The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-10-26
IF BRYAN IS ELEcrEp-No. I.

At Patterson, on September 2S, he
said: ~ say TO you now that my elec-
tion means that this nation shall open
its rints to the free coinage cf Goth
me ais at the earliest possible moment.
Not only that, but my election means
that this nation shalt treat the silver dol
lar Just as IL treats tn, gold dollar, and
that we shall not issue bonds to buy
gold"
" the treasury gold reserve Is not to be
replenished by bond sales, we ali know
IL can't last long. Foreigners would i'm
mediately call for thor loans and balan'
ces here, and hclders CT the S3Ss, COO, 900
OF outstanding green backs and treasury
notes according TO the United States
1reasrry statement Of October /, lS9o).
would quickly Withdraw the sl23, oOo,U
OF gold now In the trcasury,.to either ex-
port or hoard it, and leave the holders Of
the remaining s,OO, ,O)0, 900 to take their
pay in silver.
That this gold will almost immediately
be exported Mr.. BRYAN admits. On Sep
tember 20 az Tammany Hall he faid,
"You know that with gold Gs our only
primary money and the fact that the lit
tie quantity Of gold can be drained away
at a moments notice by foreign credi'
tors, II leaves Us. etc."
As all our national bank notes are re-
deemabIe IN greenbacks, they, too, would
fall with them to silver basis.
In short, Mr.. BRyAN's election would,
a. soon as the present gold in the treas
ury is exhausted. put our currency On a
silver basis, and ALL DEBTS, EXCEPT
WHERE OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY sTIPU-
LATED, WOULD BE PAID IN SILVER.
1t will be observed that this would all
bapren, EVEN IF no FREE SILVER COIN
AGE ACT SHOULD EVER BE PASSED.
as interest on government honds
wculi henceforward lie paid In silver,
and also all dividends on stocks, foreign
capitalists would dispose largely Of their
holdings In those, ana thus necessitate
further large remiitances CT gold.
Their correspondents here and borrowers
OF fJreign money, being called on to pay
up, would be compelled to call in their
loans, aud draw their balance out Of
bank.
All creditors in this country who prefer
gold to silver dollars (Which includes the
due them paid. and getting greenba"Ks
or treasury notes for their hank talancss,
would present them at the treasury for
golf before II was too late. II impossible
to get gold they would buy sterling ex-
change, or exchange on Canada. The
Herald reports that prior to October ]
over &c, 600, coo in gold had already been
deposited In Cana iian banks TO avoid the
risk OF the coming election.
In SHORT, LIVERY MAN WHO HAD A
DOLLAR COMING TO HIM WOULD WANT
THAT DOLLAR PAID HIM WHILE IT WAS
STILL WORTH 100 CENTS, AND BEFORE 1T
GOT TO BE WORTH But 90.
The business houses az d other debtors
called on TO pay up, would be compelled
to cell on their debtors, and thus all the
debtors In the country would oe called
on TO pay Immediately. The demands on
the banks would compel them to call
In their loans, and II not paid, to sell or
try to sell the collatersls.
Debtors would bo compelled to sell
their property nt any price, and where all
deptors were sellers at once, the declines
would be sucn as we have never seen be-
fore, because there has never before been
such Wholesale calling in OF debts, and
consequently selling 40 this would cause
Business houses the country over, being
unable to collect balances due them, or 10
realize on their stock. except al ruinously
low prices, IL at all, must fall Nothing
could save them.
small derositors. nervous and follow
ing the larger ones, would draw their
balances sno runs on banks would bs-
come general.
With theso runs upon all the banks,
they must either break or suspend. In
the cities the stronger ones could com
bine and suspend, tut the weaker ones,
left out OF the com bination and all coun-
try banks would fail.
The panic and ruin would far exceed
that Ct 1873 or of 1898, the latter Of
which, called the "siIver panic," was