The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-12
SIR WILLIAM ON FREE COINAGE.
why the Canadian Pacific Accepts AmerI-
can silver.

MONTREAL, April s.-Sir william Van Horne,
tho President OF the Canadian Pacific Railway,
is the Depew of Canada. He looks from Halifax
10 Vancouver and Hong Kong. employs an
army OF men, and Is as plain and democratic In
his ways as Democritus himself.
President Van Horne mas mauo evcrybody
honor our American money, from Halifax to
Yokohama and Hong Kong. When | asked
him to-day how he looked upon American sill
yer. he said:
I'VE used to have foolish squabbles in Canada
about American money, but | stopped 1t. ! said
American silver and greenhncks are guaranteed
as good as gold. You can get gold for either Of
them at the suh-treasuries or In any American
bank. SO I ordered the Canadian Pacific to
take American silver, paper, and gold at par
from Halifax to Vancouver. and from Van
couver to Yokohama, Shanghai, and Hong
Kong in China"
"Then II any man comes on board your ship
at Hong Kong you will take his American silver
at par Z" | asked.
Certainly. We take it the same as British
silver. Uncle Sam is just as good as Queen
Victoria on our ships; and, in fact, any ship COM
ing from Europe, Asia. or OceRnica to America
will do the same thing. The sos. O0C, 900 silver
dollars that America has coined have not been
demonetized. 1t is only the silver in the ground
and piled up in such stores as Tifany's that has
decreased in value. The Government did not
demonetize it, they simply stopped buying it. rs
France. England, and every civilized nation did:
and the silver not wanted for coinage fell
one-half. or to Its intrinsic or commercial value.
The $685.. 100000 that the Government coined
is just as good rs the Sll2,ooo. 900 in silver
coined by England"
DO you take Mexican or Indian liver on your
well, yes; but at it's commercial value. The
Mexican dollar and Indian rupee are not
guaranteed. They are worth about half price.
Mexico has free coinage now. hut India has
stopped all coinage. They have lost half of
their wealth. A man who had ten Thousand
dollars In Mexican. Indian. or any free coinage
nation, is worth five thousand dollars"
How long will. you continue to take Ameri-
can silver at par" asked.
How long will it be safer"
Until America gets free coinage"
why will it be unsafe then ~
"Recause they have guaranteed s625. 1000
your own. You have borrowed S25O.0OO. 900
worth OF gold, and you owe for 1t. II you 60 on
and hand back dollars guaranteed worth 100
cents in. gold in place of 1t. where sill your
country he in a few years. You will undertake
an impossibiiity. The world will soon be sus-
greenhacks did during the wal. They went
down to 30 about tiettvsburg time. You said
still in England, bntyour Greenbacks went down
in America. You had free coinage in greenbacks.
The world got suspicious and refused to take
them; II you had lost Gettysburg thoy might
free coinage paper. Yes, Eli" continued presi-
dent Van Horne slowly. your silver is all right
now. but when you meddle with it We will take
no chances. IL you have free coinage and
fail to take az your minis all the billions OF
commercial silver offered. you will make a fail
ure OF 1t. and tho s625, 900. 900 worth of silver
and you will be Mexico over again"
ELI PERKINS.