Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-05-20

Free.SilYer and Farmers.

Free.SilYer and Farmers.
Extract OF address given by Edward
Atkinson before the Manufacturers
Club OF Philadelphia, on April II, 1896,
on The Money of the Nation: Shall it
be Good or Bad?n
A bi-legal.tender treaty might work,
but when one considers the absurdity
of free coinage in this country only.
one realizes what folly it would be for
our cotton and grain growers to con-
sent to such an act. During the last
ten years sixty per cent. go per cent?
of our exports, mainly consisting of
cotton, grain, and provisions have
been bought of us by Great Britain
and her colonies. The excess of these
sales above our imports from Great
Britain and her colonies has amounted
to an average of two hundred and
forty million dollars ($24O, OOO,0O0)
year. twenty-four hundred million dol
lars ($2, 400. 00O,0O0) for the decade.
That sum has been passed to our credit
in London in pounds sterling, that is,
that weight of gold has been placed at
our disposal. What does Great Brit
ain do with her imports of cotton and
food? She converts them into fabrics
which she sells in very large measure
to Asia, South America, Africa, and
other silver or paper using countries.
In order to pay IN money good as gold.
the cost and uncertainty of converting
the silver which she receives into gold
fails upon her and that cannot be
done without additional risk and cost
in the conduct of her export trades. If
an actrof free coinage of silver at 16 to
l were adopted by US, Great Britain
would rejoice in the opportunity to
pay over IN the next ten years twenty
four hundred million dollars ($2, AGO.,
600, G00) in silver to this country at its
coinage value, or twice its bullion value
while retainsng herself the gold of the
world, of which considerable part
would consist of our entire stock of
gold and our annual product; under
the inexOrable law that a base currency
which is of legal tender driyes all good
money out of circulation. DO you
wish to conduct our commerce with
Great Britain on a policy of "heads
she wins-tails we lose?" II you do
you may make an alliance with the
silver senators to coin silver bullion at
16 to 1. Bankers might set up slater
or standard of their own.
All international commerce might
then be conducted by bills of exchange
drawn in terms of slater" exactly as
they are now drawn in terms of the
pounds sterling" The difference
would be that Great Britain having
discredited the name of pound ster
ling" by making it name for either
gold or silver at fixed ratio. would
lose the prestige which she now pos
sesses aud that prestige would pass to
the com binations of the great banks
and bankers of the several countries
who trusted each other in this way
and whom the whole business com
munity would trust or rest upon for
the security and stability of their con
tracts. Do you think Great Britain
would commit such a folly as to dis
credit the pound sterling? If you have
any doubt read the report of the recent
debate in Parliament in the Times of
March IS, from which l make one
notable extract from the speech of Sir
John Lubbock. Referring to the last
year, he said: ANY one listening to
the bimetallic argument would sup,
pose that English farmers were being
ruined by our markets being flooded
with product from slver.using coun
tries. Now what were the facts? We
imported little over ESQ, DOC, 900
worth of produce, only -f5, 100, 900 came
from silver using countries, while
f147, 100000 worth came from those
using gold OR in convertible paper"
AN ANCIENT HISTORIC EVENT.
The sS9th anniversary of the settle
ment of jamestown by Newport and
his band of English colonists was cele
brated by the Association for the Pres
ervation of Virginia antiquities, which
has control of jamestown Island, on
the historic spot itself. Excursions
were run and the attendance was very
large. Gov. O'Ferra! delivered an
address. The orator of the day was
Mr.. Carter Braxton Bryan, of Hamp-
ton. The exercises were held under
the shadow of the ruins of the church
in which Pocahontas was baptized.
The society intends hereafter to cele-
brate the anniversary of each historic
event on the ground where it took
place.