The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-07
| THE FINANCIAL FORUM /
SILVER BULLION QUESTION.
"Democrat' Cannot Believe In the
Law of Demand and Supply.

In its reply this morning the U Q e says
that It's article of Sunday admitted tnat UNI
der free coinage the mine owners could force
their product upon their debtors, under
legal tender act, In payment OF obligations
at the rate of $1.29 per ounce" An fnspec-
ton of the Sunday editorial shows that this
is not what the G o be then said. 1t said
nothing whatever about the debtors OF the
mine owners-nothing about the payment OF
obligations" 1t said that the mine owners,
under free coinage, could have their bullion
coined and force it upon the people of this
take it that the Globe invariably says
what 1t means-though / presume that the
word debtors" is a misprint for creditors"
and surely there is great difference and
distinction between the creditors of the mine
owners and the people Of this country" 1t
is hardly possible that in regard to the effect
fine itself solely to the debts of the mine
owners; for in the aggregate those debts do
not amount to any considerable sum, and if
they were discharged in deprecated cur
rency the effect would be quite inconsequen-
tial
And, moreover, the Sunday editorial says
that the profit of more than go cents per
ounce over and above the price in 1885, would
apply to "every ounce of (silver) bullion -
that the aggregate Of these profits, upon the
basis of a production of 5000, 600 ounces Of
alone, to more than $27, 000, 000 Surely the
miners are not so badly in debt that they
would be forced to pay out every dollar Of
in discharge of their obligations although
the G / o b e reply of this morning may
mean this. 1t is a hopeless effort to try to
give similar Interpretation to the Sunday
editorial.
The ODE s illustration of the effect Of
a law that government bricklayers and car
penters should receive $40 per day upon the
wages of other mechanics is hardly appli-
cable to the silver question, although it Is
a fact that private wages are affected by
those paid public employees for the same
work. and vice versa.
And 1 cannot see what difference 1t makes
nesota farmer gets his silver dollar. The
question is, will either dollar be more or less
valuable than the other? OF course, the
Colorado man digs his dollar out Of the
ground literally, but practically the Mime
sotian digs his out of the ground, too, but
that cuts no figure.
| OF course, the / o e will permit me to
doubt it's assertion that the assumption that
free coinage will advance silver to $1.29 per
| ounce, Is logical fallacy." The clear
| statement, which 1 think Is irrefutable, that
under free coinage bullion owners could
! demand It's coinage and force 1t upon the
| people of the country at the rate Of $1.29 per
ounce" ought to be conclusive. But there
are many other reasons, which / have not
age, up to 1873, silver was always worth at
least that fgure-sometfmes little more.
Under the limited and restricted coinage of
the Bland-Allison dollar of 1851, while 1t
was all the time being Disseminated against
by law, and while all the power of the
gold bugs was warning against it con-
tinually it could not be expected to come up
had before 1873 the same legal rights and
privileges that gold has. and all clouds upon
its title will be removed and its full value
established. Democrat.