The San Francisco call., 1896-06-10
IMPORTANCE OF PROJECTION.

The threat OF OrOVer cleveland, Jnat ne
would vote for the nominee of the ST.
Louis convention on a sound money plat
form rather than support free-silver can
didate of the Democratic party, has good
deal more politics than patriotism in it.
It is to divert attention from the tariff
question by magnifying tie Importance of
the money question. To be sure, the re-
monetization of silver IS desired by ma
jority of the people and they will not be
satisfied with an uncertain or hesitatlng
declaration by either party, but the para
mount question is that of the tariff. The
people are not so absorbed in the question
OF reInstating silver 10 its proper place in
the monetary system of the country as to
lose sight of the more important question
of the tariff. 1t would avail the country
but little to open the mints to the white
metal unless our ports are closed against
the free introduction of goods and wares
from other countries, with whom we can
not compete without lowering the wage
schedules of this country to the level of
foreign pauper-labor.
The absence of the silver dollar as re-
demption money from the channels of
commerce had very little to do with cre-
ating what is called the cleveland panic"
as compared with the influence the Will
son-Gorman tariff act exerted for evil
in the business world. Times were good
and there was satisfying prosperity every
where during the operation of the tariff
act of 1890, or rather until it was definitely
known that Europe was to be invited to
enter our markets on parity with our
own industrial enterprises. Until the policy
of the free and unlimited introduc-
tion of the products of the loW-wage labor
of other countries was bout to be fastened
upon the United States there was not so
much agitation of the question of free
silver coinage, although the sentiment of
the people generally was that silver and
gold should be treated alike at the mints,
and that together they should constitute
the redemption money OF the country.
But when it became necessary by virtue
or rather by the lack of virtue of the Will
son-Gorman tariff to deplete our volume
of gold to pay for foreign-made merchan-
disc, it was natural that our people should
demand that the mints be reopened to sill
yer so as to keer up the volume of circu-
lating redemption money to the require
trade and traffic.
The exhibit of the treasury for May
shows deficlt of $4,000,0 900, and of $685.
10000 for the months of the fiscal year
that have elapsed, and this sort of thing
has been going on ever since the Demo-
cratic tariff went into operation. The
trouble is and has been that our custom
receipts are too light to pay the current
expenses of the Government. But that is
not all. We are permitting Europe to fill
our consumption market with articles that
we should manufacture ourselves, and the
effect of the scheme is TO throw our own
factories and operatives into enforced idle
ness and use the money that should go to
them to pay for the goods we receive from
abroad. That is to say, the Wilson-Gor
man tariff act leaves a deficit in the cur
rent expense account of the Government,
which to make good the treasury has to
sell bonds. Not only so, but the foreign
goods that are marketed here are paid for
in gold, which also the Government has to
provide by selling bonds.
What is wanted is the immediate return
to the policy OF 1890 which gave our home
industries the preference in our own mar
kets, and which in turn not only supplied
ample revenue for the expense account of
the Government, but kept our cifcul ating
money in our own channels of trade.
When such law is in operation there is
no occasion to sell bonds to pay for i'm
ported goods, for We would make the
goods ourselves. 1t would be impossible
to maintain volume of money sufficiently
large under the operation of a free-trade
law for there would be a sure and steady
outflow, and a very uncertain inflow. The
tariff question is, therefore, paramount,
but by being the more important it does
not follow that there is no pressing need
for the remonetization of silver, for even
with the tariff of 1890 re-enacted there
would still be need of a larger volume of
money than the single gold standard IS
able to supply; besides, there is the most
perfect harmony between the economic
principle of protection and the monetary
principle of free coinage of gold and silver
into redemption money of equal purchas-
inc mower