The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-26
e not. not ,eaid, foreclozed. and the mort

/ 1t II needless to say that there would he
apssiuteiy no money whatever to loan, for
| wac would lend 100 cents, or even 20 or 30
! N order later on to get back but So? Mr.
Bryan says he does not believe the silver
| doliar would depreciate to 53 cents or at
all. but would continue to be worth 100
cents in gold as now. Is this view sound?
| III the silver dollar under free coinage is to
| remain worth 100 cents in gold it is APP
| parent that silver bullion must become
bullion holders would coin it for the profit.
! and this process would continue until no
the silver dollar was just the same as the
va!ue of the bullion in it. If, on the other
| hand, the price of silver bullion Is not
raised to $l.29 an ounce it must inevitably
! draw the value of the silver dollar down
| to the value of the bullion in it, as bullion
| To raise the value of silver bullion it is
| necessary to raise the value of the whole
! worlds stock of silver, which exceeds four
! thousand millions of dollars. from 60 cents,
I It's present price, to 1928 an ounce. Mr..
Bryan admits this. III, In his speech of ac-
| and unlimited coinage by the United States
alone will raise the bullion value of silver
TO its coinage value, and thus make silver
bullion worth s1.29 per ounce in gold
| throughout the world
THE PRICE OF SILVER.
The question therefore resolves itself into
| this: Would the demand in the United
States for silver dollars over and above the
present stock of 437, 100000 of them (treas-
| ury statement of Oct, d. which we al
| ready have on hand, be sufficient to double
| the value of the worlds stock of silver?
| Mr.. Bryan says it will, but admits he can't
prove it, adding neither can you prove that
| 1t won't. That is his argument He gives
| you his claim and belief, and says that is
| just good what all the fnanciers
claim and believe, as neither can be proved ;
| and 1t is this showing and on this
| showing alone, that he asks the American
| people to elect him. and to see if his belief
Won't come 1 true true In Brooklyn, on Septem-
nnf Ixyyl, ST.
| matt that we can Maintain a parity
neither can you prove that cannot
| Bryans belief alone for our guidance The
United States has had some experience in
| stock of coin above its market value. In
| 1860 the bullion in silver dollar was worth
| SlO3 in gold; and the gold dollar, measured
by silver, was deprecated per cent Our
| minis were open to the free coinage of gold
| as well as of silver. Did that raise the price
| OF gold to par with silver? Not at all. AL
| though the worlds stock of gold is much
| smaller than it's stock of silver, and al
though it was only necessary to raise it's
price 3 per cent, we couiu not accomplish
| it, This lasted from 1884 to 1860 and down
to 1873. The price of gold bullion was not
| heaper currency, it drove the silver out of
circulation. And as no silver had been in
| circulation for over thirty-five years, in
1873 after full debate, this coin was omitted
from our coinage list.
In 1872 under the ratio of Is to Gin force
| at that time, the bullion in a gold dollar
| was worth cents more than the silver
| dollar; and the silver dollar, measured in
gold, was deprecated per cent. Silver
being the cheaper drove gold entirely out
| or circulation for more than forty years,
that is, until 1884, when the government
changed the ratio from Is to / to 16 to l.
with the effect seen above.
In 1860 we were a Nation of over 3O,0OO,-
| 600 of people, and had no silver on hand
| Now we are a nation of about 20, 600 600 of
| people, but have 49,, 100000 of silver dollars
we were unable to raise the bullion value
OF gold but 3 per cent. how can we expect
quantity of silver not merely 3 per cent,
| but more than fifteen times three, i. e. Il
| per o cent. II. with over 3O,ooo,Ooo of people
| lion value of gold just per cent to par
then, being two and cne-thrd times as
| great people now as were then, we
might expect to raise the bullion prices of
| silver. two and cne-third times as high
| that Is per cent, but how could we eX-
| pect even then to raise it's price, not
cents alone, but more than six times seven,
| power we have to raise it with is our de-
mand for silver dollars and that demand is
| already supplied to the extent of S4S7. OO6.-
900? Yet unless the price of the worlds
stock Of silver is nearly doubled the price
of bullion must, as We have seen, inevi-
| tably pull the value of the silver dollar
| down, as bullion would be coined as long
as there was a profit, i. e. till the values
met.
WHAT HISTORY SAYS.
Mr.. Bryan has presented his beliefs on
this subject. Opposed to them stand facts
and history; and not merely history of
this country alone but of all countries
When the mint was first opened the in
creased demand would undoubtedly raise
the price of silver bullion somewhat, but
when this demand was supplied 0he value
Of the silver dollar having been brought
down to its bullion value) it is evident that
with the continued supply and diminished
demand the price must fall off again.
But it is to be noted that even if the silver
dollar did not depreciate We would not es-
cape the panic, as foreign and domestic
creditors alike believe it would, and they
consequently would call in debts and force
sales just the same. This panic. as We
have seen, Mr.. Bryan fully admits must
occur. Therefore the consequences of that
panic are confessedly sure to happen if he
is elected.
Mr.. Bryan is very fond of insisting it is
inconsistent to assert that the silver mine
owner would make profit in coming sill
yer, and also that dollars would be worth
only 80 cents. 1t is not claimed that silver
dollars will go to so cents the next day the
mint is thrown open, but decline gradually,
and at first the silver mine owners could
evidently make a large profit. When, by
preciated to 50 cents, his profit would cease,
so that at one time he could make a profit
and at another time he could and would
solves BryanS dilemma.
The farmer hopes to profit by a 5S-cent
dollar to pay off his mortgage at half its
face. How will this work? On the 5th of
November next there would be no more sill
yer dollars in circulation than to-day, nor
on the 5th of March next, since no more
could be coined until after u free-coinage
act had been passed. Such a law could not
be passed without the most desperate fight
by the opponents of free silver. The fight
against the Wilson tariff lasted all summer
(tfll Aug. %, 1880, and we could not reason
ably expect this to be less determined
that the bill would become law before
about Sept next. Then, to coin SIT, 900, 900
silver dollars to replace that number of
gold dollars driven out of circulation would
require over eight years. If the printing
press reSorted to, the PopulistS
suggest, it would require. at the present
rate for treasury notes, on the special pa
per required therefor, of 81. 250,000 a day,
over six weeks, which would bring 1T to the
middle of October and these could not be
issued until SSH, 000, 900 of silver had been
deposited in the treasury, which would re-
quire some time, and bring it to about
Nov. l, about a year after Mr.. Bry
ans election. Now, as the gold would have
been driven out of circulation, it is evident
that until the coinage bill became a
law. or until September. 1897, or for ten
months after Mr.. Bryans election. we
could have only two-thirds much money
now, and at the end of the year no
more than now. During all of this ter
rible year we would be suffering from
such strngency, panic and depreciation
of values as we have never seen be-
fore, and the prostration and dry rot fol-
lowing the panic would continue for several
years afterwards Business activity would
not return at once. credit is<a creature
of slow growth. 1t took six years to re-
cover from the panic of 1873, and would
probably require ten years or more to re-