The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-27
ON A SILVER BASIS.

The British Minister to Mexico. Sir
Henry Dering, who is visiting San Fran
cisco, explains in q few words how it is
that the republic of Mexico is prosperous.
Silver is the money OF the country. All
the business is transacted with silver dol
lars, and when any other nation wants
Mexican products gold is received for
them. This brings plenty of gold into the
country TO pay interest on bonds and other
obligations where gold is specified. BY
this method the currency of the people is
stable and uniform, and in volume it is
fully equal to all demands. OF course
Wall street would declare that kind of
financiering idiotic to the last extreme,
but since the proof of the pudding is found
in chewing the pudding itself. and since,
too, Mexico is prosperous, every line
of industry, commerce, mining and agri-
culture being in q healthy condition and
steadily expanding. it would seem that
Wall street and all the rest of the United
States could not do better than absorb
some of Mexico's knowledge of the science
of finance.
Minister Dering gives il as his opinion
that Mexico will continue to be prosper
Gus so long as she holds on to her present
monetary system, and he adds to the full
extent that diplomatic etiquette allows
that just such system is needed in the
United States to broaden and deepen our
avenues of commercial operation. But Sir
Henry no more than voices the belief of the
great producing class of this as we'll as of
his own mother country. 1t is an unde-
niable fact that practically all people of
England, Germany and the United States
who are not spectators in money fuctu-
atoms, money lenders or bond brokers, and
their political strikers, are decidedly for
the most liberal coinage possible of silver,
and when such a statesman as Sir Henry
Dering not only Endorses the monetary
system of Mexico, but points to the pros
porous and strongly entrenched position
of the various lines of business in that
country to bear him witness of the truth
of what he is saying. it would seem that
there is very much more evidence Of lu-
macy in Wall street than among those who
develop the ccuntry's resources.
Perhaps the most absurd and illogical
argument of the goldites is, that if you
melt $40 gold piece its commodity value
is still $40, and that ten silver dollars
melted are worth about So as commodity.
Of course, that is so. Would any one be
fool enough to sell his 25S grains OF
standard gold for less than $40, when he
could carry it to the mint and have it
coined into $40 without expense? Is that
not why standard gold bullion is of equal
value with the same quantity coined?
Would 4l218 grains of standard silver have
a commercial value of only so cents, if its
owner had the privilege of taking it to
mint and having it coined without expense
to himself into 81? Does not the coin
value of silver and gold fix their COM
modify value? A Mexican silver dollar
may be melted, but it retains It's value of
81 because its owner can take it to the
mint and have it coined into 81 free of
charge. Therefore, what is it that makes
metallic money "honest money? Why,
simply giving it the privileges of the mint.
Nothing more nor less. AS we have said,
the reason why 25S grains of standard gold
is worth $40 is because the Government
will stamp "Ten Dollars" upon it and
make it legal tender for that number of
dollars. Now, all that the advocates of
bimetallism ask is that the same privilege
be given to 4121% grains of standard silver
that is given TO 25 $40 grains of standard
gold. Then the whole problem OF bimetal-
lie money will have been solved.