The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-01-17

Understanding
was arrived at with some of the COM
mercial nations another failure would
be the result of an international con-
ference at this time and as France,
Germany and Great Britain had with
in the year made declarations favorab bic
to silver it was decided to bring the
subject to the attention of those Vari-
Gus countries and naturally the first
turn was made to France. for many
reasons, but above all because of Pre-
mier Meline's belief in bimetallism.
In France. he said, the question of BIZ
metallism was regarded as strictly an
international question and it was
agreed that France and the United
States should unite in presenting the
question to Great Britain. He con-
tended for the Importance of the pre-
liminary understanding with France
because of the large per capita circu-
latiOn of the country. Had England, .
he said, "even adhered to her assurance
eS of the 18th OF March, 1886, countries
representing more than half. of the to-
tai money of Europe and the United
States would have agreed, prior to the
conference, that upon terms to be set
tied at such conference that they would
reopen their mintS to the unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver
Mr. WolcOtt detailed at some length
the joint negotiations on the part of the
American commissioners and the
French ambassador in England. At
first, he said, there seemed to be but
few difficulties in the way, and he
house
commons and the utterances of Mr.
Balfour and Sir Michael Hicks-Beach
of March II, 1896. I'VE were not
therefore, he continued, 'intruders
We could present ourselves with the
certainty of that reception which must
follow direct and open Investigation.
And the welcome we had the right to
expect, we received. From the dav
We reached England until we left it
finally in October, our official treatment
was everything that could be desired
The English ministry, in terms, asked
the trench ambassador and ourselves
70 suggest wherein, in our opinion.
England could materially contribute to
SOlUtlOn OF the question, and at the
same time retain for her own naonIa
the gold standard; and what are termed
proposals were not volunteered but
were made by way of suggestion at tta
explicit request of the English minis
try When they were received they
were treated with full cOnsida,-a +iO,7 a.,
were the representative of toa -
tiOns.' 9ONie'
Mr.. Wolcott admitted, however. that
II was not surprising that another 1rieT11
should have prevailed in this col1ptT17
view based, he said ION intennDerafe
ana hostile and somewhat brutal nj
terances Of the London press respect
ing the proposals of the French ana
American representatives The ,a111e-
papers OF London, like the navvsDa 4,ers
OF many of the capitals of the world
ne Went on, are dominated by and al
ned with the banking element and re-
sions "a - CO
The business of money Ioanfns. is an
engross1nE pursuit, not always lending
70 the cultivation OF the amenities of
NE, ana II IS not to be wondered at
that the London newspapers, vofcing
that industry, should, in their hostility
70 pohcy OF which they disapproved
Iof59I Tor the moment that courtesy
n Z 6n
gates, especially when he comes 1In0n
invitation, and that they should be led
TO cnaracterize proposals as 'irnperti-
HeHl' Whlch were made only upon the
request OF their own government
1t was perfectly realized from +ba
beginning" he said, that bimetaIIisrn
for England was out of the 0ues+ioD
1ndla was the vital point for all the
negotiations with England. and ali
other proposals were insignificant in
comparison with that respecting the
reOpenlnS of the mints of India to the
unlimited coinage of silver, and the
repeal OF the order permitting gold to
De paid for government dues and to be
eXchanged for government rupees -
MI w WOlcOtt spoke at some length
upon the conditions in India, explaining
Ine 9 XaIue OF the rupee since the closing
OF the mints to silver in 1898. The
closing of the mintS had he said
created wide dissa tisfactiOn and there
was general impression that the IN
To-
trace its steps.
To us Mr.. Wolcott continued. 1.-THE
indian situation is inexplicable Mil
lions Of people, most of them extremely
poor nave for years invested all of
Lnelr savings IN silver. These accunula-
LlOns, few years ago, were worth a
thousand millions of dollars and more
IOday they are worth less than half
that sum- By the closing of the Indian
mlntS and the artificial gold value Civ
en- to silver, India is at a great diSad-
vantage with the neighboring countries.
the exports of which are stimulated bv
the higher premium on gold, and they
are rObblng India of much of her man
ufacturing and export trade The pres
ent policy infiictS upon India as we'll
the evils of an insufficient and steadily
IeSSenlng currency, evils which the Vi
clSSltudeS of that deDendencv during
the past u months have served to en-
phasize. The world has heard much of
the famine in India and of the great
funds subscribed for its victims. 1t
has not been, however so genera l1v
known that the famine was one of
money rather than food; that the con-
tributions We're chiefly forwarded to
India in the form of money and not
grain, and that during the whole per-
lod Of the famine rice was abundant
where men were starving and its price
was but a trifle over a cent a pound,
less than the price of wheat in Eng
land.
For all these evils the loss in the
value of the savings of the people, the
disadvantage of a different purchasing
value for silver in India from that
which prevailed in China. the evils of
an insufficient volume of money and
the enormous injury which commerce
suffers through violent fluctuations in
the rate of exchange, we offered what
we believed to be a remedy. Our of
fer was refused, and the refusal must
be considered as final until the failure
OF the experiment upon which the In
dian government has entered shall be
demOnstrated'
Mr.. WOlcOtt next enumerated the
obstacles with which the commission
had to contend, in which he included
the remarkable drop in the price of sill
yer, the coincident tariff legislation in
- - - :.