The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-02


modities and that their values will be
| regulated by the supply and demand
he admits everything Under free coin
age. such being the case, the value Of
the silver dollar would be the value of
the bullion within 1t, whatever that
| may be. To declare that debts con-
tracted when all money was worth It's
full face can be satisfied in money
worth less than it's face may be within
the power of congress, as it is within
the power of James j. Corbett to pound
a smaller man to jelly but the ele-
ment of right in the two cases is about
equal
1t is not true we believe, that this
government was obliged at any time
to issue legal tender paper On the
contrary, we think it has been estab-
lished completely that we would have
saved hundreds of millions of dollars
without the greenback. A convincing
statement of this side of the case will
be found in Mr.. Stickney's little pam
phlet on the economic problems in
volved in this election The most re-
markable argument of our correspond
ent is that, after the government had
ISSUED lnconvertible paper money and
forced 1T upon the public by legal ten
DER acts, until it's value so far depre-
clated that it took $3.50 of it to equal
dollar of gold, therefore the holders
of this paper who had been compelled
to accept it as legal tender paid for
their bonds in cheap money, and the
owners Of gold were the persons to
blame. Had there been no greenbacks
issued there would have been no pre-
MUM on gold. We are obliged to our
correspondent for mentioning the
nickel, because his illustration obliges
him either to urge the free coinage of
nickel at fictitious value, or to con-
sent that the silver dollar be made a
legal tender only to a limited amount,
as nickels now are. Under free coin
age we would have dollar for debt
paying purposes not worth a dollar In
the markets of the world. We do not
tual value would be. 1t is most anus
ing to observe, however, that the best
offer which the Montana banker quot
ed in this letter makes to the paralyz-
ing amount of 100000 is to buy silver
at $l.lO per ounce after free coinage
Inasmuch as the free coinage ratio re-
quires the ounce Of silver to be worth
Sl.29, and Mr.. Bryan and his support
ers vociferously declare that free silver
would establish and maintain the par
ity at that figure, either this Montana
gentleman wants very neat thing in
the way Of profit, 10 cents per ounce,
or he is making big bluff.
Coming back to the expression first
quoted, we say that free coinage. as
contemplated by the Chicago platform.
means reputation to the extent Of
the depreciation Of the silver dollar.
Whether that would be AZ cents. as
one side declares, or more or less. we
do not pretend to know. we do not
believe, however, that free coinage by
the United States alone would ma
terially change the market price of
silver bullion. In this contention we
are borne out by the fact that the
purchase of the entire American prod
uct for three years did not prevent a
heavy fall in silver prices. A depre-
ciated dollar means reputation, and
we are against that. Reputation of
our debts involves the revolution Of our
entire financial system and the ode
struction Of national credit. This GER
tainly means business ruin, and we
are against that. That plank of the
Chicago platform which declares that
the federal government has no right
to prevent the notification of it's own
laws by mob force unless requested by
the governor of state means riot.
and we are against that. A great
number of well-meaning people blink
at the facts. We are not charging
evil intentions or a realization of what
their action implies upon them. We do
say, for the reasons given above, that
II the Chicago platform could be en-
bodied in the law and the admins
tration of the law in this country. 1t
would mean, as we have shown that
it would, ruin, riot and reputation"