San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-10-31
A LOOK AHEAD.
Serious Would Be the Results OF Bryan's
Election.

| ne Salu. say W yOu NJ" thaO III.
election means that this nation shal
open its minis to the free coinage o
both metals at the earliest possible mo
ment. Not only that, but my election
means that this nation shall treat thu
silver dollar just as IL treats the golC
dollar and that we shall not issue bonds
to buy gold"
If the 'treasury gold reserve is not t.
be replenished by bond sales, it is GER
tain that it can't last long. Foreigners
would Immediately call for their loans
and balances here, and holders of the
$685., 100000 of outstanding greenbaclis
and treasury notes would quickly with
draw the S123. OOO,OO0 of gold now in the
treasury, to either export or hoard it
and leave the holders of the remaining
$500, 100000 to take their pay in silver.
That this gold will almost immedi'
ately be exported Mr.. Bryan admits,
On September 90 at Tammany hall he
said: you know that with gold as our
only primary money and the fact that
the little quantity of gold can be
foreign creditors, it leaves u.s." etc.
AS all our national bank notes are re-
deemable in greenbacks they, too,
would fall with greenbacks to a silver
basis.
In short Mr.. Bryan's election would,
as soon as the present gold in the treas
Try is exhausted. put-our currency on a
silver basis, and all debts, except where
otherwise expressly stipulated. would
be paid in silver.
1t will be observed that this would all
happen. even if no free coinage act
should ever be passed.
AS interest on government bonds
would henceforward be paid in silver,
and also all dividends on stocks, foreign
capital would dispose largely of their
holdings in these, and thus necessitate
further large remittances of gold.
Their correspondents here and bor-
rowers of foreign money, being called
on to pay up. would be compelled to
call in their loans and draw their bal
ances out of bank.
All creditors in this country who pre-
fer gold to silver dollars (Which in
cludes the bulk of them) would demand
all debts due them paid, and, getting
greenbacks or treasury notes for their
bank balances, would present them at
the treasury for gold before it was too
late. If impossible to get gold they
would buy sterling exchange or ex-
change on Canada. 1t was reported
that prior to October 1 over sc, 000, 900 in
gold had already been deposited in
Canadian banks to avoid the risk of the
coming election.
In short, every man who had dollar
coming to him would want that dollar
paid him while it was still worth 100
cents and before it got to be worth but
81.
The business houses aad other debt.
ors called ON to pay up would be COM
PEELED to call on their debtors, and thus
all the debtors in the country would be
called on to pay up Immediately. The
demands on the banks would compel
them to call in their loans, and, Il not
paid, to sell or try to sell the collaterals.
Debtors would be compelled to sell
their property at any price, and where
all debtors were sellers at once the de-
clines would be such as we have never
seen before, because there has never be-
fore been such a wholesale calling in of
debts, and consequently selling, as this
would cause.
Business houses the country over, be-
ing unable to collect balances due them
or to realize on their stock, except at
iuinously low prices, if at all, must fail.
Nothing could save them.
Small depositors, nervous and follow
ing the larger ones, would draw their
balances, and runs on banks would be-
tome general.
With these runs on all the banks, they
must either break or suspend. In
the cities the stronger ones would COM
bine and suspend, but the weaker ones
and all country banks would fail.
The panic and ruin would far exceed
that of 1873 or Of 1893, the latter of
which, called the "silver panic" was
caused by the apprehension only of 60
ing on silver basis. This panic would
be caused in part by actually going on
that basis.
Mr.. Bryan admits this. In the Chi
cago convention he said: "When you
come before US and tell US that we shall
disturb your business interests, we re-
ply that you have disturbed our bust
ness interests" And the st. Louis
Globs-Democrat reported his saying:
81 think it (meaning the victory of the
free coinage moyement) will cause a
panic. But the country is in deplor-
able condition, and it will take extreme
measures to restore it 10 condition
of prosperity"
In the general scramble by foreign
end home creditors for gold, as there is
not enough to go round, 1T would neces
sarily go 10 premium, with the inev
table result that the s517, 100000 Of
gold in circulation now in the
United States would be exported o.
boarded.
Railroad stock with gold mortgage
thead of them las gold must be bough