The Portland daily press., 1896-08-10

Granu IIuDk anu Ostuttu4au GdOiuC rhil'
ways to export the receipts of these COM
panies, while our street railway company
has instructed its conductors TO refuse it
absolutely. SO far as / know all the larger
banks have begun to refuse the coin at
both head office and branches.
HOW ABOUT THE SILVER CERTI-
F1CATE?
the reporter asked.
"This being at the moment equally
current in the United States with the
treasury note and the national bank
note, our banks generally continue to re-
oeive it ON deposit at small discount,
sufficient to cover the cost of exporting it
and that of exchange, and so long as
this species of government note passes
concurrentlY with the other onrrenoIss,
the only loss resulting from its use Is
the ourtallmenG of oar own government
aud bank note circulation, rs there is no
dou BIT several million dollars OF these cer-
tificates are now floating in Canada.
q "Do you think this silver party Will win
The day, Mr. Weir, and il SO what VIII
be the effect of the adoption OF their poll
oy, which. AS ! understand it, IS the free
coinage Of silVer?"
LOOKS LIKE A COMING WAR
"To'your first question" said Mr. Weir,
with u smile. Il might reply in words
attributed to Sir John A. Macdonald
that Nobody can tell how horse race,
cock fight or a general election will CO.
am not prepared to express an opin-
ion as to the result of the Presidential
election. The state of unrest IN the
United States is not unlike what existed
before the civil war, and the results are
as much hidden IL the future as the
events which followed the election of
1850 A 1 the salne Jimo i cannot bring
myself to believe that any possible COM
binaGlon of parties can BRING both Hous-
! Us OF Congress TO enact virtual repudi-
| aGi0n. Remem boring as | do the noble
efforts OF American statesmen to resume
specie payments ana the payment OF
principle and interest in gold OF the
nve-twenty bonds, many of which had
been SOLD at 40 cents on the dollar, and
knowing from my own personal expert
enees tbs high character of financial men
in the Unlted States, l cannot nelieve
that in the last 20 years the American
people or IL majority OF them have Lost
THAI high principle which then existed.
''As regards the effects of the free
coinage OF silver Mt the present coinage
standard, the result would, OF course, be
that all payments, unless otherwise
specified. would be paid in silver, and
gold would Immediately so to a premium
30 long as the balance of trade remained
with the United States, the premium on
gold would vary according to supply and
demand. Gold would flow from coun.
try whore it was no longer wanted and
for time the premium upon it would
not probably advance to gh figure.
Rf1t nc tho oninROa Of sill cod
the moment an adverse balance of trade
was developed and it became necessary
to meet this balance with silver bullion,
gold would Immediately advance to
premium corresponding with the bullion
ratio between the two metals. The effect
would be greater upon the people them.
selves than upon other countries. Euro
pean capitalists would long before that
period have adapted themselves to the
new condition of affairs. In the United
States itself ths change would be severe
ly felt when gold went to a high pIemi-
UNI.
'sThe depositors OF hundreds of millions
in the savings banks, all who have a
stated wages or income would ind them
selves with the cost OF living nearly
double, while their incomes remain
stationary. Strikes amongst Workmen
would be the order of the lay. Contrac-
tors who had enterprises in hand. traders
who had made large sales Ia advance,
would became EN- barrassed.
''The belief of the advocates of free
silver that money would lie more abun-
dant and to be had at lower rate of in
terest were silver made the basis of the
currency is in my judgment an utter
dslus1on. Silver mining would adjust
itself to the new circumstances and
would be no more profitable than it is
today. If the people of the United States
want cheap money to carry on their bust
ness and move their crops, they must get
rid of the antagonism which many of
them have towards banking institutions
and adopt system of banking similar
to that existing in Canada and recon-
mended by MIR. Cornwell of Buffalo, and
the Baltimore convention"