevails The marginal cost would be on the con- trary increased with the output, so that all tendency from this source to lower the gold price of silver would be nega- tived. The very prolific silver mines now are very few.
 "5. Quite the reverse. After a pos sible first shock our credit would im- prove after free coinage. It is our pres ent course which must speedily lower our credit How long could man or 8 firm continue to have credit who bor- rowed each year to pay large portion of his running expenses? Yet on Q gold basis this course is inevitable, and that is at this moment the reason why for eign lenders are shy of our securities. There must be change if we would avoid bankruptcy. With free coinage every industry would look up, and even if we lost our hold our prosperity would invite in English capital, just as Ja- pans prosperity now causes it to rush there. Never since slavery days has the press in the parts of the country familiar to me displayed such disregard for truth and such stubborn obtuseness to the most obvious considerations as it does at present on the silver question. This means that the money power seated in London, but with representatives in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, is determined 10 continue the apprecia- tion of gold and is determined therefore that the facts shall not be known. The bankers and the press are almost entire ly under it's influence. think the mon- ey question at the present time the greatest question of civilization. Yours with kindest regards,
 E. BENJ. ANDREWS