The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1896-07-10
BY order Of committee.
Dated this 18th day o. June, 1895
p. MCHUGH. JUDeON Ian
WHAT FREE SILVER WOULD DO.

We stated yesterday some of the
things that free silver would do. It
would drag our country down to the
single silver standard, which is every
where associated with low state Of
civilization and prevails only in the
most unprogressive countries In the
world, in which commerce and indus
try are in primitive or backward
state of development. There is not
now a progressive commercial nation
in the world which has not adopted
the gold standard. Silver is the
standard money only of the semi-bar-
baric countries, of China, of Mexico,
of the Central America states, and a
few of the old Spanish possessions.
In Europe it survives only in Spain,
Bulgaria. Servia, and partially in Tur-
key. In degrading our currency to
the level of these half-civilized silver
using countries, with which we haYe
little intercourse, it would handicap
US in our transactions with all the
great commercial countries Of the
world. Our entire trade with all the
silver using countries is about $685.
100000 a year. 1t is over $500, ,OOO, 600
a year with the gold standard nations.
Free silver would thus place us at
permanent disadvantage in the COM
petitions of international trade with
all the other commercial countries.
We said yesterday, too, that by a
law as resistless as that of gravitation
the free coinage of silver at the ratio
of 16 to would expel all our 462O. .00O,-
900 of gold from circulation in this
country and reduce the value of all
our silver and paper currency, amount
ing to about 81. 200, ,OOO, 900. to but lit
tie over $500, COO, 900 in gold value. All
the holders of this money would suf.
fer this loss in the transaction from
the gold to the silver standard. But
this is a trifie in comparison with the
havoc it would play with us in other
directions.
Free silver would cut down to near
ly one-half their present value the
vast aggregate of debts which the f.
nancial institutions Of this country
owe to the wage earners and to the
people of small means In America.
The advocates of free silver address
their main arguments to the dis
honest cupidity of debtors. They un-
blushinglY maintain that it would be
to the interest of the debtor class to
be able TO swindle their creditors out
of fifty cents on the dollar by paying
them in deprecated silver money.
They assume that these creditors are
the banks and the great financial in
stitutions of the country. Never was
there greater mistake than this.
The banks and financial institutions
are merely the custodians Of other
peoples money. The savings banks.
the national, state and private banks,
the trust, insurance, building and
loan associations in their various
forms owe to the wage earners of this
country and to the people of small
means, OF mainly to them, the colos-
sal aggregate of nearly SIG, 900, ,0O0. 600
sixteen billion dollars. By far the
larger proportion of this enormous to-
tai is owed to mechanics and farmers,
t,men and women who live on their
wages or salaries, or who do some
small business, and whose surplus
earnings are invested in their various
forms. Free silver would strike down
one-half the value of their deposits,
policies, trust funds and other invest
ments.
Going to Secretary Carlisle's speech
at Chicago for deGa,ls, the following
startling facts are presented: The
national, banks for example, owe $1..
7O1 $50. .521 to l,920,3 depositors, Of