(Tt OLLWER, IN A NUTSHELL BY = ————=— =) . I / ) E oo MONEY LEAGUE OF PENNSYLVANIA 4 THE BOURSE ain NGO PHILADELPHIA DM (OK yy) he Silver (Question in a Nutshell BY Poe. C. KNAUPFE THE SOUND MONEY LEAGUE OF PENNSYLVANIA THE BouRSE PHILADELPHIA Silver Question in a Nutshell BY THEO. C. KNAUFF, At the present time, as everyone knows, the sople of this country are divided into two warring ctions on issues connected with the free coinage ilver. The division is irrespective of other cal lines. was supposed that the ‘‘craze”’ was but a assing fancy, that the good common sense of the merican people would soon see through the self- yident fallacy. But there were certain large in- erests at stake. Those interested saw fit to bring ig machinery to bear to influence public opinion, Jargely by means of misrepresentations ot cts and false reasoning. ‘empty words, producing confusion in men’s 5. The real issues are clouded, in some cases Our aim is to simplify, to put into words he who runs, as most of us do here in America, 4 THE SILVER QUESTION perhaps, more suited to the peanut-eating portion f of the community than to him who habitually” dines on terrapin and champagne. Now, who compose these two great parties ? IN A NUTSHELL, Ss THE SILVER PARTY What may be called the silver pie: though its fines are not sharply drawn, is composed of those who, from what appear to be more or lessinterested otives, desire a change from the existing order of things. Among these are the owners of silver ‘mines or those interested in the production of silver, one, but one only, of our great National in- dustries. They desire that the products of their industry shall be purchased by the National Government in what- ever amounts they may see fit to offer, and at a fixed price to be set by themselves, without regard to the quantity produced, the cost of production, or the market value of the goods, which is created by the natural laws of supply and de- mand. Certainly this issue is plain enough. Anyone can understand it, and can see who will be bene- fited and who will have to pay. Why this should be done in the gp pyRouGH case of one industry only, or, if THAT. in case all were treated with equal fairness, that anyone woukd be better off than another, does not appear. We cannot exactly blame these gentlemen, for we all like to sell our goods to the best possible advantage. ANYONE CAN SYMPATHIZERS, The party also includes the near neighbors of the silver producers; those who, from constant 6 THE SILVER QUESTION intercourse, naturally share their opinions. anc who have trade interests in common miners. THE SILVER COMBINE, bodies of men have been accumulating silver, or have acquired control of certain amounts of it, 2 its present reduced market value, in sufficient quantity to make it amply worth their while to spend considerable money to gain the ends desired. nearly double the present market rate, programme, if carried out, would result in gains so enormous that most men would be tempted to spend a great deal of money to bring it about. THE HANGERS ON. To these again may be added those uneasy who are always ready to experiment, who like anything for a change. Then there are those who have nothing to lose, for they have nothing, but perhaps something to gain by any disturbance which they think wi able to accumulate more money. NO FRIENDS TO WEALTH. There is unfortunately much distrust of wealth not only among the class just referred to, but among better men. It is an undeniable fact that 8 THE SILVER QUESTION money has been misused, and this fact, in minds of many who do not stop to reason clo has brought into disrepute all who happen to | money, though they may be the most upright m and the strongest friends of our country. If undeniable that the administration of the diffe branches of our Government, especially State Municipal Government, has been corrupt, and corruption has been brought about by the money in the hands of unprincipled men, people who have not so much money resent | and are restless because they can do little preventit. This enables interested parties to ele the real issues, though the corrupt use of mo has nothing to do with the question of a sour currency. That the feeling exists is easily if parent on talking with an average unposted si man. He gives the impression of unrest, of disgat. isfaction. He says the wealthy should not : this country. He repeats, parrot like, the phrases taught him, ‘‘give us the poor man’s money, n the rich man’s money,”’ forgetting that it would b to his disadvantage not to have the use of the be. st money, be he poor or rich. This restlessness is noy more marked for this reason: In the past thre years this man has been suffering from hard times due to many causes, but more than anything e 3€ if he only knew it, to the very uncertainty attend. ing this agitation which he has helped to foster, _ THE HONEST MEN IN THE PARTY, In the same silver party may be found mg active men, producers or business men, who ar IN A NUTSHELL. 9 fiotic men of honest intentions. These have ‘the prevailing depression which they claim was ed by financial legislation of twenty or more ars ago, when the free coinage of silver was spped and, as they say, ‘‘silver was demone- ,? though it can hardly be said to be demone- d Dehen there are over six hundred million dol- rs of it in circulation. The claim is hardly cor- , _ for in the last twenty odd years we have had sriods of unexampled prosperity. The depres- or was produced not only by the uncertainty xe to the agitation itself, but by the unsettlement f values caused by the attitude of our National epislators. No one knew where he stood or was ystand. We had also to contend with the effects er-production, with the decline which always ows an advance, with the fall that follows a e, with the dullness which follows a boom. We have felt the results of rascality in high places, of incompetency in office, of the tendency to put 1 ness troubles without having to go back to the advent of sin into the world as a primary cause. NO TIME TO REASON. The business men, who have felt the business disturbances most keenly, have not had time to reason out the cause for themselves. They are all busy men. They have had to take other people’s word for it. They welcomed anything 10 - THE SILVER QUESTION ~ left uncontradicted. THE UNSCRUPULOUS MEN, dc It may be that there are some unscrupulous m manufacturers perhaps, or those employing : in quantity, who really desire a change of standare¢ for what they can make out of it. They say twice as much labor for the same money. You, th workman, may say you will not work in that cas right. Ifyou don’t win, you stay at the old wages, If you do, we will raise wages, but only as little as’ possible. Italltakes time. In the meantime we do not suffer. If the first raise is not enough, you will strike again. We raise again, but again as little as possible. In the end, will your wages be double what they were before you cut the dollar in half? The chances are they will not be. THEY ARE NOT NUMEROUS BUT THEY EXIST, It is to the credit of humanity that this kind of a man is rare, but he exists. He belongs in the same general class with those Americans who, when it was thought in January, 1894, that the friends of silver would succeed in taking advantage of the Government’s time of need, and be able IN A NUTSHELL. A BIMETALLIST. Il a 12 THE SILVER QUESTION ieee force the country to a silver basis, deliberately drew twenty millions of gold from the Treasury in excess of what was needed for exports, money for which the Government had the greatest need, to make the profit out of the expected premium. When. trade dol- lars circulated at but 1 per cent. dis. count, there were authenticated jn- stances of men who deliberately changed better money for them, taking them away in wheelbarrows to pay to workmen, in ic NUMEROUS. order to make even 7 that paltry gain, THE PARTY TITLE. The members of the silver party call themselves _ bimetallists, though, strangely enough, they do not hanker after the use of two metals, but one only, and that silver. They would not feel in- jured if they never again saw a piece of gold | money in circulation, except in payment of debts due them, for which they always make suitable provision. This peculiarity has led some to doubt — the sincerity of motive. 