The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-07-17
AN ENGLISHMAN'S VIEWS ON U. S.
FREE COINAGE.
Says II will help our Farmers.

forcibly set forth by Mr.. Moreton
Frewen, the eminent English BIZ
in the following letter to
the London Financial News.
Your interesting leader of the 2lst,
upon the currency situation in the
United States, may be shortly
summed up in the following theses:
Cd That no legislation by the
United States, single-handed, can
establish a parity between gold and
CD that the free coinage Of
silver in the United States involves
silver monometallism; CD that
gold monometallism is to be pre-
ferred to silver monemetallism.
Now, in the opinion of the silver
party in the United States, if CD is
sound, then CD an honest silver
currency such as Germany had un-
til 1878, and India until 1898, is
infinitely preferable to (3) an APP
preciating gold currency, even if
which is more than doubtful-that
gold currency can be maintained at
all. As general statement OF the
financial position Of the United
States it may be said that she owes
annually these interest payments:
One hundred and fifty million dol
lars on loans, $75,0O0,0O0 remit
tances to travellers and absentees,
$75, ,OO0, 900 to foreign ship owners /;
so that either her exports have to
exceed her imports by EGO, O,OOO,OOO
sterling or she loses gold, or, fail
ing this, she has to borrow to pay
the interest, thus piling higher the
permanent interest charges.
venture TO think that the debts o.
this nation of 20, ,0O0,O people are
even larger than have stated them
The general condition of financial
strain, and consequent political un
rest, in the United States seems t
be not less than is now the case II
Australia, where the annual inter
est paid abroad by 4,OOO,OOo peopl
is known to be some f15, 900, ,OO
sterling. If we take, for example
the state of California, this state /
in population, in resources, an'
climate about the peer of Nes
South Wales. The annual indebt
edness of New South Wales Is oilici
ally stated at 5000, 600 sterling
Nav not the debt of California t
New York and to Europe be abou
, the same? and, if so, how can Cali
fornia any more than New Soutl
J Wales permanently sustain tn
burden of a 80 per cent. fall o
. prices, which fall must have exact
|, ly doubled the burden of her exter
: nal debt. Thus the one issue in tn
: United States-which includes tn
4 other issues, such as the color 9
{ her money and the fiscal method
D by which her revenue shall be col
D lected-the one paramount issue
Q this: How can the United State
secure sufficient balance OF export
: over imports to continue solvent
e Now, | contend that if, as you ad
: NIT to be the case the world over,
: depreciating currency stimulates es
i. ports and contracts imports, the
: that portion of public opinion i
2 America which favors silver rathe
/ than gold is intelligent. For scheme
' and readjust, and tinker with tariff
d as you will, you cannot make sil
e purse out of such sow's ear; yo
r cannot restore the balance of trad
vito the United States unless her Gu
e rency legislation is such that
: drags up the exchanges betwee
s Europe and Asia; whereas ever
j. movement, in America or elsewher'
}, Toward gold monometallism dral
o those exchanges down. In shor
n gold monometallism in the Unite
States involves an increased con
|. petition for the industries OF whi
e men everywhere, AZ the hanus Oh u
races of the Orient; an
, their is not consular report viii,
4 -lcomes to us from the far East b'
5. emphasizes this statement. Wha
then, is the argument for slngl
a. handed free coinage in the Unite
~ States? 1t is this: Either fr'
,e coinage will establish bimetallls
r. for the whole wolld, or, failing thi
N there will be such gold premiu
n in New York as to-day assists e
i'm Russia, in all Asia, al
win nine-tenths Of South America.
tv Effects Of Gold Premium.
,eI This gold premium, unlike pr
tariff, stimulates the expo
s-lof the United States, while actin
a. a.ljust as protective tariff does,
reduce imports; therefore, eth
free coinage will give bimetallism
althe whole world, or failing this,
Twill tend to secure the excess