Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-09-02
CONFIDENCE" AGAIN SHAKEN.

CONFIDENCE AGAIN SHAKEN.
Yesterdays press dispatches con.
tanned the following:
washington, Aug. 31-(S. M.
T.)-DirectOr of the Mint Roberts
said today:
eff war occurs in the Trans
vaal it will have a serious and
depressing effect on the gold
production of the world. The
Transvaal is the heaviest pro-
ducer of any nation, last year
having $S0,000,000 as againstabOut
$50, 100000 each for the United
States and Australia.
"'The mines are entirely owned
by French, German and English
capitalists, and in case of war
will surely be shut down.
Here is an admission by the treas
ury officers of an argument, for ad-
vancing which in 1896 some of us were
roundly denounced as anarchists
"bedlamites, ''repudiators" and
common cheats,
We then ventured to say, what was
strictly true, historically, that the
f1nanciers of any nation shut up to
the operation of a Single Standard
of primary money were necessarily
aIarmists and towards, and that as
such they and not we were the ones
most likely to bring on panics, con-
jure up ''scares'' and beget loss of
public confidence. We tried to show,
in the light of uncontradicted ex-
perience, that gold was the most
cowardly of all monetary poltroons,
going into hiding at the first alarm,
trembling with every wind of f1nan-
cial unrest, deserting its country in
the hour of sorest need, and leaving
no substitute except that much
derided instrument of trade-fiat
money.
We were met, principally by the
abuse above referred to, and to some
extent by the assertion that single
gold standard carried with it, by it's
own force, such an odor of sanctity
from its adoption by the monarchies
of Europe as to lift it far above any
storm which could beset more pie
beian metal, even though gold were
maintained along with the latter,
and that the dignity of an aristocrat-
ic and exclusive medium Of eX-
change would be proof against the
clamors of those who had the hardi-
hood to advocate a wider and
larger choice in the pecuniary equip
ment of a government republican in
form.
We were loudly told that a Single
Standard would not make us de-
pendent for our financial safety up
on any other nation in the world ,and
that our contention to the effect that
the st. Louis platform did commit
us to position of subserviency to
foreign capital was foul libel.
Yet the dispatch above quoted is
confession that We are dependent
upon European capitalists for the
maintenance of our Single Standard,
and that a war in remote and in
consequential part of the globe Twill
have a serious and depressing effect
on the gold production Of the
world and at a time when by our
chosen financial policy we will have
cut ourselves off from the safe check
and counterpoise which a double
standard would give against the in
herent infirmity lurking in the situa-
ton. This but verifies our argument
that gold in the face of danger is a
deserter,-no matter what the conse-
quences may be 20 the people.
This dispatch also embodies ref
utation of the chief gold argument of
1896. Our adversaries then told us,
when we objected that u Single
Standard could not always be relied
on to furnish sufficient quantity of
money for the growing business of
the country, that the quantitative
theory was the dream of scholars and
doctrinaires, that the volume OF cur
rency was quite beside the question,
and that what we needed was not
more money, but unlimited ''confi-
dence." This confidence" doctrine
was preached from one end of the
campaign to the other, and as a re-
suit the election was carried for the
Single Standard, which was vouched
for as being stable and sufficient for
all the peoples needs. But now. at
a remote prospect of interruption in
the work of a few gold mines in a
foreign country, note Of alarm
comes, and from where? From the
anarchists" "repudiators" and
cheap money ''lunatics?" No.
but from the United States mint.
When, in pursuance of common
policy, put in operation simultan-
eously in Lombard street, at Simla
and at Washington, in 1898, every
silver mine in our country was shut
down within 48 hours, these gentle
men had no spasm of alarm, but, on
the contrary, applauded the act as