The times., 1897-08-08

= Disagreement of Doctors.
Recent utterances attributed 10 Mr..
Preston, director OF the mint, in relation
TO the current depreciation in the bullion
value OF silver are so unphilosophical and
opposed 10 any reasonable view OF the
worlds currency situation that they well
might be passed by in silence if they were
not calculated to mislead people who have
not studied the question scientifically
III a general way Mr.. Preston is repor ted
as expressing the opinions that silver has
fallen because there is not any present
demand for IL; that the United States
has done more to keep up the price of sill
Ycr than any other country, but that the
effort wiz have to be abandoned; thai, out
side Of the United States, all countries
want 10 90 10 the gold standard, and that
the Increased gold supply is having its
effect upon tie decline in silver. OF all
these opinions only the firstis no. fallacious
and opposed to accepted truth.
Silver has declined because OF its de-
monetizanon, and for that reason alone
Having fallen 10 q certain point, it's fur
ther decline was arrested for a time by
the fact Of its being in demand to make
exchanges with wheat-producing silver
countries, like India, Argentina and Uru-
quay Crop failures in those countries
have stopped The demand for silver bullion,
hnd enhanced The price OF American wheat.
Thisis a temporary condition. Wheat pro-
ducton is certain To revive in regions here
tofore competing with us, and rene wed COM
petition may be counted upon again to
raise the price or silver, and depress that
OF American wheat, when the shortage is
over Inasmuch as 1T is a temporary
condition, it may be treated as an epi-
sOde without ultimate bearing upon the
question Jf the standards
Notwithstanding MI. Preston, the United
States has not done mole for silver than
any other nation. After the election of
Cleveland in 1892 the leading financiers
of the Wodd, having recognized the coming
Ol a AAtshIt % tOilAillttCldl
disaster certain to follow general de-
monetization, were prepared TO secure in
ternational agreement for the extension OF
silver coinage and the leading govern
ments were quite ready to second the
movement. This situation was notified TO
Mr. Cleveland, who privately replied that
F,o f1,.
repeal Of the sllver-purchasng ella use Of the
Sherman act. Upon this the Indian mints
were closed. The silver fight precipitated
in the Congress, the panic of 1 16e3 followed,
with all the other ills and disasters with
which we are familiar. The United States,
80 far from doing more for silver than
other countries. in 1892 actually stood in
the way e its rehabilitation and rendered
that for tie time being impossible.
1t is not true that, outside Of the United
States, all nations want to go TO the gold
standard. There is not one scintiIla of
evidence to support such an assertion.
British statesmen and economists, and their
ccnfreres of the continent, are fast be
coming convinced that continuation OF
the single international gold standard viii
run the people OF the countries oppressed
by 1t, as, under normal conditions, it viii
leave them at the mercy OF a hopeless
competition in agricultural products from
silver-using countries. No better proof of
-.
supplementary report TO Parliament OF
the royal commission TO investigate agri.
cultural depression In Great Britain. That
report refers the current depression in
England and other countries TO 1.-The great
monetary changes made in Europe and in
the United States in 1873 and 1874 and
recommends the reopening OF the Indian
n,ints and 1.-THE restoration of silver either
wholly or partially TO the position it occu-
pied pIior to 1873"
Instead of the whole world moving to-
ward gold, IL begins 10 dawn upon the
great capitalists OF Europe, and their sub
5ect governments OF course, that the bur-
NNA "a ehO eo'u SNoiAu oAu SannOb inuSH
longer he imposed upon civilization with
out wrecking lot Of the interests origin
ally responsible for It. This was clearly
pointed ont by Mr.. Arthur de Rothschild
at the Brussels conference, but none of his
European colleagues would listen 20 him.
1t was possible, by demonetizing silver, to
double the fixed obligations OF debtor ma
tioDs; but it was not feasible at the same
time 70 endow them with ability to carry
the added load
The present fan in silver bullion only
serves 10 bring out the facts of the situa-
ton more clearly. Sooner OF later the piu-