The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-08-06
SILVER IN CHINA.
Exporfences or an American-A Cheap
Money Country.

accurately E98 Eo-<& Nt3aAtr Va ~~~A@ts-~
The current coin of the realm - lac
cash. circular disk OF copper or brass
with a square hole in the center, ana
weighing from ~ 10 - grains These cash
are strung by hundreds, ten hundred on
a string. in links ike a string OF saasages.
From 100 10 80 OF them constitute day
wages, according 10 occupation. LOCALITY.
etc One fun weight Mexican dollar viii
change for about 1909 10 l.loo cash. ana
a thousand Of them viii weight seven or
eight pounds / once received twenty odd
dollars worth Of them. and they made
staggering big load for the stout coone
who delivered them to me-
In paying them out ii Was no unusuai
experience TO find the hundreds short q
few cash each. As to quality they ous a.
TO be of nearly pure copper ana Melsa,
about 50 grains each. but through otnci a
dishonesty. many fall much below siiis
standard. and influential rascais nay E
gradually carried the matter farther anu
farther, TIL now the poorest KIND are hot
worth q tenth of their face value Insse
are often mixed with the good cash at
fixed ratio as ten in a hundred or twenty
in a hundred. and then there are TWO sets
of prices the price in current casn ana
the price in good cash. II ~ per cent. Is
the rate, then 81 good cash equal IN value
100 current cash. Seemingly the only use
they serve Is to initiate. and so keep prices
up; for there, as elsewhere, prices have a
downward tendency, and the average Chi
naman breads changes They mean TO his
mind increased exposure to fraud and OPP
preston. With them society Is somewhat
like line OF men. each in his place watt
ing his turn: once break the line and a
scramble follows. In which the average
man loses much and gains little. When 1t
comes TO changes in currency or tariff.
Is il not much the same way here as in
China, the iaboring man suffers most
damage and reaps the least benent from
the change?
In Southern and Central China Mexican
dollars have circulated in large quantities.
for many years past; and now Japanese
ven" are becoming quite common. The
ven" are 4l6 grains in weight and so
parts silver. and are preferred 10 the Mex
leans, because more reliable as TO weight
and fineness, and not counterfeited to
such an extent as are the Mexicans. Tn
til recently fractional silver currency has
not been in use at Foochow. as the money
changers would receive 1t only at its bull
lion value. but few years ago the coin
age of silver was begun at Canton, and
soon after the Foochow provincial author
tiles compelled the money changers TO
take all the coins at their face value. the
dimes and scent pieces are in demand
among the women for buttons. and this
helps much to keep up their value. The
scent pieces especially are gobbled up so
quickly that they rarely appear IN circu-
lation. 1t costs but a triffe TO have
silver eyelet soldered on the back. and SO
have handsome button.
The dollars in circulation among the
Chinese are much mutilated. The shops
have little steel stamps shaped like
small punch with which they stamp some
mark on the dollar they pay IL out. so
that Ii can be identified In case any dis
pute arises as 10 its genuineness. In this
way the coins become wholly covered with
these stamps. Many of them are slit al
the edge or have dents In the face TO show
whether they are genuine or not. Many
of them also have pieces cut out or slices
shaved off so that they are much under
weight. There Is no law against mutilat-
ing coin, and In fact the offlcials them
selves are often the chief offenders, MAX
ing the dollars light and then compelling
soldiers as well as civilians TO receive
them as IL of full weight In ordinary
business these light dollars so by weight
but what with differences in the scales
or the handling of them, and varying
standards as TO what shall constitute
dollar, there are endless opportunities for
petty cheating. Where 100 grains of sill
Yer Is big days wages, sharper can
make a good living by cheating few
grains on dollar. Hence the common
people cling TO their unwieldy brass cash,
for they can better afford the time and
strength to count and carry them, a doz-
en- times over than TO be cheated out OF
one grain of silver.
From this we can see why China is a
silver country. Gold is too valuable in
proportion 10 labor The least tampering
with ft means so much. measured In days
wages. that common folks dare not handle
It, Only the decidedly rich have IL In the
form OF jewelry. 1t Is low wages that
makes China a silver country and high
49, arxra try a m
country. With wages at a dollar or more
a day silver is too heavy. When was Nv
ing in China, four miles from bank. the
cashing Of check for 100 Mexican dollars
was laborious affair." and even so or
them would grow burdensome by the time
I reached home. When a bank in this
state offered free silver man silver in
payment for a check of $50 he may have
thought IL joke. but If he were TO reside
I'm silver country for. n while he would
find IL no Joke. Only once did ever see
any fun In II, and then some one else
was carrying the silver. was returning
from the bank In company with the mis-
sion treasurer, who had $40 Mexican dol
lars in a tin box which he carried lightly
so not to excite suspicion OF its contents.
A pair of chair bearers asked for the Job
of CARRYING him 10 his residence. about
a mile away, and he being heavy man,
and fond of a Joke bantered them on
dreaming that there were thirty pounds
of silver in the tin box. were confident.
and when he was seated. started to show
how easily they could pick him up; but
their first attempt was a complete fall
ure. At the second attempt they were
Just barely successful. and as they start
ed of one remarked 10 the other: why
are foreigners 80 heavy? A Chinaman
of this size would not weigh so much az
this man does" The other replied: 1T
Is because they eat beef" IL was anus
ing TO US. but not to the poor chair
bearers.
The average American eats as much
meat at one meal as a Chlnaman does In
a week. But IL we have free silver we
shall need 10 eat more beef, or import
cheap Chinese labor 10 carry our purses
for US.
Some twenty years ago our mints were
coming "trade dollar which was vel
received by the Chinese. But none OF our
present silver currency circulates there.
II is my private opinion that II now our
minis were 10 coin trade dollar" not
for circulation at home. but 10 be used
at It's intrinsic value in commerce with
China II would stimulate trade with that
vast empire. and help TO dispose of some
OF our surplus silver. special treaty
might do much toward protecting Il from
mutilation- j. +. WALKER