4 4 2 4 THE OTHER SIDE. The other great party, which may mene com- prehensively be described only as the ‘‘ opposite — | | | | _ GOLD-BUGS 14 THE SILVER QUESTION party,” as there is no other designation whi would include all of its members, is composed men of many shades of belief. They have be called ‘‘ Gold-Bugs,” but the membership includ, not only those favorable to the single standard of gold, but men who prefer, nay, even earnest desire, the actual use of the two metals, are f¢; bimetallists, but in a way to injure no one. Th are the truest friends that silver has. This party also includes men who would prefer a single standard of silver, but who hesitate make a change, as the transition itself would meg ruin. The way in which this injury wouteg brought about is this :— THE DEPRECIATION OF SILVER, We now have a large quantity of silver money in — circulation, the intrinsic value of which is but about — one-half of its face value, due to the depreciation in the market value of the metal. This makes jt but token money. The United States agrees to pay the difference out of its own funds. As long as the Government can do this and will, all will be well, but as hereafter mentioned, its credit has been wounded in the house of its friends, and, in conse- — quence, demands have been made upon it which | were not expected at this time. If perchance a — majority of our lawmakers should desire to experi- ment still further, or a minority, making the at- tempt and being prevented, should in revenge again deliberately try to cripple its resources, the Government might not be able to pay this difference IN A NUTSHELL. 15 alue. The moment it pays out a silver ras silver the crash comes and we are ona yer basis. It is too late then to make prepara- ‘tion for the change. Anyone with money on hand or invested, received at gold value, has lost half, At once the gold in the Treasury and in the country disappears under the operation of a sure law which has never varied. The currency is contracted and stringency results. Under the distrust of such an arrangement, our Government and other securities held abroad will be offered for sale at what they will bring. To the extent that the price of such securities is depreciated by such forced sales are the holders of them in this country the losers. Not only so but the Government money depreciates and to the extent of the distrust. Values of everything are disturbed and business is at a temporary standstill. All this is ruin incarnate.* gold v i a. # As one of the great nations of the world, doing business with all the great gold. standard nations of the world, we should, according to Dan iel Webster, have a circulating medium which is also the circulating medium of other commercial com- munities or be capable of being converted into it without loss. Now as no country has a double standard—for where there is free coinage of silver there is silver monometallism—shall we stand on silver with Mexico, Central America, some South ‘American States, India, Japan, Ceylon, and the Straits Settle- ments, countries far below us in civilization and commer- cial importance, or shall we take our rightful place with the whole of Europe, Germany, Austria, France, England, and our next door neighbor Canada (who would profit by our dis- advantages), Brazil, Chili and Australasia. A silver standard means silver only, while all countries that have a gold standard use both gold and silver. Gold standard countries furnisk $734 per cent. of the international commerce of the world. (Qt the international commerce of the United States, 80 percent of imports are from gold standard countries, while the same countries take 94 per cent. of the exports. 16 THE SILVER QUESTION THE PREPARATION FOR THE FIGHT The bimetallists have made every effort to insnra_ success. Party feeling, passion, envy of the ric! 9 jealousy of foreigners, particularly of our nea related mother country, with which we have my in common, especially in financial matters, have; been used to influence the result. Farmers manufacturers in particular have been un mined by paid agents. Able speakers have do their utmost. ment, which is only abuse, and a few poor illusti am tions to catch the popular eye rather than th mind, has been pushed to the phenom snal circula- | tion of 400,000 copies, with supple nentary revised — editions and parallel publications, running to some 400,000 copies more, thus reaching an audience of © about 2,000,000 readers. This has been done not on merit, but by every means that political skill could devise; by organization, by direct and indirect advertis. ing, by notoriety and by the use of large sums of money. At the bidding of money the best brains and ability in the country have been set to work t invent plausible reasons why a few should be bene fited at the expense of the many without that fe of being self-evident. IN A NUTSHELL. 17 ee ——_— SELF-INTEREST PARAMOUNT, In such a combat the trouble is, as experience has shown both here and elsewhere, that it is not always the right that triumphs, nor truth that pre- yails. The history of many disastrous failures in our National undertakings has shown that argu- ment, proof, appeals to the intelligence, warnings from the past, have not always influenced the mass of our citizens. Self-interest always plays a rominent part. Whatever for the moment seems to cater to that has preference. As we are a young nation, like all young fellows, we prefer a costly and bitter experience to advice. It has been proved that a dogmatic, assertive demagogue, who is strong of speech, emphatic in statement, overbear- ing, apparently correct in judgment, using false- hood and prevarication, and misquoting history, can so work upon the emotions of our American people that true, pure reason, is nowhere, WHAT THE TROUBLE IS ABOUT, This country is now on what is called the gold basis. It has been the custom among the nations of the earth to adopt valuable, rare and compact sub- stances as mediums of exchange and standards of value. We, with other great nations, passing through the silver and paper period (paper valued by gold), came to that of gold only. We were equal as a nation to the greatest, and together we have found that the advanc of civil'zation and the 18 THE SILVER QUESTION P . a 2: ee increased volume of business made that suitable. Our relations with other great en made it desirable, to have the same Pa Out prriewl on a certain proportion of value togold b b ; on relative scarcity, desirability and cost of duction, or, in other words, on what is or was the market value. RELATIVE MARKET VALUES. oh Me In some way or other the relative values of th two metals, silver and gold, have changed in th markets of the world. One party says this is. to the abnormal production of silver, the other si says it is the result of other things. Where o ne ounce of bullion gold formerly bought six i ounces of bullion silver, it will now buy some like thirty ounces. Why is this? Thesilverpartyclaims | The opposite pai that this is because the claims that it is becaus price of gold has gone _ the price of silver has up. | gone down. WHICH HAS MOVED ? We have heard it said that the trees and houses which apparently scud past a train in motion are moving. The ground apparently moves away a manrising ina balloon. The man in the w; sinks, and the boat from which he fell overb apparently rises. In the same sense tha the occupant of the train the tree moves, gold gone up and silver is stationary. Bu at silver moves. a he silver man finds hat he can take ad- tage of this differ- nce in value as follows: le proposes to take the nount of silver that et for only fifty nts and ask the Gov- ment to buy it from n at one dollar, be- use the last time the nment bought of his silver we 1 one dollar for that ‘IN A NUTSHELL. 19 ee st of us are on the stationary land and not the ving train, we say the tree stands still and the an on the train is moving. ike world judge from the standpoint of gold, we Shall we adopt the point of of the man who moves or of him who stands As most of the people alue, and it must be due either to the natural vs of supply and demand, or there is some al occult influence at work, which is not rstood, which influence presumably affects yer only, simply because it happens to be silver nd not some other substance. Now what does this change of value signify ? TWO POINTS OF VIEW. The opposite side says: ‘No, you don’t. We all have an interest in’ the Government. You silver owners no more than the rest of us. We object to our Goy- ernment paying you with our money more than it will pay for our goods—the market rate ~—which is governed by’ natural Jaws, supply and demand, amount of production, etc.” 20 THE SILVER QUESTION HELP AMERICAN PRODUCTS, Thesilver manreplies: | The opposite ‘“But our silver is an | man, who, for co} American product and | ence, may be ca should be furthered as | gold man, says; ‘ an American product. | youarenottheo AreyounotanAmerican | who produces A and will you not help | goods. Your r American products? You ) is good, but wey will get the benefit a wheat bought b the increased prosperity | Government on ofthe American nation.”’ | same favorable ter We want one dollar for fifty cents’ worth of — wheat, cotton, potatoes, 3 locomotives, coal, etc.” — STABILITY IMPERATIVE, It is immaterial whether silver or gold has | moved, though that is but a different way of stating the same thing. It is the movement itself that is the trouble. We want stability. a Says the gold man who wants to build a house, what I agree to pay for it when it is done shall be the - same when it is done as when I agreed to pay it, no more, no less. I want to know just what I shall have to pay.”’ you see you will not have to pay all you agreed t¢ IN A NUTSHEL!., St HE GOLD-BUG SPEAKS, 21 22 THE SILVER QUESTION _ pay, and you are that much better off. man who builds for oon who has to stand th that is honest? It seems tome that you w like that if you were the one who built the h “But I am not,’’ says the silver man, only the man who has back débts and glad to get rid of them on the same easy : have not enough money to build houses, o: ‘for them. You are the one who can do I had as much money as you, I might think; do, but what money I need I have to borrow it is to my interest to get off as cheaply asIcan. I have to live. The right of self-preservation is a inalienable right which no man can take from Besides, I owe you a grudge anyhow for ha more money than I have, and I propose to ge even.”’ ‘But look here, my friend,” says the gold man “don’t anybody owe you anything? Aren’t yo 1 afraid you may be treated as you propose I shall treat others ?” ‘‘Trust me to look after my interests at both ends,’’ says the silver man. “But then, you say you have to ioe money when you wantit. You may want to borrow mone again. Do you propose to ask me to loan to yo \ again as I have fbefors, after what you have j { said ?” ‘‘No, and what is more, I believe you are g foreigner anyhow, and belong to a nation J hate, é I don’t care if I never borrow from you again. ~~ ’™ IN A NUTSHELL. ee ‘“voU’RE A FOREIGNER.” THE SILVER QUESTION 24 have charged high for your money, ; the future to borrow only from my own family,” is “But if you borrow from your own people, will they like your plan any better? As it happens am not a foreigner, but I will tell you what Lwi do. If I ever loan you money, I’ll see to it | you signa bond—for your promise wou!d be wo less after what you have said—to pay me back in gold coin, which I believe will not alter material. in value. Under that agreement you can thent the money or leave it as you like.” “Well, I'd sign such a bond, but I’d see i I couldn’t break it under some legal quibble, If not, I’ll get the Government to say that I shan’t pay you but half. Ifthat wont do, I'll get the Gove n ment to clip the gold coin until it is only as valu able as silver.’’ : “ Then I'll make you promise to pay me back in the equivalent of United States gold coin, of the same weight and fineness as that now inuse. What. will you do then ?” “Then there is going to be trouble, and I am going to make it,’ says the silver man, HOW WE GOT THERE, The conversation has gone far enough. It is not entirely authentic, but will serve to show the trend of the argument. Now let us come back to our statement of the case. A great deal of breath and paper has been waste¢ on the question of how we got upon the gold basis, The silver main claims that our silver dollar wag IN A NUTSHELL, THE SILVER MAN IS GOING TO MARE TROUBLE, 26 THE SILVER QUESTION until 1873, the unit, and the only unit of value, ay hence always should be. He brands the legisla of 1873, which he says demonetized silver, as sharp for themselves what they were voting for.) The gold man denies that the silver dollar was the unit, or the only unit of value up to 1873. Even if that were so, it would be a parallel case to argue i that because candles and oil were used as illumina- tions up to the middle of the present century, because coal oil, gas and electricity were unknown — to our Revolutionary fathers, that we should not use them now. It is certainly right and proper for us to avail ourselves of the best illuminants known to the world, no matter what the founders of the Government used ; that in places where it is more convenient to use candles or oil lamps there is no reason they should not be used, but where better illuminants are available, we would be foolish not to avail ourselves of them. As for-the Bill of 1873, silver was not then in use, nor had it been for many years. Before the Civil War gold drove out the silver dollar, because the silver dollar was then the more valuable. Our “daddies” thus had no silver dollars. What few were coined were not circulated. During the war, we had neither gold nor silver. After the war, we resumed specie payments on the best basis obtain- able. In’73no Congressman cared for silver or was “—e IN A -NUTSHELL. 27 nterested in it enough to read any bill that affected - Some may have admitted afterwards that they not know the bill stopped the coinage of the sil- yer dollar, but if they had known it they would not fh ye voted. differently. Who wanted a silver dollar ? If they had been told that in the end it neant only silver, they would have voted to stop e coinage all the more readily. Who wants to- Pauly legal tender for any amount should be a sub- 5 ance ee eyes 58, ied pounds to the million would take a weight of 116,000 pounds of silver to ‘make’a million dollars in real value. At that day we reasoned only by common sense. No one was at hand to supply us with reasons to the contrary, for no one wanted anything different. It was only When certain gains for certain people were found possible, that certain plans were laid, which it was discovered the legislation of 1873 interfered with, that the hue and cry was raised about the ‘ crime ) 1873.’ ” F NO NECESSITY TO KNOW. What a waste of good paper even to state these opositions. Here we areona gold basis. What s the use of saying you did it or I? The question sree Wr 28 THE SILVER QUESTION ; a is, shall we change again? If so, for what reason, which must be a good one, for the act of changing is full of danger. Your finger is all right before the machine mashes it, and possibly all right after it gets well, though of somewhat different propor- tion, but the process of changing its form is what hurts. The boat goes over the fall and possibly sails well below, but was it worth while to risk the trip? a ; ot IS A CHANGE DESIRABLE? SILVER MEN SAY YES. eee Now are there good reasons for the change ? The silver man puts forth this pleain the ndme of his suffering brother, the Western farm a He does not, in the same connection, lay par- ticular stress upon the fact that he er silver tO) sell: “Times are hard. The country is suffering, We must do something for the people. Many of us followed Mr. Greeley’s advice, and went West We bought farms. Farms were rising in val and we wanted more farms. We borrowed mo on what we had and bought more. Possibly were ill-advised and tried to carry more than should. We felt certain of this when values co menced to go down again. We don’t want to pa with any of our farm land to save the rest; to turned out of house and home in that way e are not making enough money now to carry all v we this money fron a foreigner, a bloody foreign who had loads of it and came here ready ‘Oe 29 IN A NUTSHELL. i 30 THE SILVER QUESTION | agreed to pay big interest for it, for we tho basis of high value we were on would con this bloody fellow, this rank foreigner, hears we are in a bad way, comes here and ac wants to be paid his interest, says he wont any more if we don’t pay. What shall we ‘ him? Put him in a cannon and fire him sucker, a viper, an octopus.’’* Then the silver man, speaking for himself, gi his farming brother advice, as follows :— * It is the fad of silver people to claim that it was a mis. take to borrow from England. We have money enough ir our own country. Borrow here, if we must. 3 There never was an active business man but wanted to bor= legitimate investment of legitimate capital would not improve values. In July, 1895, the Assistant Secretary of the Treas.’ United States bonds, reported that ‘‘there is a very large amount of money in England awaiting investment, and I am bought would not be reduced by legislation regarding our rency, that large amounts would flow to this side of the wa and an era of great prosperity would follow in this country,” Do our silver friends mean to say that such additional loans offered to them personally, at reasonable rates, would refuse them? But would they be likely to be offered to one who is suggesting the idea that former loans might be} at half value? IN A NUTSHELL. 