The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-22
IsItns tnhIe Cnrrencvr

The free silverites refer frequently to
Mexico. a free silver country. as an ex-
ample of what free silver coinage would
do for this country. They base what they
say, for the most part, upon statements
made by Americans in Mexico who are
anxious that the United States shall have
a free silver currency in order that they
can purchase such things as they want
from the United States for silver instead
having to pay for them on gold basis.
We have in our possession a letter from
Mr.. Frank c. owens of Waycross, who.
with a party Of friends, was travelling
in Mexico recently. The letter in ques-
ton was written to a friend in Waycross
In the course Of his letter he touches upon
the silver question. On that subject he
says: while Mexico is claimed as a free
silver country I came to the conclusion
that, as a matter Of fact, it is really on
gold basis, because our money, any OF
which is regardedsas gold, would buy
about twice as much as their money, any
of which is regarded as silver. The free
coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to I
in the United States would have the er-
feet of enriching the people or the Sec
tons where they have the silver bullion,
but would at once cause the price of near
~ everything else to be quoted in two
ways-if $500 in silver it could be bought
for $3.50 in gold. 1 doubt very much if
wages would advance in proportion for in
Mexico, I understand that % cents to 30
or 3712 cents a day, Mexican money is
fair pay. Therefore, free silver coin
age in the United States would be the
greatest hardship ever put upon the la
boring Glass;
In this little extract from Mr. Owens
letter two things crop out The first is
that in Mexico everything is measured by
gold, not silver. Silver is the currency OF
the country, but it is degraded currency.
1t is a currency that changes in value
every day. When the price of silver ad-
vances the value of the currency advances
and when the price of silver declines the
value Of currency becomes less. This Is
shown by another statement made by Mr..
Owens He says: I'm the City of Mex
leo had 500 New York check cashed
and received S1s5 in Mexican money; so
our money at that time was not worth
quite double the Mexican money. / was
informed, however that not long ago one
could buy $212 of Mexican money for 500
of our money"
So the silver currency of Mexico is a
| degraded, fiuctuating currency-a currency
without any stability and which is daily
measured by gold to discover its value. And
this is the kind of currency the silverites
would force upon this country.
The other thing that crops out in Mr..
Owens letter is that wages are no higher
in Mexico than when the gold standard
| prevailed there. The banks and the capi
talists appear to be getting along all
right, but the condition of the wage
earners is deplorable. In this country the
great majority of the people are wage
earners. Does anybody believe that wages
would be advanced if the coinage of sill
yer should be made free? And if wages
should not be advanced wouldn't the
wage-earners have a pretty hard time of
it? The purchasing power of their earn
ings would be reduced about one-half. In
other words, they would have to live upon
about one-half what they now do. Such
condition of affairs would breed discon-
tent, and we should have labor troubles
Of such magnitude that the very exist
ence Of the government would be threat
ened. In what country in the world in
which silver is the basis of the currency
is the wage Garner paid anything like
the wages he gets in this country? Can
the free silverite point to one single fact
which would justify him in saying that he
is the friend of the wage Garner? When
the time for balloting comes we are sure
that the ballots of the wage earners will
be cast solidly against the free coinage
Of silver.