The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-23
THE TR1BUNE's ANSWERS.

We asked the Tribune these ques-
tons:
Does it honestly and sincerely believe
! that it is possible for the administra-
ton to bring about bimetallism by in
! ternational agreement?
Does It believe that the sending
| abroad of the Wolcott commission was
! anything more than for the purpose of
enabling the administration to say that
! it had fulfilled the pledges of the St
| Louis platform?
Does it believe that the United States
viii ever have the free and unlimited
coinage Of silver unless they shall es-
| tablish If without waiting for the con-
sent OK cooperation of any other ma
ton?
! 1t has made answer to them. To the
! first it answers, most certainly" 1t
further says that the entire British
cabinet, with single exception, favors
j international bimetallism, and that it
! was practically agreed upon when the
unexpected response from India disar-
ranged all calculations. The statement
as to the British cabinet needs rever-
| sing, for the only man in it who at all
| ipclines to bimetallism is Balfour, and
! he is rather shalky. What our contem-
! porary's grounds are for asserting that
/ an agreement concerning bimetallism
| had practically been agreed upon when
the response from India disarranged it,
we do not know. but we do know that
! in the official Correspondence Respect
/ ing the Proposals on Currency Made
by the Special ENJOYS From the Unit
/ ed States and which correspondence
was presented to both houses of par
! lament by command of her majesty in
October, 1897 there is not a single SEN
tence to justify our contemporary as
sertion.
The special ENJOYS had two meetings
with Lord Salisbury and the members
I of the cabinet, both held at the foreign
Office The first was held Monday, July
u, 1897. At that meeting Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach, chancellor of the ex-
| chequer, said that if the suggestion of
opening the English minis was to be
made, he thought an answer in the
negative would undoubtedly be made"
At the second meeting. which was held
/ Thursday, July H. 1897, Lord Sails
| bury then asked whether the French
! government would decline to open it's
minis unless England would also open
her minis. The French ambassador
replied that he preferred to discuss the
subject upon the basis that France
would go to open minis if England
would consent TO open her minis, but
that he would not exclude from his
view the question of contributions by
England towards maintaining the value
of silver short of open mints. The
chancellor of the exchequer, in re-
Spouse to this, stated definitely that
the English government would not
agree to open English minis to the I'M
limited coinage of silver, and that.
whatever the views he and his col
leagues might separately hold on the
question of bimetallism, he thought he
could say they were united on this
point
Lord George Hamilton, secretary of
state for India, addressed his communi-
cation to the government of India Aug.
D. 1897. The government of India re-
Piled to the India office Sept. 16, 1897.
That is the unexpected response from
India" to which our contemporary re-
fcrs. There was nothing in the two
meetings the special ENJOYS had with
Lord Salisbury to warrant a belief that
even the India minis would be opened
te the coinage of silver. That PROPOSE
ton came from the special ENJOYS, and
not from Salisbury
O,1,- oo,,
question "a most ungenerous one" We
do not. 1t says II happens to know that
the president was absolutely sincere in
sending the commission abroad. It's
own kilograms from New York, in the
very issue in which this statement is
made, indicate the very opposite, and
that Senator Wolcott thinks the presi-
dent was rot sincere
To the third question it makes evas-
i've answer, simply declaring its belief
that IF the president adheres to the
determination he had when he was in
augurated, we shall have silver restor-
ed by international agreement in the
next Is months"
We ourselves cannot believe that
there IS any hope for bimetallism
through international agreement, !
though we should be as glad to well
come it by such means as by the indie
pendent action of this government We
also believe the president is playing
double with the silver question, and
that cur. contemporary viii yet ac-
knowledge the fact.