31 «his is what I think you had better do. You Bre more than you can pay. It would be a good Bang if you could pay in cheaper money. As a matter of fact, it is only right that you should, for when you agreed to pay in gold, gold wasn’t worth ag much as it is now. I can prove this by compar- x the price of certain other things with the prices * gold and silver. Silver, compared with gold, has Deeafediated. The prices of these other articles have likewise depreciated, and to the same extent. j silver buys as many of these articles as it ever did, hence silver and these articles are normal and gold ‘has risen. Why-should you now be held to pay- THE GOLD MAN SAYS ‘‘NO,”’ The gold man says to the silver man, “‘ You do not ; state the facts correctly. Some of the articles you ~ mention have gone down in price as silver has, but that is due mostly to improved methods of pro- duction. But, beyond a doubt, others of the very articles you mention have gone up in price, so your reasoning will not hold. Besides, the true ‘criterion of value is not the price cf those articles but the price of a day’s labor. That has undoubt- edly gone up with gold. A gold dollar buys ore, and the workingman gets more gold dollars. ith that result, anyone ought to be willing to ear the blame of the ‘crime of 1873.’” Speaking to the debt-owing farmer, he says :— “My brother, I’m very sorry for you. You did wrong to borrow so heavily, but we are all humn, 32 THE SILVER QUESTION If you can’t pay, you should get the best terms you can honorably, or ask your creditors to frankly forgive you the debt. If you cannot get offin that. way, it would be far better for the United States Government to deliberately pay all your debts for you and start you afresh, than that we should do anything affecting our National credit, and that, too, from selfish motives as much as common honesty, _ You cannot whisper a breath against this credit without affecting me and my brother, and you and your brother, and affecting our ability to help you, | We have money due us by our Government, by our fellows, the value of which will lessen to the extent of millions of dollars at the least breath of suspi- cion that the Government does not intend to do all it promised todo. The very money in your pocket with which you intend to buy comforts or necegsij- _ ties for your family will not buy as much as before, _ ‘But, my brother, I think, if you will look into your accounts, you will find that things are not so bad as they seem. What others have done you — can do. You can see by the statistics that notwith- _ standing hard times the amount of farm mortgages | re in all the overburdened Western States has been — decreasing. Not only so, but debts which were — formerly paying exorbitant interest have been re-_ a funded, and are now paying more moderate ag DO WE WANT MORE MONEY? IF SO, DO WE WANT IT INDIVIDUALLY, OR AS A NATION ? Be. IN A NUTSHELL. 33 ————$—$—$—$ kes the mare go. Look how it was during the ivil War. The Government put out lots of money that wasn’t wortha picayune in itself. It was sim- ply ‘‘made money,’’ out of the whole cloth. The Government said it was money, and we had to take jt as money. There was plenty of it, and don’t you ‘remember how business boomed ?”? “Don’t you forget, either’ interrupts the gold an, “that we paid up for the boom afterward, ‘and some of us got left. That money was consid- - ered a promise to pay in other.kinds of money, andto the extent that the people thought the Government ~ would not be able to pay in other kinds of money to that extent it depreciated.” “But I tell you,’’ says the silver man, “ we want more money. There is not enough money per capita in this country to do its business. Look at France. It has a great deal more than we have. How swimmingly she gets along. Now, you gold fellows want to put silver out of use, and leave us with still less money per head.” “We don’t want to put silver out of use, only use it at its true value, so that the silver dollar is not like a piece of paper money, only a promise topay. We don’t want to cripple our resources by making up the difference between its real and supposed value, and only for the benefit of a few. But you want to flood us with silver money, and, besides, you want to contract the currency by driving out gold. Is that any better? The amount of money per capita is nothing to’ go by, anyhow. It is how often the money ¢irculates.° number of cars per mile, but by the nu trips they make, the speed with which ¢ be moved, loaded and unloaded, the n men to handle them, the number of tracks them on and the number of engines to pull A railroad can be so crowded with cars as blockaded so that no business can be done, cent. of coin. Money only pays the differenc one transaction being charged off against anothe Our system of credit by means of checks, drafi bills or notes does not require the actual cash. In _ the case of France there is no such banking sys- _ tem. No one there gives small checks. Every- é one is his own banker in a small way, with a stocking for a bank. That system needs more money than ours,”’ AN ERRONEOUS IDEA, The most strange part of this whole silver delu sion is the erroneous impression that the rich wil _ suffer ; that, by furthering it, the poor man wil} have his revenge. Nothing is further from the truth. The rich man has leisure to think for and_ protect himself. He has education and foresight — to see the danger afar, The poor man will bear | the burden, IN A NUTSHELL. 35 And stranger still is the fact that most of those hom the change will benefit in some way are the ones who want no change, who prefer to continue the gold standard. It is true that under silver a railroad may reduce its bonded debt one-half with- out using a cent of money, or a bank pay back only ‘one-half of what its depositors have loaned it; but _yailroad directors and bankers to a man want no silver standard. The reason is simple. It is from selfish motives. They are afraid of the consequences. What becomes of railroad profits when the coun- try is suffering, when no business is done, when no freights offer, and but few travel? Where are the profits of banking when no depositors offer money for the bank to handle, or when what may be offered cannot be placed safely? The railway and bank and its stockholders will suffer with the poor man, though, perhaps, not to the same ex- tent. We are all parts of one body. If one part suffers, all suffer. a a 7 ae eee ee ee OUR NATIONAL FINANCES, Now let us consider for a moment a matter which has been used to confuse the silver issue, that is, our general finances. By some means (it is not necessary now to inquire whose fault it is) our Nation, temporarily, has not sufficient revenue. We have usually kept a sufficient amount of cash in our money drawer to meet current bills on presentation, but in the goodness of our hearts to- ward others, we have cut off some of our sources ofincome. We may have to increase our charges, 36 THE SILVER QUESTION or send out some additional bills to our custome Besides, we have a number of promissory notes out, of different kinds, which we had supposed. would not be presented immediately, at least that they would not all come in at once. But by some means some of the business discussions held be- tween members of our firm have gotten to the ears - of our creditors, possibly through some of our meddlesome office boys, who think they own the place instead of being hired by the firm to attend to its business. These creditors having gotten the impression that we are planning to refuse payment, — or to pay in money of less value, have thought it | wise to be on the safe side and have been sending | these promises to our counting room for payment in greater quantities than it was convenient to handle on short notice. Some of these promises have been called ‘‘ greenbacks,’’ from their color, and they are what are left of a large issue made when we were in a tight place. They were not exactly the proper thing in a financial way, but when we were in trouble, our friends were willing to help us and took them asso much money, know- ing that if we were able we would not see them lose by the operation. We proved that we were | able, but as the amount was quite large, we have 3 not yet quite cleared them off. They were drawn in a peculiar way, and we wish now that we had not made them quite so peculiar. We promised to keep a certain amount of gold money on hand, a certain percentage of the whole amount due, ex- pressly to redeem these ‘‘ greenback ”’ obligations 4 ie 4 S oo OP aay ‘ae eine 5 ae ee A. e IN A NUTSHELL. 37 Cs h z ’ I) F 4 i+ ~ sd | ++ “4 i ° t444 li Wr, 4 ; — 1 q Sg OT bat Ft ig? + , 5 : | NONE OF HIS BUSINESS. 38 THE SILVER QUESTION oo “<1” é aa Bier ali as they might be presented. We did so for atime, but we have since issued a lot of other notes of different kinds, all payable on demand, and have promised to pay them from the same gold fund, so that the percentage of our indebtedness kept on hand in gold is now much less than was first intended. But the peculiar thing about these “greenback” notes is, that when we redeem them we do not deface or tear off the signatures so that they cannot be again used, nor do we destroy the notes, but as fast as they are ‘‘ redeemed ”’ in gold, so to speak (for it is a peculiar kind of redemption that does not redeem) we at once pay them out again, that they may be again redeemed. In that way we can never get out of debt, but we may pay many times their value in gold. The same notes may be presented a hundred times if necessary, and each time we have to pay their value in gold. This plays the mischief with the cash in our money drawer. THE BOND ISSUES. But this is not all. We have a lot of mortgages out, on property fully worth its valuation if we are not forced to sell, which are not yet due. Our busybodies of office boys (we should like to dis- charge the whole gang and hire an entire new lot) have made mischief with these mortgages also. We agreed to pay them in gold. The fellows who hold them think that they might as well be on the safe side and are offering to sell them at a discount to — get rid of them, and, what is worse, are having | 39 IN A NUTSHELL. a Lv > ~ AU bs ~~ WV, Oy Uf ty) 0 A HOW IT WORKS IN MEXICO. WAGES 50 CENTS A DAY IN SILVER. DID NOT RISE, .