Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-10-22

so-called sound money or republican par
ty has already begun to find that its dec
laration in favor of maintaining the gold
standard until an international agreement
is arrived at has placed it In a very IL
logical position, and has put powerful
argument into the mouths of its opponents
IT, Mr.. Bryan and his supporters say to
the American electors, the gold standard
is a good thing for the United States. why
should the republicans endeavor to induce
other nations to help to abolish 1t; ana
If it is bad thing, as the republicans by
their bimetallist plank practically confess
that it is, why should we wait for the per-
mission of other nations to abolish 1T:
This argument is causing the leaders or
the Sound money party to abandon the
plank
I'm the pamphlets with which they are
flooding the states, and which are being
poured into this country from Europe also,
and in the leading New York papers IL
ternational bimetal1ism is being treated as
an impossibility and a delIsion, and the
single gold standard Is being definitely ad-
vocated as the best monetary system for
the interests of the United States. For all
these reasons it does not at present appear
at all probable that the victory Of Mr.. Nc
Kfn1ey would be speedily followed by an
international conference, though, If the
consequences of such a victory became suf-
hciently disastrous. such a conference
might be eventually forced on the govern
ments concerned.
ION the other hand, what would be the
position should Mr.. Bryan be victorious
and congress definitely determine to enact
the free coinage plank? We need not stop
to discuss from the moral or legal stand
point the question to whether the con-
sequence of the reopening of the American
minis to the free coinage of silver would or
would not be of the nature Of a partial re-
pudiation or scaling down of American
liabilities abroad.
cit is quite certain that neither Mr.. Bry-
an nor his colleagues desire any such re-
suits Their firm belief is that free coin
70 No off i've nr11
permanent establishment of the parity be-
tween the various forms of American cur
rency and between gold and silver through
out the world. Their arguments are all di-
rected to demonstration that this would
be the result, and they are supported by
American and other economic and finan-
cial authorities of distinction who have GER
tainly no reason to wish that their predic-
tions may be proved to be wrong. For OBJ
vious reasons Mr.. Bryan and his sup
porterS must hope that the experiment
will be completely successful, though
should it fail to maintain the parity they
would be in a position to throw the blame
for failure on the European countries
which would be the chief sufferers by the
failure, and whose governments are al
ready pledged, in conformity with fesolu-
tions passed recently by their respective
parliaments, to do their utmost to make
the experiment a success.
LET us suppose that the effect of Mr.
Bryan's election were to be a speedy res
gold and silver throughout the world: can
anyone imagine that the governments of
Germany, France, Great Britain and India
would dare to take the responsibility of
allowing such an opportunity for securing
that stability of the exchanges which all
have declared to be desirable to pass un-
utilized, or would face the possibility of
another disastrous fall without doing any
thing to secure the position? Or, to take
the extreme view on the other side, let us
suppose that the consequence of free coin
age in the United States would be a rapid
depletion of the gold reserves in the United
States and consequent fall of the Ameri-
can exchange until the dollar became
'53-cent' dollar; would the European and
Indian governments regard such 1mpend-
ing results with equanimity and refrain
from doing anything to avert OF mitigate
them?
Tor, with such prospect, the position
of the investors, bankers, fnancierS, pro-
ducers and merchants of Europe would be
should the United States maintain the gold
standard The burdens of all American
debtors would be Hghtened at the cost,
at least, Of all those creditors whose bonds
are not specifically payable in gold. Ameri-
can producers would become Is formula
BILE competitors in the worlds markets,
as, for instance, the Argentine wheat
growers and the bombay mill owners
have become. The burdens of European
debtors and of the British colonies would
be increased by further fall of gold prices.
hesitate in deciding whether the fall in
American bonds might not be compensated
by rise in the value of American rail-
way shares consequent on the increased
activity of the American export trade and
the reduction-in terms of gold-Of the
fixed charges. But on the whole, in view
of such prospects, it seems probable that
even London and Hamburg would become
anxious for conference, and that. we
take it. is Prince Bismarck's opinion"
Here is one from the Irish News, a
Belfast paper. 1t appeared on Septen-
Der rs, 1896:
1.-THE free coinage of silver in America
would have one of two consequences.
Either 1t would bring about a restoration
of the parity between the American cur
rency and the double currency throughout
the world, or it would cause depletion of
the gold reserves in the United States
and a concomitant fall of the exchange.
Should the first-named result follow. there
is no escape from the conviction that the
and be bound to embrace, the opportunity
native something like a panic would be
commercial men generally, and the in
would inevitably follow. Such. at any rate.
is Bismarck's diagnosis of the situation,
and it appears to be sound and accurate
one The experiment which Mr.. Bryan
and his supporters wish to make, is one
which ALL except of course the oddities,
would like to see tried. Its promoters are
thoir 70 hiring ho1a