The morning times., 1896-07-02
Not a Good Business Outlook.

independent silver standard by this country is the
widespread CONSERVATION such possibility is creating
in business circles Instead of stimulating trade
apparent desirable change the prospect of silver
metaism is having contrary effect Money spectators
are beginning to hoard gold in anticipation of its
manding high premium. Tradesmen making Wig
efforts to collect overdue debts to prevent loss
event of panic; investors refuse to take part fur
therng new enterprises manufacturers have begun to
retrench expenses to meet harsher conditions and
throughout great business centers there settled
of gloom such usually foreshadows the coming of
great commercial calamity.
The of this increasing depression and general
feeling of anxiety for the future is the universal obec
tion of business to change for the in
monetary system They know that free silver a
money and that prices must necessarily be uctu
atng according to the rise and fall of the premium
gold Those debt feel that they would be at the mercy
of their creditors and that extreme money strngency
would prove their financial downfall. Under such cir
cusances it is wonder that there feeling of
certainty.
| If business interests generally fear the DONNA
ton of free silver what would such change bring to
working people? With factory doors closed and
ployment credit with which to purchase the necessi
ties of life, wage would necessarily suffer.
1t is easy to say that free silver would create
of money open the arteries of trade and give
work to the unemployed but if it could not be mnted in
sufficient quantities, within three years, claimed by
those well informed, how working people to live dur
ing that time of enforced dleness?
Not silverites deny that gold would go to pre-
MUM should they carry the pending election and every
body knows that such result would drive of cir
cuation and practically deprive Treasury of all but
silver and greenbacks Our currency would then be
contracted to the extent of $780, OO and until Con-
gress could enact free coinage law and appropriate
money for the erection of mints the entire business of
the country would have to be carried with less than
S14 per capita.
replace this disastrous loss of currency would
require nearly ten years of preparation and coinage
Meanwhile what would have been gained by the interval
of financial distress and pnchng want to be suffered by
our working classes from lack of employment?
No one under the would be benefited by this
change except the silver kings of the Western mining
States The product of their mines present worth
ony 60 per but through the process of free
coinage it would bring them the of ST. per
For their berality in according the silver kings
this extraordinary favor the American people would
only be compelled to endure ten years DEPRESSION but
they would not be permitted to handle dollar of the
silver coin unless valuable equivalent given in
change Nor would the government itself profit penny
from free coinage not to the extent of
There nothing bewldering in the process of
ing silver bullion into money. AS illustration let us
suppose that after free coinage had been fairly naugu
rated, the silver kings would require the government
mint 100 OO0 900 annually which would
doubtless be low estimate 1t would only be necessary
for them present the bullion the designated depos
ores where its equivalent in coin would be exchanged
in its full and undiminished weight per ounce. The
present market value of 100 O0O 900 of silver
500 OOO 900 and its coin value S129 OOO oonse
quently the profits of the silver kings would be exactly
500 900 each year-in which neither the people nor
the would participate. Even should silver
rise in price to parity with gold the gain of the
silver kings would be the same and else would be
benefited
Another faacy of the free silver argument is its
alleged imitation of prices rise in prices could only
take place when gold is at premium and if pre-
dicted gold and silver should to parity prices
would again drop back to their original standard under
gold basis for matter what the conditions are gold is
the accepted basis of values.
Silver monometallism is monetary disease that un-
settles prices and fuctuaes according to the rise
of the gold premium. When conditions abrogate silver