The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-03-10
THAT DEAD SILVER ISSUE.


Some Of our friends have advised us
that the silver issue has been settled
by the vote in the lower house of Con-
eress. The hanging of John Brown
settled the anti-slavery movement In
the minds Of some few people at that
time. 1T was also claimed, when the
abolitionists were driven out Of the
cities, beaten and rotten-egged, that
their cause was killed.
The silver movement is more impor-
tant than that great issue. 1t is not
dead; it does not even anguish; the
people are awakening, and will soon be
heard from. The present bad times are
due entirely to anti-silver legislation
and will endure, and become gradually
worse and worse, until the popular
erroneous impressions are changed
and silver remonetized. Our American
bankers and business men are honestly
and patrioticaly advocating mono
metallism. They think that the silver
men are wrong. They believe that free
coinage would prove commercially dis
astrous to us. We take the liberty of
quoting the views Of the editor of the
London Financial News on this point,
as follows:
"There is a plain moral in the re-
mark that if the United States would
venture to cut herself adrift from Eu-
rope and take outright to silver she
wouId have all America and Asia at her
back. and would command the mar
kets of both continents. The barrier
of gold would be more fatal than any
barrier of custom house. The bond or
silver would be stronger than any BOND
Of free trade There can be no doubt
about ii. that if the United States were
tn adont silver basis tomorrow
british trade would be ruined before
the year was out. Every American
would be protected, not only at home.
hut at every other market. Of course
the United States would have to suffer
to a certain extent through having to
pay her obligations abroad in gold,
but the loss on exchange under tins
head would be a mere drop in the
bucket compared with the profits to be
reaped from the markets of South
America and Asia, to say nothing OF
Europe The marvel is that the Uni
ted States have not long ago seized
the opportunity 1t has been q piece
of luck that it has never occurred to
the Americans to scoop us out OF the
worlds markets by going on silver
basis, and it might serve us right, II,
irritated by the contemptuous apathy
of our government to the gravity of the
silver problem, the Americans retaliate
by freezing out gold. 1t could easily
be DONE"
The following is from Robert Giffen,
the London statistician, and longtime
gold monometallist:
"Bimetallism may help to steady the
exchanges. The metal becoming cheap
er pours into the country to be eX-
changed for the metal becoming
dearer, and so the rise in the latter and
the fall in the former is arrested. OF
this the world had conspicuous illus
tration after the Australia and Cali
fornia discoveries; silver from becom-
rested. Gold was poured into France
had much silver to be exchanged for
gold, so the rise in silver and fall in
gold relatively to each other was ar
rested. Gold was paured into France
i'm exchange for silver. Let
each country select standard money
which suits it best, and then adhere
to it, IT is the best rule that can be laid
down In currency. = The pres
sure on gold would have been more SCI
we're than ii has been If the United
States had not passed the Bland coin
age law. The appreciation Of
gold would have been much less ii
the United States had not locked mp
SO much Of III. The leading ma
tions Of the world have accumulated
sufficient silver 10 20 10 a silver stand
ard without buying an ounce more
than they have, with the exception of
England. The world, therefore, except
England, can 20 over to o silver stand
ard III a fash"
Let our Wall street friends follow the
example Of Mr.. William +. ST. John.
He was a believer in the single gold
standard, he investigated, studied and
came to the honest profound conclu-
sion that bi-metallism was essential to
the prosperity OF this country. He is a
free coinage man to-day. There will be
many more like him when the matter
is studied New York Daily Financial
News.
"Have yon got a permanent position
II think so. Snip e. Go. have employ
ed me to collect your account with
HEM '--HarpaV,g Razar