The herald., 1896-09-27
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES!
! WHAT WILL HAPPEN? !
BY EX-SENATOR CORNELIUS COLE

It Is q proper thing to inquire what
will follow as the result OF the election
Of Mr.. Bryan.
| If a congress agreeing with him should
also be elected a law will be passed au-
| thorizing the free coinage Of silver bull
| lion for any person bringing 1t to the
mint. The same law will probably
| authorize the paying out of silver dollars
In exchange for bullion after the mint
| assayer shall have ascertained the
| amount Of pure metal in the parcel offer
ed. The law may also authorize the
| Issuing Of silver certificates in a form to
be used as money, in exchange for bull
| lion. In these events a depositor would
not need to wait till hf5own particular
| lot Of bullion was coined before get
ting his money. The government has
now on hand. we will say. 350,0o0,000 sill
yer dollars already coined, which could
| be used to exchange for bullion if parties
| so desired.
| There would then be three sources
| from which money could be supplied,
| under free coinage act, to increase the
circulation; namely, the new coined dol
lars, the silver dollars on hand and silver
| certificates.
The $50, coo, 900 of coins which we
have, If all used in exchange for bullion,
would add only about five dollars per
| capita to the money of the country.
small addition, considering the present
limited supply.
| But this money, or so much Of 1t as
| might be used, would only go out into
circulation as the business involving it's
issue dragged it's slow length along.
| Instead of silver In large quantities,
| being dumped upon this cour ~ all at
once, it would reach the pocklcs of the
people but too slowly. 1t may allay the
| fears of some of our over anxious friends
! I,
| bullion that might be exchanged for
| these $50, 900 silver dollars Is, at this
moment, deep down in the bowels Of the
| earth, and to mine 1t out will require
| long time and vast amount Of labor.
The capacity of our mints for produc-
| ing silver coins Is only about Eour mil
| lion dollars a month, and If their capa-
| city were doubled, or even quadrupled,
it would not be possible for the country
| to become inundated with silver dollars
| from that source.
The issuance of silver certificates
| would be just as liberal, or as restricted,
| as congress might choose to make 1t,
but in no event would the issue go be-
| yond the amount Of bullion sent to the
mints, nor be more rapid than the bull
| lion, calling for the certificates, could
| be manipulated. So 1t must appear that
| there is the least possible danger that
the country would become flooded either
| with silver coins or with silver certid-
| Gates.
The much-vaunted theory of the
dumping ground" Is purely creature
| of the Imagination; any considerable
| plethora of silver dollars in this country,
to result from a free coinage act. is as
improbable as that the sky will fall. Such
| thing has never occurred and never
will. The only possible way in which
| 1t might arise would be to greatly en-
| Ior minis
| then obtain from some sourtbe not yet
| dreamed of a supply of silver bullion
| vastly in excess of any now known.
Neither OF these contingencies can be
made to hinge upon the election Of Mr..
| Bryan.
Next, let US inquire what will be the
| effect Of free coinage act upon the
price of silver bullion.
1t cannot be otherwise than that free
| coinage will bring silver up practically
to par with gold, for If I have an irgot
Of silver of the standard fineness and
of the weight Of a thousand silver dol
| lars, which ingot can be taken to the
mint and. after a little delay, be ex-
changed for thousand bright, newly
| coined, lawful, American silver dollars,
or an equal amount of new crisp silver
certificates, that ingot Is certainly worth
| very nearly one thousand dollars to me,
| and no one unless, perhaps, some one Of
| Of Wall street, like Henry Clews, would
think of disposing of 1t for So cents on
the dollar. The proverbial generosity
| of that class, especially towards the
government, might sestrain them from
accepting more than that rate from the
mint officials for any bullion they might
| happen to have on hand, but for new
purchasers there would be no call for
exercising such conscientious scruples,
| and they would be sure to emerge from
| the election Of Mr.. Bryan without any
| overwhelming disaster on this partlcu
| lar account.
Politicians of the single gold standard
way OF thinking persist in reiterating
the opinion that the present unwonted
| disparity between gold and silver must
| continue unaltered, and unalterable, af
| ter the enactment of a free coinage law.
| They ignore fact in recent experience,
| directly at war with that opinion. Early
| in 1890 silver bullion was selling for 80
| cents the ounce, but upon the passage
| of a free coinage act by the house of rep
| resentatives, and prospect Of it's pass
| age by the senate. the price Of silver
| went up, both In London and in New
York, to over 120 cents an ounce; and
| this upon the mere anticipation of the
| law. That Major Mckinley should have
| overlooked entirely such an important
| fact as this when preparing his long let
| ter of acceptance is, to say the least,
| quite strange. That a free coinage law
| will enhance the price of silver bullion
| Is too obvious for argument, and argu-
| ment upon this point Is unnecessary,
| since its opponents assert vehemently
| that the silver mine owners will be
| greatly benefited by such rise in value of
| silver.
But what will be the effect Of the free
| coinage Of silver upon the value of gold?
| Should some disparity between the two
| metals continue after they were admit
| ted to equally free coinage, that dispar
| ity could only contiue until the demand
| for the cheaper metal and the non-use
| of the dearer one brought them to a
| parity again. During such time as gold,
| by reason of greater demand for it,
might be subordinated to silver in gen.
| eral business, it could be profltably used
| for bank reserves, as. indeed, 1t is now
| largely employed. Gold would not be
| nearly so likely to leave the country un-
| der the operation of free coinage act
| as it is now, when by reason of its scare
| ity, it is liable to be cornered by q syn
| dicate composed Of London bankers and
| their Junior partners in Wall street.
| But gold is not now nor has 1t been,
| In general circulation anywhere in the
| United States except on the Pacific
coast. Hens teeth are not more rare in
| the Atlantic states than gold coins in
| business there. But nevertheless it is
| obtainable in large quantities by syndi
| Gates when some gigantic bond specula-
| ton is on the government carpet. There