The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-18
,tIN TALES FROM CATHAY.
~ STORIES OF CHINA'S TRIALS
WITH SILVER MONEY.

-, the philadelphia Public Ledger.
washington. Sept 27.-Dr. Edward Bed
consul to Annoy, China, and who
z,5 large experience in an oppor-
FAY the study OF economic condl-
in China, India, Japan and Egypt,
a ..rding several days in Washington.
:. Known in the state department as
:. n the ablest contributors during his
4 ..s,lar service to the reports relating to
4 and economic conditions which that
4, .aortment has for years been publish
f,r the benefit of commerce. Or.
EDs,,oe is an earnest. opponent of silver
or,a+allsm. He declares that the free
mage OF silver by the United States
.,,rs nothing else, and he insists that
4 .vnArience of the civilized world, as
IN as conditions existing in the orient,
q w. every argument against such Il
hange in our monetary standard. DR..
*Dniloe said in an interview to-day;
n theoretical discussions are never as
good as pratieal demonstration. emma
~ been a silver country from time i'm
*narorial Its trade transactions are
msasnred in taels. A 'taeP is about the
*a,nivalent of one troy ounce. Where we
s4r that a coin shall contain so many
<rroins of pure silver and the remainder
&s.aJ he alloy, the Chinese system is based
man lust so many grains of the pure
&mstal What is the result of this system
ansr centuries of use? First, there is no
Fl conage. They have tried it, but the rise
md fall in the value of silver has made
ss coins of different value from time to
lime. They, therefore, accept all coins,
"A ma kp none of their own
4 "Tnev also accept as currency slugs,
Engots and bars of the white metal, and
measure them in what corresponds to
&oDnces and pennyweights. The value of
<slyer coins depends partly upon their
Ewaigat and partly upon their fineness-that
#is the amount of pure silver contained in
#the coins The standard coin of the coun-
Etv-the coin in which accounts are kept
4 is the Spanish dollar. Strange as it may
seem. the Spanish dollar is as rare in that
4 hart of the world as a gold piece is in this
H country. It's weight and fineness has caus-
4 Cd il to be bought up by jewellers and put
4 Into the melting pot. Next to that is the
American trade dollar, which is to be
found in every part of the Chinese en-
hire The commonest coin is the Mexican
Idolar of which there must be several
hundred million in use in China. Besides
these there are Peruvian soils, sucres OF
Ecuador, pesos of Colombia, bolivianas of
Bolivia. Japanese yens, Canton dollars,
Indian rupees, Central American pesos,
English crowns, half crowns, and shillings,
and French, German, Spanish and Ameri-
can subsidiary coinage. None of these
coins pass for their face value. Every coin
is weighed and, to prevent counterfeit
ing. is tested not with acid, but with
hammer and anvil A good silver coin
stands this rough treatment, and becomes
bent into a rounded or conical shape called
chop dollar. Most counterfeits under
this treatment crack or even break to
pieces
The result is that nearly all coins in
the east are chopped and diStigured Out
Of 100 silver dollars you get at the bank at
least IS are chopped, and range in appear
ance from the shape Of watch crystal
/. TO that of a sharp cone. In making de-
posts nearly everything becomes fraction
al You send to the bank what you think
1 is 500, and the banker, money changer,
or merchant, finds it is worth $9S and
#fraction, or $50 and fraction. In similar
#fashion the unfortunate workingman is
Railways deprived of a small part of his
wages. In that country he gets from 81
B to s. per month, and is paid in chop Mexi-
can or chop trade dollars, which are really
"a from to 10 per cent below par.
"On account of the variations in value
4 of the white metal, although it is The
nominal legal standard of values, it is real
4 ly measured in terms of little brass and
copper coins called cash. One thousand
of these are supposed to make a normal
dollar, but they vary almost from day to
day, When silver goes up in price, say 10
per cent, dollar is worth 1000 cash.
When it goes down in value it is worth as
low as 800 cash. 1t is very much as if
or
these copper disks to represent mills.
These mills would be the real monetary
unit of our country, just as the cash -
the real unit of 400,0O0000 of human be-
lngs in China. On this basis our silver
dollar to-day, we will say, is worth 100
cents or 1000 mills. Free coinage of ST.
yer at the existing intrinsic value of the
white metal, say 50 cents to a dollar,
would change its value in mills from 1000
to only $50.
"On one occasion our consulate at
Annoy had to oversee the payment of $15.-
w IN a litigation in that part of China.
Inc payers gave notice forty-eight hours
IN advance and the payees engaged spe-
cldl accountants to receive the money.
un the appointed day and hour the money
was delivered. 1t was brought in bags
IKE potatoes, each bag weighing about
MY pounds, and carried 10y two men.
"NAC hAiSlSSn DdSS Oh silver, IniIly-
elgnt carriers, five guards, one secretary
ana one taliyman. The bags were de-
posued in the pay room, or silver room,
anu the cirriers then retired. The secre-
'dry and guards then opened one bag and
poured Its contents into a great scale. II
was weighed carefully and the weight re-
-orued by the secretary and the receive
ns teller. The latter's clerks then went
]'er every piece of metal, throwing GU;
nose which were questionable or OF a
,eF low standard of quality. This was
zone with the nineteen bags successfully
ma LOOK nearly two hours.
AT the end of that time the account was
ouhd correct with the exception of eight
'uHces and three pennyweights of mate
ldi which had been rejected by the count
iS, mere was quarrel over this, which
eSuited IN the receiving teller accepting
He-half The secretary then made good
ne other half, securing a receipt from
re teller, and went away. This closed
nc transaction, which in our own land,
q IN any other land upon a gold basis,
qua nave been done in a few minutes
qua piece Of paper in the form of a
n5eK or draft, or in ten minutes if it
'N peeh in gold coin, and would not
I'VE required more than a man and a
man boy to accompany him.
hen you go out shopping in that
ounlry you must have with you twenty
twenty-five pounds of silver and five
elA pounds of copper cash. These are
'udIIy carried by your man servant, who,
many Instances, gives bonds before