The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-07-29

Our gold advocates have Haunted the
red flag TO scare the people with
threats of a flood of silver from Eu-
rope in the event Of opening our minis
to free coinage at 16 to L. 1t is 4he YER
dict of European financiers that there
are not $4,000, 900 ounces of silver bull
lion in Europe, outside of the govern
ment mintS. and the most of them
agree that it will not exceed %, 200, 000
Can we then expect England to ship
away her silver shillings, France her
silver francs. Germany her silver
marks and Russia her silver rubles-all
coined at the rate of $1.33 per ounce
and performing the functions of money
in every respect equally with gold?
To say, therefore, that Europe would
ship her coined silver over here at a
heavy loss, would be as absurd aI for
the United States TO gather up AL of
its dimes. quarters. half dollars and
dollars and ship them out of the coun-
try and go without silver money.
Admit, for the sake of argument that
Europe should be so insane as to ship
its silver 10 our minis ii would only
amount to about 81, 400 O0o, 000-SlS per
capita for our entire population. We
would not have to buy EuroDe's silver
unless we wanted to, and should it be
coined at our minis and they wanted
to exchange it for our products, no one
would refuse to take it for anything
they had to sell.
As for Asia, which has been for ages
the sink hole for silver, and which is
coined at the rate of $1.37 per ounce,
shipping any of her silver to this coun-
try, is out of the question, as many of
the people are starving for the want of
the white metal with which to pur-
oh e.
means in their power to increase their
stock of silver money.
The leading nations of Europe have
adopted the gold standard solely in the
interests of the wealthy and those who
have fixed incomes, but silver and COZ
per is yet the money used by the toll
ing millions, whose daily business eX-
changes far exceed in number those
made in gold. SO long as this is the
case the country that produces the
greatest amount of silver and has a
financial policy of it's own will have
the power to make and maintain the
price.
With these facts before us we say, let
the United States be flooded with sill
YER
Will Not Drive Out Gold
But the gold standard advocates de-
would drive gold out of the country and
place us on a silver basis So they
predicted when the Bland-AlliSOn bill
was being passed in 1873, for the coin
age of standard silver dollors. Senator
Sherman said when the bill was be-
fore the senate, IF this bill becomes
a law you will not coin 50OO0,O0O of
silver dollars before gold will leave
the country and we will be on a silver
basis" When the Bland-AlliSOn bill
became a law it was estimated that
we had 225, 900. 900 dollars of
gold in the country. The gov
eminent coined under this act
during twelve years over 100000, 900
silver dollars, and at the end of that
period it was estimated that our gold
coin had increased to 600 000. 900 dollars
History bears witness that any first
class nation, whose exports are greater
than its imports, can open its minis
to the free coinage of gold and silver at
a stated ratio and maintain its posi-
ton with safety, especially so long as
the production does not exceed the de-
mands of business.
Increase in Gold.
The gold advocates are ever spread
ing the reports that gold is increasing
to such an extent that there will be
plenty of that metal for all money
purposes, but they never speak of the
Increasing population and increasing
business of the country, which de
mands a far greater volume of money
than gold and silver can both supply;
and further, the history of gold and sill
yer production clearly shows that only
portion of the gold and silver mined is
ever coined into money. AS nations
become more wealthy and prosperous,
more of the precious metals are con-
sumed in the arts. 1t is estimated by
reliable statisticians that Of all the gold
and silver produced in the world dur
ing the last 100 years. less than one
half of the amount has been coined in
to money. Our share of the worlds
production of the precious metals last
year was 100000 dollars in gold and
g., OOO, 0S0 ounces in silver, not enough
to pay the interest and taxes of the
American people for one month.
Still the gold advocates persist in
saying: There is money enough for all
practicable purposes" while at the
same time eight men out of ten are in
debt and paying interest at the rate of
6 to 10 per cent per annum, double the
amount it can be made to earn in any
average legitimate investment Silver
was demOnetiZed in 1873 by our gov
eminent through cOrrupting influences
of British moneyed interests, and many
of the leading men of our nation who
denied at that time any knowledge
of it's being demonetized have since
lent their influence and aided to fasten
the gold standard on the finances of
our country.
There never were any good reasons
for closing our minis 10 the free coin
age of silver and allowing England to
dictate our financial policy. There is
every incentive for the American peo-
pie to adopt a financial policy of their
own, reopen their minis to the free
of silver and whenever our gov
eminent declares that 3714 grains of
pure silver is entitled to the same mint
privileges that are given to 23.2 grains
of pure gold, then we will have hon
est money" and sound money" so far
as they both viii go, and il the Brit
iSheTs or their friends do not like our
money it will be all the better for US,
for II is as true now as it was
at the time when Thomas JEFF
fersOn said Whatever the Brit
ish government wants the Ameri-
can people 70 do, let them do the op-
pOsite and then they will be right"
England has dictated the price of our
silver and thereby the price of our
wheat cotton and staple products long
enough. Let US sever the chains that
enslave us and lead out to financial
prosperity and commercial indepen-