Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-08
AMERICA BUILDS
BRITISH ARMADA
Through Purchase Here of Fifty
Cent Silver England De-
riveS Huge Profit
MINERS LOSE o4C AN OUNCE
Gripping of Industry Is Laid to
Stupidity in Legislation
and Politics
MINERS LOSE 94C AN OUNCE

England builds her Dreadnaughts and
her Invincibles with the profits she
makes on the silver bought in the
United States. The people of the
United States are taxing themselves
to build the British navy.
Thus, in an open letter to the United
States congress, l.. E. Perkins, wee
president of the United States None
the coinage of silver dollars at the
tary league of Denver, denounces the
nresent American monetary system and
appeals to the representatives to restore
existing ration of 16 to l.
Perkins letter follows, in part:
'I have before me letter from the
director of the United States mint in
answer to my inquiry, which says:
THE largest silver coin made in Great
Britain for domestic use is the crown,
equivalent at coinage value to $1.0S
United States money. The silver re-
ouired for domestic use is coined on
government account from silver bull
lion purchased for the purpose. Ihe
ratio at which silver is coined by
Great Britain is 1 of gold to 14.2S OF
silver
at is therefore readily seen that the
bullion which the government of Great
Britain purchases in the market OF
fe United States at so cents an ounce
comes out of the English mint carrying
with it gold valuation of $I44 an
ounce, whereby that astute government
makes a clean net profit off our indus
trious miners of "a cents an ounce.
INDIA ALSO PROFITS
s'In India silver is coined exclusively
on government account from silver
bullion purchased, and is paid out in
exchange for gold at the rate of Is
rupees for the sovereign. The ratio
In coinage is therefore 1 of gold to 10
"This silver bullion, also purchased
for coinage in the United States market
at so cents an ounce, comes out or the
Ron1bav mint with gold value of S1.37
an ounce. Hence it is plain to the most
obtuse intelligence that Great Britain
makes another profit on this sure
thing transaction off our silver miners
of 81 cents an ounce.
"Hongkong and British dollars in In
dia are coined on government account
for circulation in Hongkong, and the
Straits Settlement dollars are coined
on government account from bullion
purchased for the purpose. The ratio
for the Hongkong and British dollars
is 1 of gold to 1912 of silver, and the
Straits Settlement silver of gold to
21 80 of silver.
in Hongkong worth in gold SIPS and
the Straits settlement dollar worth,
also in gold, 81 cents an ounce.
so, you see, the silver miner is up
against it in every direction. He is
bunkoed out of II cents an ounce on
Hongkong dollars and AZ cents on
Straits Settlement dollars.
GLoATs IN IGNORANCE
$50 it appears that British dollars are
freely coined-not free coinage mind
you, but on government account-so
that the government and not individual
owners of bullion may make all the
profit, while the coinage of the Ameri-
can dollar is suppressed for no other
apparent reason than to enable the
British government to enjoy the emol-
uments of silver production, although
she produces none. The enormous
profits off American producers have
amounted during the past forty years
to hundreds of millions of dollars, while
the beneficiaries grin with deri5ion and
ghoulish glee at the gross stupidity of
the American people and their repre-
sentatives.
Nothing is clearer than that Eng
land builds her Dreadnaughts and her
Invincibles with the profits she makes
on the silver bought in the United
States.
I'm other words, the people of the
United States tax themselves to build
the British navy.
"The conditions recited are caused
by the criminal acts of congress affect
ing the very life blood Of the nation
money-and by long continuance now
become chronic, a crime before which
the recent vicious tariff law sinks into
insignificance, for that crime can soon
be removed.
''I would like to see our Colorado
representatives, as well as those of
other states, whose interest in this
matter is or ought to be as great, wake
up to the fact that we are staggering
not only under the burden, but that our
own government, by coming subsidiary
money at 16 to I, is taxing our silver
miners three-ffths of the product of
their industry without a word of pro-
test from their representatives
REMEDY LIES ABOVE PAR
1.-THE obvious remedy, to restore the
coinage of silver dollars at the existing
ratio, which system obtains in every
other civilized nation and which would
incontinently fix the price of silver dol
lars at $1.29 an ounce, so that Great
Britain and other European countries
could no longer manipulate our silver
bullion to their own agrandizement,
scares the American people out of their
wits as the story of other ghosts,
equally as silly, told by similar igno-
rant nurses or by malignant teachers,
frightens the children under their
charge.
1.-The use of gold coin and of silver
dollars, as provided by the constitution
of the United States, and of legal ten
der treasury notes instead of bank
notes with all that this implies, would
indubitably change our financial sys-
tenn from the worst and most danger
Gus banking and currency system to
be found anywhere in civilization to
one of reason and justice and good
.eo,,so