Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1898-10-21
Is Silver a Dead Issue?

fOpullSt, SAID, last week:
Is the silver question a dead issue? A start
ling query, certainly, to come from one who,
two years ago, was devoting every energy to
the free-coinage cause, and laboring night and
day to promote the election of its chief cham
pon and high priest as president of the United
States. And yet, must say very frankly that
L neither desire nor expect to see another ma
tiona contest on the free-coiuage issue.
Primarily l say this, because, as 1 have al
ways affirmed, do not consider the question a
basic one. 1t is on the surface 1t has to do
with effects rather than causes with incidentas
rather than fundamentals. Believing all metal
lie money, all money made of material having
large commercial or so-called "intrinsic''
value, relic of barbarism, bound to speedily
disappear, do not love silver any more than
gold, and only fought for the rehabilitation of
the white metal because thought our money
standard was appreciating in value, and
ought to have cheaper money to keep creditors
from robbng debtors
I dissented utterly from the idea that to be
"honest," money must be growing dearer, and
affirmed most vehemently that the money which
increased the burden Of the man who was in
debt and unfortunate was the most damnably
dishonest money it was possible to imagine.
| thought gold was doing this, and that the
gradual demonstration of silver throughout
the world, leaving the yellow metal alone to
perform the function of standard money, could
only result in making money dearer debts more
burdensome, goods cheaper and labor more
hopelessly enslaved to capital.
AT the same time, often thought, and said,
that if some vast deposit of gold should be dis
covered that would suddenly double or treble
the amount of that metal available for coinage,
not only would my objections to the gold stand
ard disappear, but should watch with much
interest the course of those gold-standard advo-
Gates, who cared only for dear money, and pin
ned their faith to the yellow metal, only be-
cause it seemed to be appreciating in value. l
knew they would speedily demand the demon
etlzation OF gold, but what kind of standard
they would favor in its place-whether dia-
monds or peails-I could not foresee.
The vast production of gold in the Kiondykc
during the past two years and the steady in
crease IN the output OF that metal in other
parts of the world are indications that the in
creased demand for gold caused by the disuse of
silver as primary money, is going to result in
adequate supply. Under the head of "The
Doom of the Geld Standard" the current issue
Of the New Time Time predicts that within
five years, the money power of the world will
be demanding the suspension of the free and
coinage of gold. And as showing
Oh what its prediction based 1t quotes the
following from all address by Presiden Hendrix
Of the American Bankers Association, at the
recent annual session Of that body in Denver:
"Every banker has his eye on the enormous
gold production OF the world. From figures at
hand it appears that the worlds gold produc-
ton for 1897 was $24o, ,ooo, 900, coinage value,
and that i'll less than ten years, the annual yield
has doubled, and is now greater than the COM
bined production OF both gold and silver ten
years ago. The estimate Of the gold produc-
tion for 1898, based on the large returns already
in, is $275 1000 900. The money stock of gold
January I, 1894, i'll the whole world was So
)oo, ,9oo,ooO--lhS supply dCCuhluldleu slnce
gold begun to be used as money. The FIVE
years production since, including the estimate
or 1898, will, January, 1899, be $I,oo7 ,ooo,-
100, coinage value, or II per cent of the accu
nulated gold money stock of the world as it
TODD just five years before. Of course large
mount of the annual product of the gold is
,ed by the industrial arts; but, making full al
owance for this, the fact remains that the mon
y stock of gold has increased more than 20