The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-13
RUNNING OUT THE LINES.


Prophecy ISL favorite implement of
partisan warfare and is used unstint-
eddy, taking the place, in party strug-
giles, that Bluebeard and the COLLINS
hold in the knorfs TO maintain quiet
in ill-regulated nurseries. The preph-
ecies seldom come to pass; but failure
never daunts the zeal of the prophet
or diminishes This versatility But If it
Is unsafe ever I'd venture on foretel-
ling what will happen, it is not so risky
to forecast the course human action
will take and It's results where the line
Is projected on the most common of
human motives. The instinct of self
preservation directs men along the
same lines, however diverse may be
their views on tariffs or money. So
What, men will do in certain cases and
conditions that rouse that instinct is
not guess-work, but almost as sure as
the working out of an arithmeticaI
problem.
what will be the result should the
wires and papers carry to the break
last tables the morning after next
November's election the tidings that
MI. Bryan and congress in sympa-
thy With him have been chosen? What
preceded it? Reading people have
been assured that the policy advocated
by the elected rulers means the de-
SCENT TO silver basis of the currency
of
Oh the country, the silver the green
backs, treasury notes and certificates
1t is entirely immaterial to the ease
whether such result would follow or
not' IN faet; it is sufficient that those
people VINO have surplus of money
thlnk 1t will and are sincere in
their belief. What does the appre-
hended change mean to then2 The
loss OF half the present pur-
CHASING power Of their money
what would be their first and
most natural impulse? To CON
vert their money into something
that would not lose its power to buv
what is that? Gold. Where only eouId
they get it in free exchange? AT the
treasury Of the United States. There
tney could get their greeI1backs and
treasury notes exchanged for gold
Ihe result would be raid" on the
treasury by SUCH people, if, indeed. at
1hat time any gold should remain
there. There are outside the treasury
$224O00OO0 greenbacks and. sten. ooe oao
treasury notes. or 1924, 100000, with
about 100000 coo of accessible gold
for their redemption.
This would leave the holders Of
some $2O0,e00,000 in government nron-
ises TO pay who could not get gold,
ehless, indeed, the vaults should he
temporarily rep1enished by another
bond issue. Even if they were II
would not remain there long Tho
very fact of the exhaustion of the on1,,
source OF gold redemption would but
aggravate the desire of the. renaining
note holders to convert their notes in
60 gold. The treasury enpty and t1,o
only other source of supply the hanlx
vaults, the demand for gold would re-
suit IN price on it that would rise as
the alarm grew Gold. sheeonaine
commodity, would disappear as cnr.
fency and be bought and sold. Obe-
. olent to- the law Of self-preservatio,,
and appfehensive of a depreeiation
sellers would advance prices to keen
pace with the gold premium: or, in
other words but, the same meaning
with the silver and paper depreciation
Wltnln week of the election tho
country would thus, by virtue of az
tlor@ based on the most aic7t of mo-
yves, be on a silver basis. Months
| before Mr. Bryan's congress could even
meet, the effects of apprehended free
coinage would have been met and dis
counted. What congress would do the
good Lord only knows. Responsible
lty sobers some men and the eondi
elons would be soldering Opportunity
maddens others and makes radical
ism run to excuses. What such a
congress would deiipasses out of the
region of reasonable conjecture into
that of random guess. We do not care
to venture into #,