The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-09-28
eSsuRD AND THE SILVER QUESTION.

nor any other country dares to act in deliberate
'antagonism to its neighbours. Tho comfy Of
cations requires that no Power should follow q
course damaging. directly or indirectly, to tho
Interest q. : country with which it is at peace.
At tho same time, We seem to DO shaping towards
seourse which ~lnaybring US into awkward conflict
With the popular sentiment, II not with the govern.
ing powers Of countries with whom we bold
politically friendly relations, In another column
We print extracts from o speech msde in tho
American Senate the. other day by Mr.. Don
Cameron, who represents Pspnsylvania. The
s'st Of Mr.. Camerop's contention was that
The English policy on. the all.absorbinG
monstary question is directly antAgonistio
TO American interests, and that the United
States must throw of the influence of English
Ideas If she means TO maintain che steady march
Of her prosperity. There have not been wanting,
Of late, indications Of growing irritation with this
countryforits dog in the ngerattitudetow
aquestion that is corvulsing two continents, and
gravely compromising the future Of the poorer,
States in Europe. This feeling has been voiced
in America BY Senator Lodge. whose proposal.
to virtually shut out British goods from the
United States untilsws should assent to a
bimetallic convention. though extreme and
absurd, indicates the trend Of sentiment on the
other side of the Atlantic. Mr.. Cameron is
much milder, and makes war rather on those
who acclimatise English ideas in America than
on this country but the sentiment has tho sapo
origin in both cases.
Senator Lodge is not a silver man in the usual
sense, being opposed ont and out to free coinage
In the United States under existing conditions,
and, therefore, his views, though tinged With
strong feeling, may attract more attention here
than those Of the pronounced si!verites. Mr.:
Lodge is. very bitter about the failure Of the
e 1~-k ~AH- ,-kA~N &hA AZ
tude of tEe british official delegates was scarcely
" less than discourteous 10th United States, and
lie believes that nine-tenths Of the American
people regard it in that light. A feeling OF this
kind is not to 10 lightly ignored. We have
frequent Diplomatic differences with the United
States; but, a. o rule, there Ia seldom asso.
ciatsd with these any sense Of animus 6stween
the peoples Of the two countries, and such
squabblss pass over and are forgotten. But now
We are encouraging the growth OF Q feeling
that on . question which affects the prosperity
Of. millions Of individual. Americans this
country Il inclined to entertain views nfriendly
to the States. We know, Of course, that tho
unfrisndliness 10 accidental, and that our none
tary policy il controlled BY purely selfish con.
sidsrations-so purely selfish that We do not
mind seeing India suffering from our action
much more than America does. The Americans
are sufficiently old.fashionsd to believe that
it is the part Of . friend to show himself friendly,
and when this country turns . deaf ear to the,
plant Of half the world, including all the New
World, they, not unnaturally, take It unkindly. 1t
is not for US to say whether the feeling Of irri.
tation is wholly justified or not it exists, and
that is the main point, Moreover, it is taking
. shape that may entail very awkward conse.
quences on us. The recent proposal to coin
Mexican dollars in San Francisco was a bid
towards giving US an object lesson by ousting
US from our commanding position in Eastern
trade. '
Senator Cameron points o plain moral when
he remarks that if the United States would
venture to cut herself adrift from Europe and
take outright to silver. she would have all
America and Asia at her back, and would com-
mand the markets Of both Continents. The
" barrier Of gold would DO more fatal than any
4" barrier of a custom-house. Tho bond of silver
"would be stronger than any bond Of free
"trode." There con be no doubt about it, that
if the United States were to adopt q silver
basis tomorrow, british trade would be rnined
before The year. was ~Out. Every American
industry would be protected, not only Of home
but in every other marEet. OF course, tho
States would suffer to q certain extent through
having to pay her obligations abroad In gold
but tho loss on exchange under this head would
b a mere drop in the bucket compared with the
profits to bs reaped from the markets Of South
America and ASIA, to say nothing Of Europe:
The marvel Is that the United States has not
long ago seized tho opportunity, and but for tbs
belief that the way Of England is necessarily the
way to commercial success and prosperity, I'm.
ioubtedlyit wouldhave been done long ago. Now,
Americans are awakening to the fact that
"so long as they narrow their ambition to be-
"comiDg n larger EDe.and" they cannot bea,
US. It has been a piece Of luck for Us
chat it has never before occurred TO tine
Americans to scoop US OF. Of tie world!
markets by> going ON q silver basis, and i
might serve us right if, irritAtel by The con
temptuous apathy Of orr Government to. tn
gravity Of the silver problem, the American
r~etaliate BY freezing out gold. II could eas;i,
b done, and we propose shortly 30 show, b.
vyidsncs collected from perfectly unprejudicet
sources, that even now the process hos begun
and is proceeding 1t . rate that will astonisl
most people. and probably make this coantr.
regret that il did not at An sarliss stage fashio
IL monetary policy on principles Of friendlinsa
t{oihsr nations. instssd u on . basis Of ahor
tfkhted sei6shness.