Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-07-19

Balfour and Sir Michael Hicks-Beach
the retiring chancellor Of the exche-
quer. While bimetlism is not par.
amount issue" just now either in Great
Britain or this country it Is we'll to re.
mind those who sneer at our American
bimetailists as ignorant and foolish
that the foremost statesman of the
worlds greatest empire is believer In
the double standard.
There was a time, a few years back
when many of the ablest and most pa
triotic statesmen Of America believed
that the future prosperity of this coun-
try depended upon bimetalism. Their
Judgment was based upon the fact that
by reason of it's scarcity, the purchas-
ing power of gold was tremendously in
creased, and there was good reason fol
believing that there would never again
be sufficient basic money to pay debts
and conduct the business of the coun-
try. Because of the increased purchas-
ing power of the dollar. and the in
creased difficulty Of getting that doiiar
the creditor class had a tremendous ad-
vantage over the debtor class. ma
jority of the democratic leaders believ.
ed then that free coinage of silver was
the country's only salvation. There
were in the party, however, certain
wise and far-seeing statesmen, who
considered the existing widespread dis.
tress as only temporary, and who be.
lieved and counseled that the trouble
would finally regulate itself in such
manner that what then seemed an af-
Fiction would prove a blessing. That
the judgment of these men, who were
then roundly condemned, has been vim
dicated, is too evident to call for ex.
tended argument; but still there are
many Of us who are not yet willing tt
admit that we could have been so badly
mistaken or that those who differed
with us could have been so wholly cor.
rect. That Mr.. Balfour Is one Of the
ablest statesmen of his age, there is ne
question; but we should not lose sight
Of the fact that he Is not an American
statesman, but a British statesman
and herein lies the significance. Wher
the Democratic party of the United
States was making sucn a strenuous
fight for free coinage its greatest op'
position lay In Great Britain, and Mr.
Gladstone, and the foremost statesman
Of his day, made no hesitation in CIV
ing out frank statement Of his posi-
tion. It was in effect like this
Gold is the highest and pest money
of the world, and while If Great
Britain were a debtor nation she might
prefer to pay in silver, cheaper mon.
ey, being a creditor nation, she desires
to be paid in the best money and
therefore, she wants gold" Since ther
conditions have been changed. Thi
United States, then debtor nation, has
become a creditor nation, and to about
the same extent Great britain has be-
come a debtor nation. Consulting only
her own interest now, as she did in for
mer years, it is but natural that Great
Britain may now want free coinage
but under the same rule, the interests
Of the United States requires that she
continue to stand for gold. And since
this country stood firm to correct
principle even when it seemed that hcl
financial system was passing through
the valley of the shadow of death, it is
not likely that it will now yield any
thing along this line from It's high
mountain of prosperity.