The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1896-07-11
What Free Silver Would Do.

We have already stated some of the
things that free silver would do. 1t
would drag our country down to the
single silver standard, which is every
where associated with a low state OF
civilization and prevails only in the
most unprOgresSlVe countries IN the
world, in which commerce and indus
try are in primitive or backward state
of development. There is not now a
progressive commercial nation IN the
world which has not adopted the gold
standard. Silver is the standard money
only in the semi-barbaric countries, of
China, of Mexico, of the Central Amer
lean states, and few of the old Spanish
possessions. In Europe it survives on
~ in Spain, Bulgaria, Servia. and par
TALLY in Turkey. In degrading our cur
rency to the level of these half-ciyiliZed
silver using countries, with which we
have little intercourse, it would handi-
cap us in our transactions with all the
great commercial countries OF the world
Our entire trade with all the silver us
ing countries is about SIS, OOO, 900 wear.
1t is over SSO0,OOO,0OO year with the
gold standard nations. Free silver
would thus place us at apernanent dis
advantage in the competition of inter-
national trade with all the other COM
mercial countries.
We have also said that by law as re-
sistless as that of gravitation the free
would eXpeT all our S62U,UUU,U0U gold
from circulation in the country and re-
duce the value of all our silver and pa
per currency, amounting to about 81, =
2OOOO,O 900 to but little over $500, 0OO, 900
in gold value. All the holders of this
money would suffer this loss in the
transition from the gold to the silver
standard. But this is a trifle in compar-
lsOn to the havoc it would play with us
IN other dir eCtjOns.
Free silver would cut down TO nearly
one-half their present value the vast
aggregate of debts which the financial
institutions of the country owe to the
wage earners and to the people of small
means IN America. The advocates of
free silver address their main argu-
ments to the dishonest Cupiditv of
debtors. They unblushingly maintain
that 1t would be to the interest of the
debtor class to be able to swindle their
creditors out of fifty cents on the dollar
by paying them in deprecated silver
money. They assume that these
creditors are the banks and the
the great financial institutions of the
country. Meyer was there a greater
mistake than this. These banks and
financial institutions are merely the
custOdlans of other peoples money.
The savings bank, the national, state
and public banks, the trusts, insurance.
building and loan associations in their
various forms owe to the wage earners
OF tins country and to the people of
small means, or mainly to them, Sl6.-
WO,WB, UUO-sIXtecn billion dollars. BY
Tar the larger proportion Of this enor-
nous total is owed to mechanics and
farmers, to men and women who live
on their wages or salaries, or who do
some small business, and whose surplus
earnings are invested in these various
forms. Free silver would strike down
one-half the value of all their depOsits
puhGes, trust funds and other invest
ments.
Gong to Secretary Carlisle's speech
at Chicago for details, the following
startling facts are presented: The
national banks, for example, owe 81
70l ,653,52I to 1,9293 depositors. to
whom ,724,0OO have less than 81 900 to
their credit, showing that a vast major
lty are people of small means. The
savings banks of this country owe
81 SIC, 80, 900 to 1879, 900 dcpositors.
or an average Of S311 TO each depositor
almost all the savings of la boring men.
The state and private banks and trust
companies owe 81 $40, SOS, 600 TO ], SOC. 900
people. The insurance companies Of
all kinds, including the mutual benefit
assessments, cooperative and fraternal
companies, owe their policy holders
and members the vast total of 9.3S7,-
o2S, $50. In addition to this she indus
trial companies Of the United States
have membership of 6,9l9, 59S with
insurance amounting to SSl6, 1850, 07S
The building and loan associations owe
their l 10000 share holders 500. 600. 600.
These are the financial institutions
which deal directly with the masses of
the people and are the custodians and
investors of their money, These are
the great debtor institutions of the
country and they owe in the aggregate
to the people of this country, most of
them poor people, or people in very
moderate circumstances, nearly sixteen
billions of dollars. Free silver would
enable them to pay all these millions of
deposltors and policy holders in de
preClated coin, worth half the good
money put IN their vaults by the work
ing people of this country II would
swindle the working people of this
country, through their agency, out OF
5000, uDD,eO- sum exceeding twelve
times the capital stock of all the nation
al banks in America.
The debtor class, who would be hene-
fitted by the ability to paw their debts
At 50 cents on the dollar, consists main
Is ofthe financial institutions we have
enumerated and Of the people to whom
they have loaned the money deposited
with them or paid over TO them in the
shape of premiums on insurance pol-
cles. These borrowers are not the
mechanics and wage earners or even
the farmers, except in very limited
way. They are manly the merchants
ami manufacturers ot the country. the
men who have t. borrow money to car
ry on their enterprises. The railroad
companies Of this country owe the pee
PIE Of this country and Of Europe aGou;