Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-01-14
A MARKET DROP
THAT PUZZLED A
GREAT BANKER
BY &. j.. EDWARDS.

Seemingly though not actually 1raii'
of slender physique, grizzly hair and
gray bearded, with snowy white, but
u~nstarched linen, a dickey collar, an old
fashioned cravat, low shoes and home
knitted wooden stockings-such III the
closing years of his life was the physi-
cal appearance and dress Of John
Thompson, the mar h name was
known to every banker and s~torekeeper
In the United States before the civil
war, as the author of 'Thompson's
Banknote Reporter and 10 men or
hnance the world over from 1862 on
rs the creator of our national banking
system,
So he looked one day in 1890 when /
called upon him at the time that con-
gress was discussing the bill that AFTER
wards became known as the Sherman
silver law, which provided for the
monthly purchase of silver bullion by
he government, with the idea that such
action would keep silver from being de-
monetized despite its enormous produc-
ton in excess Of the production OF gold.
Mr.. Thompson / said, while the
old gentleman took from a capacious
coat pocket a little bunch OF
leaves. tore off one, rolled II in his
fingers and tucked the impromptu twist
In some mysterious cavern in the back
or MS mouth, Il nave peen tod tnat
you are an ardent supporter of the pro-
posed silver law now before congress.
why. of course / am he said, "and
I heartily believe in silver as a money
metal that would easily pass current
Il it had a fair chance But silver has
been abused by government. There
isn't anything the matter with IL eX-
cept unfair acknowledgements
against 1t in favor of gold. But" and
here the old gentleman chuckled, 1T
is going to nave fair treatment and i
am telling all my friends who think I'm
crazy because / say silver n gold
should be the none of the country at
a fair ratio-say sixteen TO one-that
I'm going TO demonstrate IL, and Uncle
Sam is going to demonstrate II, too"
This. parenthetically, was several
years before the national campaign in
which the silver issue was paramount.
All that was said then in favor of
silver was thus compacted into a few
sentences by job Thompson, creator
OF our national banking system, found
err Of the first of the national banks,
now one of the greatest banking insti-
tutions of the world, n a muitimii-
lionaire.
You know" he continued with an
other chuckle, "they say that money
talks. Well, that's the way that / am
EOiik " ldlh W hy iNaiN NsS
going TO make converts of them by
letting them hear money talk. They
call me a silver proselyter. Well, this
is the way}I'm PROSECUTING. I've got a
little document here that's going TO be
the greatest silver argument that any
n can offer"
He took from a drawer of his desk
a piece of paper, read what was written
upon 1t and then, turning 1t over,
4. ~.A ~ n lgr% ~ civ M yryriffan
In pencil upon the back. Several Of
these names were of prominent fnan-
ciers, who had spoken publicly against
the proposed silver law.
II bought a put for quite a little sum
Of money! won't tell you how much
a few months ago when silver was pref
ty low chuckled the old gentleman.
The option runs for a month yet. Be-
fore 1t expires, If the silver law passes
c~ongTess-and it is going to-the price
of silver, on a parity With gold, Will
be on a ratio of sixteen TO one. Then
I'm going. to put my option to the
broker / bought it of, take my profits,
and divide the proceeds among those
six men. That'n be quite a little penny
for each of them, and ] guess 1t will
be a convincing argument, proving to
them hat old John Thompson isn't
crazy after all, but right" And this
DASNb ROISN1SSA ~ ~ NNAN~ -
ten millions, made in banking, smiled
broadly in anticipation of the victory
over his friends that he saw ahead Of
him.
But Upon the day, some little time
after the Sherman silver law was
passed, that the option became avail
able, the price of silver fell, and Mr..
Thompson lost the money he had
risked upon that argument. II don't
understand it," he said to me, with a
mystifed shake of his head. Il don't
understand II. Silver ought to have
gone to a parity with gold at sixteen
to one. There's a kin SOMEWHERE
don't understand it,"
And his was John Thompson, Gre
ator of our national banking system,
who could not see that the enormous
production of silver, as compared with
the production Of gold, had in spite OF
government legislation aimed to boost
up the price of silver, caused the price
to drop under the well known economic
law OF supply and demand.
Copyright, 1909. by E.. j. Edwards.)