Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-09-26
DuRrants Press et1lgk,
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fasLARD AND THE SILVER QUESTION.

ENGLAND AND The SILVER QUESTION.
In matters Of international policy neither this
cor any other country dares to act in deliberate
antagonism to its neighbours. The comfy OF
cations. requires that no Power should follow q
course damaging directly or Indirectly, to tho
Interest OF. country with which it is at peace.
At the same time, we seem to be shaping towards
seourse winch may bring US into awkward confics
with the popularsentiment, if not with the govern
ing poHers Of countries. with whom we hold
politically friendly relations In another column
We PRINT extracts from o speech made ir tho
american Senate the. other day By Mr.. Don
Cameron, who represents Pennsylvania. The
gist u DIR. Camerop's contention was that
the English policy on the a!-absorbing
monetary question is directly antagonistic
to-American interests, and that the United
States must throw of tie influence of English
IDEAS If shemeans to maintain the steady march
OF her prosperity There have not been wanting.
OF late indications Of growing irritation with this
country foritsdog- in the maugersttitudetowa
la4uestion that is corvulsing two continents and
gravely compromising the future Of the poorer,
States in Europe. = This feeling has been voiced
in America BY Senator Lodge, whose proposal
to virtually shut out British goods from the:
United States until we should assent 70 a
bimetallic convention, though extreme and
absurd, indicates the trend OF sentiment on the
other. side of the Atlantic. Mr. Cameron is
much y.milder, and makes war rather on those
who acclimatise English ideas in America than,
on this country but the sentiment has tho sape.
origin in both cases.
/, Senator Lodge is not silver man in the usual
sense, being opposed outand-out to free coinage
In the United States under existing conditions,
ard, therefore, his views, though tnged with
strong feeling, may attract more attention here
than those Of the pronounced si,yerites. Mr.
Lodge is. very bitter about the failure Of the
Brussels conference Of last year, where the at:i.
:ude OF tic british official delegates was scarcely
/" leSsthan dncourteous "tothe United States, and
lie believes that ne-tenths Of the American
!sople regard it in that lis.,t A feeling Of this
kind is not to b lightly ignored. We have
src.,ucnt diplomatic differences with the United
States; but, as o rule, there is seldom asso-
cisted with these any sense Of animus between
the peoples OF tho two countries, and such
e9uabbies pass over and are forgotten. But now
we are encouraging the growth Of feeling
that on q question which affects the prosperity
Of millions Of individual Americans this
country is inclined to entertain views unfriendly
to the, States. We know, Of course, that the
unfriendliness is accidental, and that our none.
tary policy is controlled by purely selfish con.
siderations-so purely selfish that we do not
uuiu oCoAuS 1Iui6 SUFFERING lGULl Our 0CtlCl1
much more than America does. The Americans
arsssuticiently old-fashioned to believe that
Il Is the part Of friend to show himself friendly,
and when this country turns a deaf ear to the
plant Of half the world, including all the New
World, they, not unnaturaly, take it unkindly. It
Is not for US to say whether the feeling of irri.
tation is wholly justified or not; it exists, and
that il the main point, Moreover, it is taking
shape that may entail very awkward conse.
4uences on us. The recent proposal to coin
Mexican dollars in San Francisco was bid
towards giving US An object lesson by oustins
as from our commanding position in Eastern
trade.
Senator Cameron points plain moral when
he remarks that if tho United States would
venture to cut herself adrift from Europe and
take outright to silver, she would have all
America and Asia at her back, and would com.
nand the markets of both Continents. "The
barrier of gold would De more fatal than any
barrier Of a custom house. The bond Of silver
"would be stronger than any bond Of free
trnde." There can be no doubt abont it, tina,
if tie united States were to adopt silver
basis tomorrow, British trade would be ruined
before the year, was ,Out. Every American
industry would be protected, not only ut home
but 10 every other market OF course, tn.
States would suffer TO a certain. extent through
uo'AiS w ps's ASA Soiis5~eAoAS ~oASoo "a SOi0
but the loss on exchange under this head would
be nero drop in the bucket compared with thu
prof:s:to be reaped from the markets Of South
America and ASA, to say nothing of Europe
The <narvel is that the United States has not
long ego seized the opportunity, and but for tn.
beliefthat the way of England is necessarily tn,
wayto commsrcial success and prosperity, TN
doubsedlyit would have been done long ago. Now
Americans are awakening to the fact tina
I" SO long as they narrow their ambition to be
"com;ng larger England" they cannot bea
US. It has been . piece Of luck for I
chat it has never before occurred TO tn
Americans to scoop US OF. Of tie world
markets by,soing on silver basis, and
might serve Us right If, irsitatel by the con
temptuous apathy Of our Government to III
gravity Of the silver problem, the American
retaliate by freezing out gold. 1t could easii
g be done, and We propose shortly to show, b
evidence collected from perfectly unprejudice
sources, that even now the process has begur
and is nroreedlnr a. n rate that will astonis