- 40 THE SILVER QUESTION aha. a Then the fétlows who buy them beeen they think they can make something on them after 4 awhile, even pay gold for them. But instead o ¥ paying for them with their own gold (they think it esa as well to cai on to eat) they take what not in gold, Sine Pach into us, get our gold and pay r that. If we were the Government under which — these fellows live, instead of an individual firm, a this would not be counted very patriotic, but being only a firm itis allright, for everything is counted fair in business. _ TROUBLE WITH TEE INTAKE OF GOLD. Then we have another trouble. We had pre- viously been able to keep gold in our money drawer because we had certain sources of gold revenue, Through the dumbness of some of our counsellors, we agreed to take the payments due us in gold, either in gold or in our promissory notes which we expected to pay for in gold. It is the same thing we were told. Now these same fellows who take our gold to pay their private bills, when they have anything to pay us which should be paid in gold, always hold on tothe gold and pay us in these prom- issory notes, which we must honor. If they don’t have any on hand, they borrow or buy a lot for the purpose. We are perfectly able to pay, but this — IN A NUTSHELL. 4t sometimes. We sometimes have to borrow from a friend. It all comes of letting other ch are the facts as they would appear if stated dividual firm instead of the general Goy- THE SCARCITY OF GOLD. .silver men claim that we should not adopt d standard, because it would contract the to such an extent as to cripple business. y that the amount of gold in the world is and the supply so steadily decreasing that would not be enough of it in case all the ons of the world adopted it as the standard. would need a metal that is more plentiful. supply of gold is relatively so small that one r a set of men might easily get together o corner the market. We should not give he chance. In proof of this they show chat he gold in the world will go into a cubic block square and 22 feet high with room to spare; t is a sorrowful fact that some of those who represent “ ‘ongress, who have bound themselves to uphold the to legislate for the best interests of the country, have yrought our Government to a most unusual position, f peace and security, with no prospective alarms, no war debt or indemnity to pay, no great work of improvement to provide for, it has become necessary our bonded debt to meet our ordinary living ex- to maintain our credit. They forget no one proposes throw silver out circulation, only Ac: cept it at market HOW IT WORKS IN MEXICO, LESS PURCHASING POWER, BEER I5 CENTS A GLASS, of gold is still considerable, and that the bulk of it goes into the world’s circulation to accumulate year after year. They forget also that measure of space is not measure of value, that if the precious metals were not comparatively rare and small in bulk for the value they would not have been used a: money. They forget that by their own statements Be 1,346. They forget that it woe be quit a difficult task for any one man or set of men t corner that amount of value. A IN A NUTSHELL. 43 he gold cube (assuming that the figures are cor- ect) he might spend $178,082 each day of his. tural life until he was eighty years of age; or, if would not give him much time to enjoy his chases ; would give him no time for meals and d not give him Sundays to rest. If he mpted to get rid of the cube of silver also it keep him twice as busy, and he certainly Wd not have time to buy anything, only throw money away. To get rid of the silver alone would have to throw three silver dollars a econd out of the car window, which is moderately apid work. Uncle Sam himself owns quite a rselves, you and I could both feather our nests ely for life and the money we took would never e missed. We all think sometimes that this world is over- owded with people, that there are too many for mfort, yet if all the people in the world were to ther around the Washington Monument they puld all be distinctly visible from the top, THE SILVER QUESTION 44 a9 oe o7o0 =~ ao IN A NUTSHELL. 45 yithout straining the eyes or using a telescope, e nd each one would have plenty of room in which to move. There are quite a number of people in e world, but like gold and silver they can be ade to occupy but a comparatively small space.* | THE CRAZE WANING BUT CARE NECESSARY. ‘The silver craze is now said to be on the wane, 5 virtually at an end; that in point of fact, on The principal authority cited by our silver friends in sup of the claim that there is not enough gold in the world, and unmined, to meet the requirements of com- should all the nations of the world adopt the gold is Edward Suess, a Professor of Geology at the rsity of Vienna. He published a pamphlet in 1877, Phe Future of Gold,”’ and again in 1892 another, “ ‘The of Silver,”’ in which he attempts to prove, on scientific nds, that all geological indications point to a probability ‘the output a pole in old fields will now steadily decr ase, ; the present ficlds are virtually exhausted, and that no e new productive localities will be discovered.’ These phlets have been quoted by the free-silyer men for many . Even as late as the date of the Hoar-Harvey contest hicago, Mr. Harvey still relied upon and quoted Suess in ort of his views. . these pamphlets, particularly the last one, produced so much ;neasiness in Germany, as a gold basis country, that the Ger- nan Government in 1893, by direction of the Minister of Com- rce and Industry, sent one of its expert official mining engineers to the South African gold fields which had been more especialiy in question, to make an exhaustive exansination and report. This engineer, Herr Schmeisser, published his report 1 1894, which in every way completely refuted all the argu- ments and statements of Suess. The Suess pamphlet, “ The Future of Silver,”’ was translated infull by the United States Geological Survey by direction of the Cominittee on Finance of the United States Senate, was published as a Government document and was largely circu- ated. ‘Ihe matter is easily accessible to English readers Schmeisser’s report, on the other hand, beyond a short news. paper statement in the New York Nation, and a translation of _ preliminary pone of the forthcoming report, presented 9 the German Silver Commission of i894, and printed as part f the proceedings, is not available in English. It is but little known and is not quoted in rebuttal of Suess. = 46 THE SILVER QUESTION } 1 mae = ae, account of improvement in trade and industry, it : is a dead issue. But it has been thought to have been killed many times in past years. The Century Magazine in 1891 began the publi- — cation of a series of educational articles, planned ; to combat the craze. In February, 1899, it said ve ‘““We are rejoiced to be able to say that since we began the publication of the series, a year ago, the _ danger that the United States might be misled into repeating as a Nation some form or other of these financial blunders has been greatly lessened,” Again in August, 1892, we read :— “The recent collapse of the free-silver coinage “‘craze’’ makes a review of similar popular dely- sions timely.’’ 