West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1896-10-08
The Financial News,
Citing ssnl'sa'a ss ISSUE st Il as'n.-e4
tgslsso sap TIE SILVER ovrsrIuy.

tysltsD faD TIE SILVER QussIIuY.
In rsatteca OF international policy neither tirfs
nor any other country dares to act In deliberate
entasonism to It's neighbours. Tho comfy oE
pettons requires that no Power should follow n
course damaging. directly or indirectly, TO tho
interest OF. country with which il is at peace.
Attic same time, we seem TO be shaping towards
nccursowheh may bring as into awkward conflict
wleh The popular sentiment, II not with the govern.
ing powers OF countries with whom We hold
POLITICALLY friendly relations. In another column
we print extracts from speech made In tho
american Senate the. other day by Dir. Don
Cameron, who represents Pennsyi,unia. The
gist OK Mr. Camerop's contention wis thab
the English policy on the all.absorbine
monetary question is directly antagonistio
70 American iDteresta, and thai the United
states must throw OF tho influence OF EngllstJ
Ideas she means 10 maintain the steady march
OF hcr prosperity. There have not been wanting
OF late, indications Of growing irritation With this
coupteyforlts dog in .the-man attitudet towards
aqnestion that Is oorvulsing two continents, and
gravely compromising the future Of the pooren
states in Europe. This feeling has been voiced
In America by Senator Lodge, whose proposal
% virtually shut out British goods from the.
United States until we should assem- to q
blmetallic convention, though extreme and
absurd, indicates tho trend OF sentiment on the
other side Of the Atlantic. Mr. Cameron la
much ui!der, and nTnkes war rather on those
who scoliInatise English ideas In America than,
on this country but tho sentiment has tho sapo
origin Ia both cases
Senator Lodge Is not silver man In the usual
sense, being opposed ont aud.out TO free coinage
Ia the United States under existing conditions,
ord, therefore, bis viows, though tnged with
strong feeling, may attract moro attention hero
than those OF the pronounced ilvcrites. Mr..
Lodge is. very bitter about the failure Of tho
DrllSsplS Df Jack h. ~ <.
tude OF tho british Official delegates was "scarceiY
leSsthnn discourteous ITO the United States, and
hc believes that nine-tenths Of the American
people regard IL In that light a feeling Of thi5
kind is not to DO lightly ignored. We have
frequent diplomatic differences with tho United
6tateS but, as o rule, there 10 eeldom s.ao-
ciatcd with those any ssnse Of animus bSt;ye1u
the peoples Of the two countries, and such
aquabbles pass over and are forgotten, but now
we are encouraging the growth OF feeling
that on question which affects the prosperity
Of. millions Of individual Americans this
country 10 inclined 70 entertain views cufrisndly
to the States. We know, Of course, that tho
unfriondliness is accidental, and that our none.
tary policy Is controlled by purely selfish con-
slderotions-so purely selfsh that We do not
mind Sosing India suffering from our action
much more than America does The Americans
are sufficiently old.fashioned to believe that
It Is the part OF afrend TO show himself friendly
and when this country turns q deaf ear TO the
Plaint OF hall the world, Including all the New
World, they, not unnaturally, take ftunkindIy. II
Is NOT for us 70 say whethcr the feeling Of irri.
tation is wholly justified or not It exists, and
that ts the main point, Moreover, IL is taking
q shape that may entail very awkward conso.
quencss on u.s. The recent proposal TO coin
Mexican dollars Ia San Francisco was q bid
towords giving us an object lesson by ousting
Us from our commanding position In Eastern
trade.
Senator Cameron points q plaIn moral when
no remarks that II the United States would
venture 20 cut herself adrift from Europe ana
take outright TO silver, she would have aiI
America and Asia at her back, and would condr
mand the markets Of both Continents. "'rha
barrier Of gold would be more fatal than any
barrier Of a oustom-houss. Tho bond Of silver
"wouh bo stronger than any bond Of free
trodo." There can be no doubt about It, that
u the United States were TO adopt a silvor
basis Tomorrow British trade would be ruined
before tho year.. wns out. Every American
industry would be protected, not only az homo
but Ia every other market OF course, tho
States would suffer TO a certain extent through
having TO pay her obligations abroad 10 gold
but the loss on exchange under this bead would
be moro drop ia the bucket compared With tho
profits 20 bo reaped from the markets Of South
America and Asia,. 70 say nothing Of Europe,
Tho marvel is that the United States has not
long ago seized the opportunity, and but for the
belief that tho way Of England Is necessarily tho
way 10 oommsrcial success and prosperity, un-
doubtedlyit would have been done long gag6. Eov.
Americans are awakening b the fact that
so long as they narrow their ambition 20 be-
coming a larger England" they oonnot beat
us 10 has been a piece Of luck fog us
that 10 has never before occurred % thW
Americans 70 scoop as OFT Of the worlds
markets BY going on a silver basis, and 10
might Bcrvo us Tjght If, irritatoi by Che COLI
temptuous apathy Of our Government 70 tho
gravity Of The silver problem, the Americans
retalato by freoziDg out gold. IL could easily
Ro done. and We propose shortly so show, by
evidence collected from perfectly unprejudced
sources, that even now tbe process los begun,
and is proceeding at q r1to that will astonish
most people, and probably make this country
regret that IL did not at an earlier stage fashion
It's monetary policy on principles Of lriendlinoV
TO other nations, instead Of on o basis of Short
G7hte9 selgshness.