The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-15
IT'S OWN REPUTATION.

llie poSllloH Oh the writer, ana cOnStl-
tutes in effect SO strong and admirable
an argument against the position of
the supporters of free coinage of sill
YER Democrat" says that in the con-
gresslonal record and in the files of the
newspapers in 1877 and 1873 we will
ind advanced all the arguments that
are now used to prevent the free coin
age of silver. We will also call his at
tentlon to the fact that he will find in
the same source of information all the
arguments that are now used to sup
port the free coinage of silver. He will
slaRd that the advocates of the Bland
Ailson act were not surer of or insist
ent upon any other proposition than
That the enactment of that law would
raise silver bullion to par with gold
at the ratio of 16 to /, and maintain it
lhere. Inc discrepancy which had been
there formerly was there still. In 1877
the year before that act was passed
one ounce of silver was worth 81 %
winch is cents less than the coinage
Value. This made the silver dollar
worth about SO cents as bullion If was
only the slightest margin that had to
be overcome, and every advocate of the
Bland-Alllson bill was as confident as
ne was of his own life that the pur-
chase and coinage of from 50 900 0Oo to
$4,OOOOOO month would overcome i'm
mediately this discrepancy and main
TAIN the two metals at their former
ratio.
by referring to the table published
IN yesterdays G lob e, he will observe
that silver fell cents per ounce i,
TIC year 1913, and in ten years from
the GATE of the enactment of that act
had declined nearly % cents per o,,nca
Again, we have the statement of Sor-
ator Sherman that the friends of sill
yer expressed to. him in 1890 their will
nngness to rest their whole causa in
the ability of the Sherman silver mr.
chase act to raise silver once moro r.
par at the old ratio. Their demand
'nal the entire product of this country
should be purchased and stored ouov
py the treasury and thus the SUNNY
or the world be cut off to that evtant
was complied with. They believed err,
that TINS would do all that needed
TO be done for silver. Certainly II
must have done something to Increase
us market price permanently if there
De any virtue in what our friends TON,
SO much ABOUT, the creation of con-
ditions by legislation" that wou1d az
1ect prices favorably. We have mere
ly to note once more that the avera 90
price of silver, which was in 1901 q "a
per ounce, had fallen to less than 90
cents in 1891, 81 cents in 1892. 78 cents
In 1893 and Sc cents in 1894
The opponents of the silver policy of
the Republican party from 1873 down
certainty made one mistake in their
calculations and predictions. They wera
exactly right as to the effect of tbe
legislation proposed, but they were in
error as to the rapidity with which
tnat erect would come to pass. Not
the consequences, but the time within
which they would be experienced was
their point of failure. We do not think
that they can be blamed very severely
Tor this. 1t is one of the occasions on
which men are excusable. if they an
ticipate the truth. Suppose physician
has in his hands what he knows to he
u oil
never witnessed its effects upon a
human being. If, now, he is called to
administer it, even in HOMEOPATHIC
doses, he may well hesitate and re-
monstrate; he may we'll exageerate fba
baneful effects and predict dissolution.
because he does not know whether if
VIII require one drop and ten seconds
to Kill, or whether the deadly work
will be spread over weeks or months
Every consequence predicted by the
opponents of our silver legislation has
come to pass save one-the fall OF the
silver dollar to it's bullion value. We
have prevented that. but at what a
cost. First, the limitation of coinage
postponed the evil a few years longer
than was at first feared. But when
the accommodating doses of the poison
and their increase by the act of 1890
had thoroughly weakened the national
system, it required the issue of 1882
100000 of bonds, and the increase af
the national debt by that amount ia
prevent this last and most disastrous
effect. Short of that, we have known
since 1893, and beginning some time be-
fore that, every evil that the anil
silver men suggested. Want of con-
fidence, fear of the future, withdrawal
of capital, contraction of credit, refus-
al of the income tax, sale of American
securities. stagnation of business les
sened opportunity of employment. uni
versal distress and unchanging hard
times. all have come as a consequences
of the threat to continue and amnl,fv
and make irremediable the fatal err
ror of attempting to force a depre-
ciated. money into circulation.
Thus, the moral points itself Tot
our readers do what Democrat asks
them TO do. Let them read the dis
cusstons in congress and in the press
of the Bland-AIlison act and the Sher-
man act, and then let them see how