The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-10

In it, and that he Is fighting free trade
in fighting for free coinage A very
level-headed man lis Tom Carter Of
Montana.
LEGISLATING FOR ENGLISH CAPI-
TALIsTs.
Upon no point are the advocates Of
free silver more insistant than that we
ought not to legislate in favor Of cap
ital, and above all that we should not
be tender to what they are pleased to
call British interests" AS a matter
of fact, what they propose amounts to
collecting from the American people,
by forced loan, the most tremendous
subsidy ever exacted from a nation in
time of peace, and making a present
of it to the capitalists of Great Brit
ian, who are the principal or entire
owners of the most productive silver
mines in the woGyd. All this beautiful
talk about ''enIttgcing the value Of an
American product" falls away into
nothingness when we are brought face
to face with the fact that this so-called
American product" Is controlled in
very great measure by British capital
and that 1t is to the English owner Of
shares in silver mines that the Bryan
ties propose to give 80 cents on the
dollar at the expense of our own peo-
pie.
The facts in the case are brought out
in an exceedingly interesting and force
full way in a letter from Mr.. Edward
Atkinson published in the last issue of
Bradstreet's. Mr., Atkinson quotes
from report Of the Broken Hill Pro-
prietary company, Of New South
Wales, which owns the richest silver
mine in the world. This mine pro-
duced, from 1890 to 1894 inclusive, 3d.
299,8S2 ounces, or 14.34 per cent Of the
production Of the entire world This
mine was opened in 1885, and if the
total amount Of capital that has been
invested in it, including all expendi-
lures, is divided by Its product of sill
yer only, it makes the actual cost Of
bullion delivered in London so cents
per ounce. AS there are subsidiary
products of lead, gold and copper, the
actual cost Of the silver alone is about
40 cents per ounce. The dividends that
have been paid from time to time, to-
gether with the present stock at its
,oT eI,1
ers have received fS, 100, 900 on a capital
Of f384,000. These are the needy gen.
tlemen for whose benefit Mr.. Bryan
and his followers propose to reduce
the United States to the level of the
silver standard countries, destroying,
in the process, our industry and com
merce, in order that the ,toiIing masses
Of London, who are now able to make
only from so to 100 per cent profit on
their product, may have that amount
doubled.
The title to second place in the sill
yer production Of the world is in dis
pute between the Anaconda mine, Of
Montana, and the Huanchaca, of b.
livia. The latter is owned principally
by English capitalists, and a large and
probably controlling interest in the
former is said to have been sold re-
Gently to English bankers. These
three mines, it is estimated, furnish at
least one-third Of the entire silver
product Of the world, and the actual
cost Of mining it does not exceed so
cents per ounce. we cannot state the
practical aspectaof the case better than
to use Mr.. Atkinsonis own words:
Assuming that the Broken Hill Mining Com
pany OF New South Wales will produce IL =
100000 ounces Of silver bullion at a cost Of
40 cents, more or less. an ounce, in 1897, or
600, Messrs Newlands and Bryan offer
t their services and their influence with all
OF this bullion to $1.29 per ounce. or SIS, $780,
600, and to compel the people of this country
to pay a profit to, the Broken Hill Mining
company in 1897 of s10,6SO, 600, as a mere
incident. ~
There are great many extraordi-
nary things about the proposition Of
the free silver men. Indeed, it fairly
bristles with contradictions in logic
and in fact. But we have never seen
any more impudent assumption than
that Of a devotion to American and a
hostility to British interests on the part
of those who are now proposing legis-
lation which it Is admitted would
change the entire financial system of
this country, and which those best edu-
Gated in government and finance be-
lieve would be more destructive than
civil or foreign war, for the sake Of
swelling the profits of English capital
lists, who have already received enor-
nous profits upon their investment In
silver mines, and who have increased
and added to them with hope that
the American people could be induced
to do just this silly and preposterous
thing to help pull their chestnuts out
of the fire.
WITH INTENT TO AMUSE.