Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1898-11-02

| TO novelty. NOR, l presume, Dy re-
stricting the the free coinage of
gold, for this would be going further
in contraction of standard money
than Mr.. Gage proposes. The reg
ulation of coinage" to secure parity
would therefore be simply such
restriction of the coinage of silver
as would keep silver coin equal in
market value to gold-that is exact
| iy the present system in the United
States, endorsed by Mr.. Gage and
every other gold standard advocate.
! Then you ask: "Would this be
initiation, would this be expansion"
| Evidently you mean that the answer
should be mo-" and | agree with
you. 1t would be neither initiation
nor expansion. Prices would not be
higher nor money more abundant or
cheaper. For this reason it would
| defeat every purpose and every pro-
posed beneficial result of the re-es-
| tablishment of double standard.
1t is simply a scheme to substitute
token silver coins tor token paper
money; analogous to the retiring OF
silver certificates to force into circu-
lation the silver dollars which they
represent. Your friendlinesS to sill
ver, so far as you manifest any, Is
not to silver as money but as a COM
modify. You nowhere suggest that
silver should be standard full legal
tender money, either in the United
States or in any of the American
countries embraced in the plan. In
all of these it is to be kept "as good
as gold" that is practically. for in
no other way, except by absolute
| free coinage, can it be done, by
making it redeemable in gold. Your
idea seems to be that by forcing the
use of silver preventative money
instead OF paper preventative
money the use of silver would be
enlarged and thereby its value in
creased. Your scheme is in no way
different from proposal of legisla-
| ton requiring the more extensive
use of silver in the arts--to substi-
tute, for illustration, silver for
earthenware in table service, or for
all cheaper material in jewelry.
Such propositions are entirely for
| eign to the present financial contro-
| versy which concerns the re-estab-
| lishment of silver freely coined as
1 full legal tender debt-pa wing money.
cannot believe that you do not I'M
! derstand this, but then | cannot CON
ceive why you suppose that any
such supc rhcial evasiveness could
be imposed upon your tellow-citi-
Zens.
| Mr.. Newlands, when you talk
about uncovered representative
money you can mean nothing else
! than paper currency like our green
| backs redeemable i'll coin and for
which no special redemption fund IS
/ provided. As you are careful not to
suggest any increase OF money vol
ume but only TO create, without
such increase, an enlarged demand
| for silver bullion, why should not
your proposed Pan American agree
ment be for the purchase of a silver
redemption fund equivalent to the
uncovered paper redeemable in sill
vcrP This would create an equal
market for silver and have the ad-
vantage of allowing choice be-
tween the secured paper representa-
| tive and the more cumbersome silver
coins without in any way cndangcr-
! ing gold standard by an increase
OF the volume of standard money.
Kven as scheme ito do something
for silver" in goldbug parlance, it
Is worthless.
But, Mr.. Newlands, you are not
satisfied with the provision to rcgu-
late coinage for the purpose of keep
/ ing silver bullion upon an equality
with gold, but to make assurance
doubly sure propose also limitation
upon the production of silver.
prefer to give it in your own
language, quoting from the Post:
NOW as to the question of limiting pro iuc
ton, we all know that OF old each government
/ had a monopoly of the gold and silver found
within its realms. The scarcity OF production
| led to the various governments Offering sub
stantially premium for its production by
making free grants of mines when discovered.
and so the cEstom has existed in the United
| states and Mexico OF granting freely To the
prospeetors the mines which they discovered
The result has be en- therefore. TO subject these
mines to the exploitation of tremendous energy
and enterprise, aud has produced a Hood of
silver where formerly there was drouth IT,
therefore. the reason for making free grants OF
mines no longer exists why should these Tree
grants be continued? Undoubtedly the mines
OF the present which have been already grant
ed by the governments are private property
land must be free from government appropria-
ton, but they will soon be exhausted and even
as to their product the government has per
feet right to insist upon seigniorage in return
for the privilege of min,age. for it is the stamp
of the government which creates the demand
that gives their product value, and It is mere
question of policy on the part of the govern
ment as TO whether or not IL will exact a seign-
forage. should 1t be deemed wise to limit the
production of the existing mines it can be ac
complished by exacting seigniorage, greater
or less, according to existing requirements.
But these mines will all be exhausted probably
within the next five years The government
owns to-day the undiscovered mines OF the
future. If production Is unduly stimulated
why should not the United States and Mexico
and bolivia, producing they do much over
two thirds of the silver in the world determine
to withdraw temporarily from granting mines
that may be discovered Leaving the matter
IN. nft h.ar