Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-16

republican who in 1878 was led to believe
that the Bland-Allison BILL if enacted
into law. would drive. gold out and ruin
the country, delivered a speech in the
senate on the financial question, and we
cannot more clearly show how far short
the same gang of money gamblers, bond
gobblers, gold dealers and panic breeders
who are now prophesying direful effects
to follow free coinage fell short of proph-
esying correctly then than by reproduce
ing here an extract from the speech of
Senator Mitchell delivered September /.
1893. Mr.. Mitchell said;
"The Sherman law was not instru-
mental in driving gold out of this coun-
try.
we were told by the metropolitan press
and by resolutions of boards of trade and
chambers of commerce with an iteration
which became monotonous, not TO say
tiresome, that the Sherman law was driv-
ing all of the gold out of the country, but
the Sherman act is Still on the statute
book, while for the past. two months gold
has been flowing into the United states
al an average rate of nearly $1,0O0,00O per
day, $54, 900, 900 having come in since July
l last, and still the ships on the ocean are
freighted with the yellow metal. what
ever may be the objections to the Sner-
man act, therefore-and there is one IN
superable objection to 1t, and that is be-
cause 1t degrades one of the money met
ais treating it not as money, but as a
commodity, and 1t ought for this reason
to be wiped out of existence by the SUD
stitution of legislation establishing Tree
bimetallic coinage--it, in my Judgment,
was never instrumental in driving gold
out of the country.
1.-THE very fact that gold is returning
to this country more rapidly and in
greater quantities than 1t has ever gone
out since the passage OF the sherman
law ought of itself to be sufficient an
swer to the charge. But there are other
and still more conclusive answers. Ana
the first is, the balance of trade COM
menced running against US. Our imports
for the fiscal year ending June ~, 1898,
exceeded our exports by many millions,
and this balance had to be met in gold.
Again, Austria Hungary, having recent
ly come to gold standard, thus Great
ing an abnormal demand for gold in that
country, it was sought after in all oil
rections, including the United states.
"ThiS same note of prophecy, Whlch
was never verified, was sounding in our
ears in 1873 when the Bland-Allison Dill
was pending in the senate. We were
then told by the leading metropolitan
papers, representing the banking inter-
ests as also by the then president of the
United States. General Hayes, and by
our distinguished colleague from ONO,
then secretary of the treasury (Senator
Shermam that If that bill became law
and remained in force for five years IL
would drive all the gold out of the coun-
try. That prediction was potential with
me in controlling myHNete against that
bill.
II believe If that were to be the effect
of the proposed law it would work con-
traction of our circulating medium ana
result in reducing prices and in bringing
f. fkaa nEraafa 1nI0I a
but to the great producing and laboring
classes of our country, and l was one or
two senators only west of the MISSISSIPPI
river that voted against the Allison
Bland bill--Senator Sargent of California
being the other That bill, however,
passed both houses by large majority,
was vetoed by President Hayes and
passed over his veto--I voting to sustain
the veto-and what was the result?
ut became law of the land and re-
manned so, not only for five years. but
for nearly twelve years, during the whole
of which time the secretary of the treas
ury purchased $2000,000 worth of silver
bullion each month and coined 1T into
standard silver dollars of 4l2R grains
each, issuing silver certificates therefor.
OF the silver bullion purchased there was
coined S7s, 1893 legal tender standard
silver dollars of 41212 grains each. And
was gold driven out of the country? Dld
we come to a silver basis? Did this coun-
try become the dumping ground OF Sll-
yer, as predicted? Not at all. None OF
these evil predictions came to pass. On
the contrary, at the end of twelve years
operation of that law we had in this
country something like 470,0O0000 more
gold in circulation than we had when
the act was passed in 1878.
But not only so. During the first six
years of it's operation after the passage
of the Bland-Allison act, that is, from
1878 to 1888 inclusive, there was an ex-
cess of imports of gold coin and bullion
TO this country over the exports of $751;
GIL OPT. The total exports of gold coin
and bullion during these six years was
but 1874, 1874, 1894, while the total imports of
gold coin and bullion for the same period
was $251, 1885, 21. while the further sig
nificant fact Is disclosed by the statistics
that for the six years Immediately fol-
lowing the decentralization of silver in
this country in 1873, that Is, the six years,
1873 to 1878 inclusive, there was an ex-
cess of exports of gold coin and bullion
over imports of STA, l27, 396-the total i'm
ports for these six years being $50, 457, $685.
while the total exports were $203, 5S4 ,991
And thus the record of statistics conclu-
sively shows that so far as the demone-
tization of silver in 1873 resulted in
bringing gold into this country, it had
precisely the opposite effect, while the
enactment of the Allison-Bland bill,
which it was predicted would drive gold
from this country, was just the reverse
in the effect of its opei alton. So much,
therefore, for the predictions of gold
mon n m at q 11jSu1 in tha ma St -