The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-02
FROM A BRITISH STANDPOINT.
The Best Interests cf america Bound
Up in Free Silver Coinage

The Best Interests # america Bound
Up in Free Silver Coinage
The London Financial News sees the
best interests Of America and tells the
story in a plausible way, Senator
. Lodges proposition to place a retalia-
/ tory tariff on British imports until
/ England shall agree to a bi-metaIlic
standard inspires the News to its pres
ent position.
j There have not been wanting Of late
indications of growing irritation with
England for its dog in the manager sill
YER policy" says the News. cold
monometallism is conYulsrg two con-
tinents and grayely compromislug the
future Of the poorer States in Europe.
The feeling has been voiced in America
bv Senator Lodge, whose proposal viz
tually to shut out British goods from
the United States until we should as
sent to a bi-metallic convention, though
extreme and absurd, indicates the
trend Of sentiment on the other side
, Of the Atlantic.
Senator Lodge is not a silver man
in the usual sense, being opposed out
and out to free coinage in the United
States under existing conditions, and
therefore his views, though tinged
with strong feeling, may attract more
attention here than those of the pro-
nounced silyerites. Mr., Lodge is very
bitter about the failure of the Brussels
conference of two years ago where the
attitude of the British official dele
gates was scarcely less than discourte-
GUS to the United States, and he be-
lieves that nine-tenths of the American
people regard it in that light.
"A feeling of this kind is not to be
lightly ignored. We have frequently
diplomatic differences with the United
States but as a rule there is seldom as
sociated with these any sense of ami
mus between the people of the two
countries. But now we are encOurag-
ing the growth of feeling that On a
question which affects the prosperity
Of millions of individual Americans
England is inclined to entertain views
unfriendly to the United States. We
know, of course, that the unfriendli-
ness is accidental, and that our none
taIy policy is controlled by purely
selfish considerations purely self
ish that we do not mind seeing India
suffering from our action much more
than America does. The Americans
are sufficiently old-fashioned to believe
that it is part Of friend to show him
self friendly, and when this country
turns a deaf ear to the plant of half
the world, including all the New World.
they not unpaturally take it unkindly.
1T is not for us to say whether the
feeling of irritation is wholly justified
or not, is exists, and that is the main
point Moreover, it is taking a shape
that may entail very awkward conse-
quences on us. The recent proposal to
coin Mexican dollars in San Francisco
was bid toward giving us an object
lesson by ousting us from our com
handing position in eastern trade.
There is plain moral in the re-
mark that it the United States would
venture to cut herself adrift from Eu-
rope and take outright to silver she
would have all America and Asia at
her back, and would command the
markets of both continents. THE bar
rier of gold would be more fatal than
any barrier of a custom house. The
bond of silver would be stronger than
any bond of free trade
There can be no doubt about il
that if the United States were to adopt
a silver basis tomorrow British trade
would be ruined before the year was
out. Every American industry would
be protected, not only at home but i'm
every other market. Of course the
United States would suffer to a certain
extent through having to paw the OBJ
legations abroad in gold; but the loss
on exchange under this head would be
a drop in the bucket compared with
the profits to be reaped from the mar
kets of South America and Asia. to saw
nothing of Europe
The marvel is that the United
States has not long ago seized the on
portunity, and but for the belief that
the way of England is necessarily the
way to commercial success and pros
perity, undoubtedly it would have been
done long ago, Now Americans are
awakening to the fact that so long as
they narrow their ambition to be-
coming a larger England, they cannot
beat us 1t has been piece of luck for
us that it has never occurred to the
Americans to scoop us out Of the
worlds market by going on a silver
basis, and it might serve us right if, ir-
ritated by the contemptuous apathy of
our government 10 the gravity Of the
silver problem, the Americans retalate
by freezing out gold. It could easily
be DONE" @