4 Again in September, 1892, reflecting the universal sentiment of the newspaper press, it says :— ‘It is pleasant to record that since the first pub. lication [of money articles], a death blow has been formally administered to the free-silver heres e which in many respects was the most dangero 18 cheap-money delusion that ever confronted American people. “The National conventions of the two parties have put into their platforms such exp declarations against free-silver coinage as to elir After this action it is safe to say that the danger ¢ the free and unlimited coinage of a debased silve dollar has passed away, probably forever.” Yet, in the face of all this, we find that since thes dates we have had one of the most virulent an IN A NUTSHELL, 47 ide-spread outbreaks of the disease that we have yer known. Who can tell whether we are not in anger of a relapse at any time. Experience has wn that at the first sign of hard times, in more ‘nstances than this, some one of the many heads of the monster has showed signs of life, and in a short time the whole terrible body has revived. e strength of the animal has been miscalculated. diagnosis of the disease has been wrong. y not the opinion, as to the length of life, be ng also. Would it not be well to make sure time. Je are told that the farmers are now too busy ing money to give the silver question a thought. is the issue dead while the great and influential manufacturing class is still largely for a dishonest ‘Vv value? The craze is not dead while there are still _ many States of the Union solidly for silver. The Beaze i is not dead while much literature favoring a dishonest dollar is flying around the entire country. The craze is not dead while a large proportion of the newspaper press, particularly in rural districts of otherwise sound States, favors silver. The craze is not dead while able men, whose brain work can command its rightful due, and who can- not afford to work for nothing, are still actively engaged in the agitation, and are supplying plausi- ble but untenable arguments to their constituents needed. The craze is not over until the specu- ator in silver has satisfied himself that the deal is impossible. Nor is it over until the mine owner shall become content with legitimate gains; or if 48 THE SILVER QUESTION, isc - Agee gain without unfair Government assistance jg im- possible, he shall have gone into other business until there is again a demand for his goods at pa 2 ing rates. This will happen when the effects of his own overproduction have been overcome. When all these things and many more are ne longer apparent, then the craze is over, Until the vigilance is the price of liberty. é 4 { The Sound Money League of Pennsyhaali OrGANIZzED May 28, 1895. 7“ To combat the Free Coinage of Silver at the arbitrary ratio _ of 26 to x. ratio x Pres’t, Joun H. Converse. . V-Pres’'s, Wu. Woop, Sam’t. R. Suiptry, Wu, D. Winsor Treas., Guorcr ©. THomas, Sec’y, Wut. R. Tuck te Chestaut and Fifth Sts., Phila. The Bourse, Room 248, Phila, Executive Committee. C. Sruart Parrerson, Chairman, Joun P. Green, EuGenn DgLano, james V. Watson, jJoserpH WHarron N. Parker Suorrriper, R. F. Curuman ‘ Cuarces H. Bangs, Witrram Porrrr ~ Cras. Emory Sirs, Wo. M. Sincrriy Grorcr H. McFappen, Pemberton S, Hutcunson. - Joun H. Mtcuanre, Joun C. Bucurrr, A J. Levertnc Jonas, £. Dace Benson, R. H. Rusuton, Subscriptions are solicited for the work of the League, and _ will he received by the ‘Treasurer, Mr. Grorcx C, HUMAS Chestnut and Fifth Streets, Philadelphia. ‘ PUBLICATIONS. No. x. Proceedings of the Sound Money Meeting, Philadel. phia, pee 1895. i get etc, No. 2. Address o on. George F. Edmunds, anc lutions. Reprinted eon No. x. pan ee No. 3. Address of Hon. Wm. L. Trenholm, Reprinted — from No. r. ~ Address of Hon. Michael D. Harter, Reprinted from No. _ # NOs 1% I. No. 5. Address of Hon. Charles Emory Smith. Reprinted from No. 1. = No. 6. Gold, Silver and Money, by Samuel R. Shi ley. Pe No. 7. The Action of The Union League of Philadelphia Speeches of C. Stuart Patterson, Esq., Hon, WV ; Potter and Hon. Chas. F. Warwick. No. 8. Sound Money Speech of C. Stuart Patterson, Esq., at the Union League of Philadelphia. Reprint foes Nutshell, by Th j No. 9. TheSilver Question ina Nutshell, by Theo. C. Knai No. ms The Money Unit of 1792, by Hon. Marriott Broan No. x1. Hon. Marriott Brosius to the Farmers. An Argy ment for Sound Money. No. 12, The Cost of Bad Money, by Edward Atkinson, No. 13. A Dissatisfied Farmer, by Theo. C. Knauff, No, 14. The Future Price of Silver, by Ellis Clark, Mini Engineer, “Sound WV\oney [,cague of Pennsylvania. DOCUMENT No. 11. HON. MARRIOTT BROSIUS TO THE Farmers of Pennsylvania. AN ARGUMENT FOR SOUND MONEY. Why free silver would be a bane to farmer, laborer and business man. Ture SouND MoNEY LEAGUE OF PENNSYLVANIA, THE Bourse BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA, An Argument for Honest Money. The following is a portion of an ad- dress by Hon. Marriott Brostus, delivered September 6, 1895, at Wellsboro, Pa., before a meeting of grangers :— A preacher who had discoursed three Sundays in succession on his favorite text, ‘‘ Infant Baptism,” as asked by his congregation to take another ubject for his next sermon. Accordingly, he took M After announcing the text he said: Phis subject divides itself logically into three : Who was Moses? What did Moses do? and ith money is international bimetallism. The text ou have given me to-day is not ‘“Moses,’’ but Money,’’ and like Moses it is divisible into three ibheads : What is good money? How to keep ur money good, and international bimetallism. ; at once address myself to what it concerns ug t to know: What is good money? Money is Wd when its intrinsic or commercial value cor- ponds with its coinage value, and is equal in rchasing power to that used by the leading com- ‘cial nations with which we deal, or is converti- at the pleasme of the holder into such value 4 money. For example, every dollar coined out of the standard money metal, gold, is good money, It does not cheat or prevaricate or suppress. Itis honest and outspoken. Its value is equivalent to the debt it is commanded to pay. It stands the test of fire and hammer. It preserves its identity in the crucible and the counting room. The subsidiary silver coins are also good money, — though not possessing an intrinsic value equal to their coinage value, because they are redeemable in full value money. The silver dollar is also within our definition of good money as long as it is converti- ble into gold at the pleasure of the holder. There is no statute authorizing its redemption in any kind of money, but the faith of the Government pledged to maintain it at a parity with and to ke it interchangeable with gold. In other words, carries the Government's indorsement. If I ta my note for a thousand dollars to one of ye banks they will not discount it; but if I present it zens they give me the money at once. The silver dollar is worth fifty cents in its own right ; the i dorsement of the United States makes it equiva- lent to gold. Now, if it becomes known that the responsible citizen whose indorsement made my note good isindorsing notes miscellaneously—even blank ones to be filled up at the pleasure of othe people—his 2redit would be gone and his indorse ment would no longer make my note good. Simi- larly with the silver dollar, the Government must not indorse too many of them or somebody will suspectitscredit. As long, however, as the numbey 5 coined does not exceed the power of the Gov- ernment to keep faith with the people by keeping them equivalent to gold the silver dollars are good money. All the paper money now in use is good money because it is all redeemable in good money. It will remain good money so long, and only so long, as the volume of it is limited to the capacity of the Government to keep its pledges of redemption. One other qualification is pertinent in this connec- tion, though no part of the definition of good money, that is, that it should be stable and not fluctuating in value. Its power in exchange should be the same as near as may be when the debt is paid as when it is contracted. Money too much contracted in volume is too dear; too much inflated it is too cheap. An un- limited money is worthless money. Unduly in- flated it cheats the creditor, unduly contracted it cheats the debtor. It serves equitably all classes at all times when it is stable in volume and pur- chasing power. HOW TO KEEP OUR MONEY GOOD, How to keep our money good when it is assailed on every hand by theorists of every degree of disqualification, natural and acquired, is a serious question. In one year the Comptroller of the Currency was plied with forty different proposals toimprove it. Of the first importance is the pres- -ervation of our financial credit, by keeping faith with the people who accept and act upon the Nation’s pledges. This, the United States has 6 has, therefore, never suffered a stain. N can present a finer exhibition of inviolate keeping than ours. We once issued a cur witnessed with mortificwiad its dered thirty-six cents to the dollar. But we declare purpose to redeem our pledges; we estab our credit, and under the prevailing coneiealee ° the invincible honor of the American peop { discredited paper began to rise in respe esteem, and from the ragged edge of worthless . the conviction that the word of the United Sta was as good as its bond, and its debt of honor the first obligation. MONEY SHOULD BE NATIONAL, a In the second place it will help to keep our wail good to keep it national in character, to have the guarantee of the United States behind the repre- sentative portion of it. The fathers who laid the foundations of our institutions had a profound con- viction of the superior utility of national money, It was on that principle that Hamilton advocate the first bank of the United States, and tha Madison supported the second, and in his message to Congress in 1815 extolled in eloquent terms the blessings of a uniform national currency. Such currency is safe. It enjoys absolute immunj ~ / a danger. It is superior to accident or chance. holder suffers no disquietude, he eats well, ps well and enjoys perfect peace of mind. d money requires no argument in its