Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-10-21

on tne Sl0De.
The American people should not
humiliate themselves to ask England
for the poor privilege to coin their
own silver to legal money whenever
they are ready to do so.
The money question is domestic
affair and not OF an international
character. If England mvn't take
our silver money she don't need to-
The money will then stay at home
and perform its functionary duties.
The objection that the free coinage
will derangc our foreign commerce
because our dollar will not be worth
100 cents in the market of the world
Is based upon a misconception of the
nature of international trade and the
junction which the precious metals
perform in such trade. The truth is
that there is no legal tender in inter-
national trade. Whether payments
are made in gold or silver coins, or in
gold or silver bullion, actual CONNER
cial value determines the amount or
quantity to be delivered, no matter
what may be the legal tender laws of
the different countries, and no matter
though they have the same or differ
ent ratios OF value between the metals
within their respective limits.
We give and receive goods in ex-
change for goods, and the balance of
trade, whatever it may be, and who
ever must pay it, has to be paid in the
metals at their bullion value. So far
from hindering our commerce with
foreign nations, nothing could he bet
ter calculated to promote it than a
return to the coinage system, under
which we could trade with all nations
without those disturbances in the par
of exchange which embarrass trade
between countries using different met
ais. Whenever we resume the use of
both metals We could say to the gold
using countries that we will trade
with them, buying what we wanted
of them, and selling what they wanted
OF us, the balance to be received in
gold. We could also say to the silver
using nations that we would buy their
goods and sell them ours, receiving or
making payment of the balance in
silver.
Under system like that this Re-
public could carry her commerce into
all regions of the earth, and drive the
merchant ships of England from the
high seas of the world.
A second objection to silver is that
it is cheap money and that law can
add nothing to the value of any arti.
Gle whatever.
admit this to be the truth; but it
must also be admitted that law effects
the supply OF or the demand for any
article or commodity whether it is
gold or silver bullion. But it is pre-
cisely this qualification, so indispensa-
ble to q correct statement OF the econ
omic principle, that our opponents al
ways omit.
Suppose that tomorrow the law
should forbid every person to eat bread
made of wheat. The price of wheat
would Immediately fall, and why? Not
because the law said that men should
not eat wheat-bread, but because the
law having said that, the demand for
wheat would diminish and its price
would fall in consequence of the di.
minished demand. l will prove that
this is not distinction without diff.
ference. If, the day after the use OF
wheat as bread had been prohibited, a
new use for it could be found equal in
value and extent to bread use, its price
would remain the same, although the
law discriminating against it would be
on the statute books, because the di.
minutiOn in the demand for it for one
purpose would be neutralized by an
increased demand for another purpose.
There is another and unanswerablo
proof of the soundness of this distinc-
ton in the fact that the price of corn
would necessarily rise, though corn
would not even be mentioned in the
law against wheat, but there would be
an increased demand for it to supply
the want formerly supplied by wheat,
and this increased demand would in
crease its price. 1t is true of gold and
silver rs it is of wheat and corn; that
the law can effect their value by affect.
ing the supply of them or the demand
for them. The intelligent friends of
silver do not expect that free coinage
will add anything to the value of sill
yer bullion.
f. w. CUsHMAN, candidate for Con-
gress against James Hamilton Lewis,
was Silver Republican four years
ago and was bowling for silver at 16 to
|. Now he is out for gold. And he is
man of principle he says. What
kind of principle? A principle for Of
flee. His work is entirely too coarse
to suit the honest voters of Lewis
county.-Centraiia News.
ANDREW Peterson, of Port Town
send, who murdered squaw and then
attempted to kill himself, is recover
ing, and will soon be able to stand
trial.