defense. moment it is questioned it becomes debatable. “7o doubt it is to damn it. After so many years erience of a currency so unique in its sound. ss that the note of a broken bank is just as good that of a sound one, all provincial schemes of ance, local currencies and State bank notes are achronisms. In this age of steam, electricity and rapid transit, commerce and currency are twin ters, living and journeying in loving companion- p. Whither one goes the other shall also. Where ips sail, or steamers ply, or cars run over all the yater and roadways of the land, on which the ex- changes of the country, like mighty shuttles fly to and fro weaving the wondrous web of interstate commerce, there the Nation’s currency must be current. The dollar note that pauses for inspec- tion or discount at the bank of a river, or about- - faces for fear of insult at a State boundary, is a a ragged tramp, a limping vagabond, which would _ bea reproach to this grand imperial republic. FREE COINAGE. In the third place, to keep our money good its metallic basis must be kept equivalent in purchas- ing power to that used by the leading commercial nations with which we deal. Our metallic money now meets this requirement; if we were on a silver basis it would not. This brings us face to face with the question of the free coinage of silve > 5 by the United States alone at the ratio of 16 to cn which I crave your indulgence while I give: my conclusions and the reasons which lead to as briefly as I can. ies The United States and the world need money metals, Neither can be dispensed wit monetary uses without causing the gravest quences to the human race. To argue which « be more easily dispensed with would be sur folly. Iam a bimetallist, and therefore am opy the free coinage of silver by the United alone. If I was a silver monometallist I favor it, for it would place us ona silver b; speedily as effects of that kind can folloy causes. If the mints of the United Stat silver money. These are alternative condit If in gold all the surplus silver bullion of the would come here for coinage, for it is self-evi | that if 371% grains of fine silver could be fifty and converted into a hundred cents by age, every holder of silver bullion anywhere in world would avail himself of that opportunity and ship his silver for coinage to this country, and t - be $1.29 per adnce, but in silver and not in In other words, the silver in a dollar now wort fifty cents in gold would be worth one hundre in silver. No one weuld sell for less, for he could | 9 e it coined at that. These alternative situations jllustrated in the United States and Mexico. es Bard silver will exchange in Mexico for two Mexican dollars containing each 420 grains of {tis thus seen thai to express the status of silver in terms of dollars is one, and in terms of purchas- ing power another and quite different thing. In the United States silver is the equivalent of gold oh n pe orcnasing power. Itis ne to that Anis Bedard countries. Now it walks, at least in part, by faith ; then it would walk wholly by sight. Left to itself it would be just what the world made it. detached from the supports of public faith which ‘hold it at the higher gold level. It would then be the money of account as it is in Mexico; as paper was here during the war, and is now in the Argentine _ Republic, though only worth 27 cents on the dollar. 1 computations and calculations of value would be in dollars, but silver dollars only. Gold would at once be at a premium, because of silver being overvalued, and would gradually go out of circula- ‘tion to the serious contraction of our money volume. The deficiency could not be supplied with silver money for lack of coinage facilities, for 19 the utmost capacity of our mints does 7 $40,000,000 per year. In this event ® solace to know that there would be m sending foreign silver here for coing would come cxcepting in the usual cours merce. 4 This is as clear a statement as I can m out greater elaboration of the event which i to supervene on the adoption of free-silver ¢ at 16 to 1 by the United States alone. The ne rence of opinion on the subject among lead bimetallists in Europe and America. Willig St. John, president of the Mercantile Nat Bank, of New York, the great silver cha metallic League of the United States, said, ‘7 free coinage of silver will ultimately put us on. * silver basis.”’ he More satisfactory argument against the coinage of silver by the United States alone could hardly be desired than the five propositions of the Secretary of the Treasury, which I believe have never been disputed, and which I reproduce as a 4 suitable conclusion of this part of my address, — These are his propositions :— ‘* First.—There is not a free-coinage country in . the world to-day that is not on a silver basis. Il “ Second.—There is not a gold-standard country in the world to-day that does not use silver as money along with gold. “ Third.—There is not a silver-standard country in the world to-day that uses any gold as money along with silver. “ Frourth.—There is not a silver-standard coun- try in the world that has more than one-third as much money in circulation per capita as the United States have ; and “«“ Fifth.—There is not a silver-standard country in the world to-day where the laboring man receives as fair pay for his day’s work.”’ WHAT FREE COINAGE MEANS TO THE UNITED STATES, Then if the silver basis is certain to ensue in the event of free coinage by this country alone, it is important to apprehend what that means to the United States. The considerations involved are numerous and their bearing in some instances not alittle obscure, but some of the consequences are easily brought into distinct view, and are calculated ‘to excite alarm in every discreet and well-ordered mind. The disadvantages we would suffer in our foreign commerce are the same as all countries in a like situation have experienced in the past, notably Mexico, India, our own country during he war and the Argentine Republic and other countries at this time under a discredited paper egime. w The instability of exchange would reduce our commercial intercourse with foreign countrics toa colossal system of gambling. No American im- porter would know what to pay for a bill of goods bought on credit of six months, or at what price tosell them on a corresponding credit. Mexican: importers have to pay near $2,000 of their money for an invoice of goods worth $1,000 in New York or London. The fallin silver liable to take place atany time may ciuse a rise in exchange which would entail serious losses upon the importe iz The only escape he has is to run up the price on his customers to cover his risks. marized :— First.—An increase in the price of all impo goods sold in our markets. Second.—A loss to the National Treasury in th funds sent abroad to pay interest on our foreiz: obligations. whose bonds are held in Europe in increase interest rates. Fourth.—A loss to all American citizens tem rily sojourning abroad and receiving money fre home for their support, this loss being equivale to the depreciation of silver. Fifth.—The loss to American labor from the | in wages which would inevitably occur, - These afflictions are suffered by all count whose money of account is depreciated below | level of the money of the commercial world. t3 THE POSSIBLE SITUATION, But these are among the least of the afflictions we will suffer. The fiscal dislocation, I might almost say the monetary cataclysm, with the im- measurable confusion and injustice which that implies, that would be caused in our domestic finances and industries beggars description and appalls che mind. The dramatic situation would occur, of course, immediately upon the passage cf suchalaw. After the first effect was exhausted the evils would continue in a modified form and ‘with a measure of mercy to vested interests. But im the shock of such a convulsion and the de- yastation of the upheaval who would be spared? ‘there is a man who stands in the naked attitude fa debtor, who owes somebody, but whom nobody s, he would find an advantage in the distress of s neighbors and friends. If he had borrowed ,c00 worth of purchasing power or had purchased o worth of property at its gold value, he could the bill in silver with $500 worth of purchasing wer. Whether he would avail himself of such a nefit at the expense of his creditors without re- tance or compunction would depend on how he as brought up. _ But the creditors ; who are they? And here is the pathos if not the tragedy of the situation. The creditors are the owners of every fixed charge, * ery debt, every annuity, every pension, every bond of the Government and of every corporation, ery share of stock in banks and stock companies andevery deposit in all the savings and other banks the United States. And who are the owners of —_ YY 6 - —— = eF 14 these credits? Among them are found crippled and aged soldiers of the republic and their widows, other widows who live on dowers in the r husbands’ estates, and millions of meritoriou 5 citizens whose savings are deposited and whose subsistence comes from fixed incomes, every do ar of which would lose a part of its purchasing poy the moment our money of account changed gold to silver. In the savings banks of the Uni States are the savings of the poor in small de aggregating near $2,000,000,000, all of which y be affected by the depreciation of our mon account. The wages of labor throughout the: cc would lose a part of their purchasing power, much this immeasurable combination of in would lose in purchasing power let those ca who will. I care not to dip my pen in the r figure up the sum that would measure their d re and degradation. CANNOT EXCHANGE EUROPEAN FOR ASIATIC MARKETS. It has been suggested that our people would glad to see the United States at the head of silver-using countries. ‘‘Isolate Europe,” it said ; ‘‘give her the cold shoulder. With As’ our back we could force Europe to our will.’ it possible that Americans are ambitious te change their present exalted place among th 5 rank nations of the earth for the leadership o| stragglers in the procession of the nations? it be that the United States can be in any I5 penefited by such a deposition and degradation? What relative rank in the commerce of the world do the silver nations hold? Where do they stand on the scale of civilization, wealth, intelligence and progress? You can make your own compari- son from the following figures, which I have taken from authentic sources :— Statement of the relative standing of the silver- standard and gold-standard countries in popula- revenue, foreign commerce and stock of Silver Gold Standard Standard Countries, Countries. Beeaseras #) sts 850,000,000 440,000,000 VENUES «+e eee00-+s eee 1, 200,000,000 $3,400,000,000 reign Commerce... 2,200,000,000 _7,809,000,000 Silver Money..........0+ 1,900,000,000 —2,000,000,000 world is but a trifle over 20 per cent. ; their reve- nues scarcely more than 24 per cent. of the world's . Iti is difficult to comprehend the point of view of -an American citizen who proposes to exchange our mmercial intercourse with Europe for any possi- we produce in excess of our consumption? Con- e nplate for a moment our commerce with Europe mpared with that with Asia, and the incongruity 16 of the suggestion becomes startling. Last year our imports from Europe amounted to..., $333,686,842 And our exports to Europe to............ 627,975,133 A total commerce with Europe of...... 31,011,661,975 In the same year our imports from Asia amounted _ TEP Co RT ovid bviwebasunedesbicscoeass sbueee Idaceusluct $77,577,016 AGO CXDOIS COsseee. srvicelrs aoemeopmaery 17,248,920 4 A total commerce with Asia of.......... $94,825,936 Less than one-tenth of our trade with Europe. d To trade European for Asiatic commerce it will _ be seen would be an economic exchange of the — character of that between two boys described by Senator Vance some time since, when one boy said _ to the other, “Jim, if you give me your big red apple, I will show you my sore toe.”’ THE FARMERS. But what would the farmers of the United States say to such business thrift as this? Without com- mercial relations with Europe where would they send their surplus wheat, corn, ae cattle and the alone paid them last year for farm exports? a what market would they sell the 305,910 live beet cattle, valued at $26,500,000, that were shipped t Great Britain last year? Where would they hay. found purchasers for the 112,000,000 pounds o} dressed beef, worth $10,000,000, they shipped i the first six months of last year to Great Britain Who could have taken the 573,807,752 pounds ¢ 17 pork products they shipped to Great Britain in 1894, worth $54,285,932? Who would have paid them for 141,294 tons of hay, the 31,520 tons of cheese, and the 2,021 tons of butter shipped to Great Britain last year? Without open markets in Europe I ask-the farmers of the United States who would have paid them for all these surplus products, scarcely a lioof, or pig tail, or pound, or bushel, or wisp of which reached an Asiatic market ? Our total agricultural exports last year amounted to the sum of $615,574,086, 90 per cent. of which went to Europe, and scarcely more than $100,000, fess than one-sixth of 1 per cent. of the total, went toAsia. Of our total exports of all kinds 80 per cent. go to Europe, and less than 24 per cent. to ; Asia; of our total imports of all kinds, 50 per cent. are from Europe, and about 10 percent. from Asia. - Yet there are those who talk about casting off _ gold and silver-using Europe and linking our for- — tunes with silver-using Asia. That we may know where we get our imports ‘and where we send our exports, I submit a state- ment of last year’s imports and exports with the countries from which they come and to which they S oe x E Countries Imports. Exports. Europe ..... Bb odebde Saal # adh $383,686,842 $627,975,1 North America........++4.. 133,798,113 108, Conon South America........ ..... 112,167,120 33, §26,538 MPAGIA secsccccssevess aie 77;577;016 17,248,920 OceANiCA veerseres sereserseres 17,551,142 13,106,351 ALICE .. seceeeeeecreees seeeesers 5,709, 194 6,377,763 MATT OLHETS. «ces Wevevoossesons 1,468,449 100,310 $731,967,876 $806,938,543 15 This statement of the facts of thesituation seems to expose the real grotesqueness of the Proposition that the United States should turn her back upon Europe and place herself at the head of the silver- using countries, and brings into such distinct view the economic loss, humiliation and * degradation that would be entailed upon us that the wayfaring man, though of medium faculty only, ought not to err therein. The true policy for the United States, to my mind, is as clear as light and as straight asa line— preserve the bonds of money and commerce which hold us in reciprocally beneficial relations with the countries which enjoy approximately our level] of civilization and moral, industrial and commer. cial development. At the same time reach cut a helping hand to all nations of inferior civilization, increase commerce when it can be beneficially done in all directions ; promote uniformity in the use of the great agencies of civilization and ad- vance the brotherhood of nations. This is an eng worth achieving, and nothing would be so well calculeted to hasten its realization as the unifica- tion of money, the great instrument of human association the world over. INTERNATIONAL BIMETALLISM. It seems to me, therefore, demonstrably certain that those who are turning anxious eyes toward the free coinage of silver by the United States alone for succor from present and security from future ills, are looking in vain for the promise land. International bimetallism, in my judgment. tg affords the only rational hope of permanent relief from those fiscal jars which, with increasing fre- quency, disturb the world’s financial peace. I would hail with unfeigned joy the adoption by the commercial world of a system which will inter- weave among the golden, interlacing links of silver, tostrengthen the chain that should bind the nations _ jn monetary unity. Whata far reach of benefits, what a wide realm of blessings to the world that | consummation would bring ! The greater the number of agencies of civiliza- tion that are employed in common by the commer- cial nations, the more rapid will be the solidarity of interests, the development of international unity and the greater the facilities for the composition of international differences and the achievement of the world’s peace ina commercial commonwealth and an ideal brotherhood of nations. But passing from the general to the particular, the broader the basis of the world’s money of ultimate redemption, the greater the aggregate mass, the less sensitive will it be to influences calculated to produce monetary dislocations, and the readier will they yield to treatment moderating their severity when they do occur, thus promoting onetary stability throughout the world. Meanwhile let the United States keep the lead in this great crusade to save the money of the world rom both monometallic despoilers. The honor of merica and her greatest services to the human race lies in that achievement. It is the gate of erey and blessing; let us persevere until we open t to mankind. 20 Among the inscriptions on the monument Which perpetuates the memory, records the achievements and recites the glories of England's virgin queen, there is not one that shines with so fadeless a lustre as that which tells how she restored the money of her kingdom. I believe, my friends, _ that among the recitals on the pages of American _ history fat shali record the achievements and transmit to endless generations the imperishable - glory of the Republic, there will be none that will shine down the centuries with a more supernal — splendor than that which tells how she marshaled- the financial consciences of the leading commercia nations and led them to the unification and toration of the money of the commercial world,