If UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES rnt 5lLVfeRD?LLAR, A ^\|IN^ Vlofv" 3r ^ m f: PRoW[Je i PRICE 2C CENTS 5 THE SILVER DOLLAR Business View BY COL. ED. F. BROWNE THE CHAIN & HARDY CO., PUBLISHERS: I) !•; N V I'. K . # » COPYRIGHT, 1S9;, BY ED. F. BROWNE • • • •• c « e « « • C « €,• ' • • « • • a PRKKACK. ^ This pamphlet presents some business facts that should be yjcarefully looked over by every num in the United States. The CuAmerican is usually a very busy man, and frequently allows himself to form opinions on subjects that should be of {general cc interest by hurriedly absorbing the ideas presented by the cc "press" of hio localitv, and accepting its idea as his own. If "those ideas are wrong ones, either through the ignorance, or, possibly, purchased bias of his editorial preceptor, lie should take any opportunity presented to correct them, and, at any - rate, read on both sides of any subject that would have a direct effect on his future prosperity and happiness. ^ This is a government "of the people by the people," and we ~' all, in our weak way, assist in directing public affairs, and wc should so inform ourselves as to be able to intelligently cast a \ vote for that which will do our country good, y The press wields a great power in this land. We have seen r it stampede voters at times into positions that developments « later on showed were entirely wrong. The present overwhelming majority in Congress was the result of a stampede of voters c auscd by the furore that the press raised over the McKinlcy bill before it was tried or un- derstood by the people at all. The Eastern press, l)y concerted action, has done about llic same thing in regard to the "Silver Question." It has suppressed tlic inihliratioii of one side of the ([uos- tion and flooded the country with views antagonistic to silver. In this thing, they have overdone it, from the fad that it w;i> made evident that the New York U'or/f/anii New York Tribune were being paid by parties antagonistic to silver, and no doubt m.iny others were subidi/ed. If a majority of tlie press hon- cstlv w;>- :,,, posed to silver, it might possibly express an opin- ion of a majority, but when its opinion is paid for, or iiiliini- (l.ilcd by moneyed interests, the people should examine <:loscly all the fnrts presented. .'i89lil2 2 PREFACE. Now, the "Silver Question" is a simple business proposition, as I hope in this pamphlet to show in a plain and straightfor- ward way, so that any man can understand its importance to the country and to himself. No man wishes to make a mis- take on any important issue, as we all want to make our country the greatest, the best and most happy on the globe. The figures presented are from the most reliable data furn- ished by the Treasury Department. The arguments that are presented therefrom can be criticised, but they are the honest opinions of one who believes in this country, and who, while inviting criticism, has been able to meet all opponents with facts to back up the arguments presented. If silver money is right, let us have it; if wrong, do not con- tinue it another day. Taking a business man's view of the "Silver Question," obliges us to analyze our trade with other countries and demon- strate the effect of any action we take in the matter of our ex- changes with them. I have compiled tables that, in a concise way, show our balances to and from all the world, and also in what way they were paid. If in coin, how much; and in addi- tion, I call attention to some features of our importations that prove interesting and instructive. All that is required to make converts to the cause of silver is, to get at the facts and think them over. The Author. CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL. THE USE OF SILVER AND GOLD AS MONEY, AND WHY. There are good reasons why silver and gold should be used as coin or tokens of value, and why they dis, 'ace all other metals in that use. For the purpose of coinage, it is necessary that the metal should be as nearly indestructible as possible, and those metals that have that property more than others, in chemistry, are classed as "Royal or Noble Metals." While there are, at the present time, quite a number of these metals, all except gold and silver arc recent discoveries. Thus: Platinum, discovered by Wood; Irridiuin, by Ten- nant and Descatels; Palladium, by Wolaston; Osmium, by Tennant, &c., &c. The discoverer of gold and silver is not known; however, these two "Royal .Metals" come down to us from the Ancients and evidently are the metals intended by nature to represent "value." In ancient times gold was^ot used as money; silver was the only money metal. The word silver is (Icrivcil from the llel)rew, and it^> ihimm- ing is "money." The Egyptian sign for silver was the crescent; it was the moon of minerals. While the word gold is also from llic lkl)rew, it means "to be clear, or, to shine." I he l"-gyi)tian sign was the circle with a dot in the center; it was the sun of minerals, and signilied "perfection." It was not connected with the value of other commodities, or with coin, by the Ancients. The Greeks first used gold as money, but they united it with silver, calling it "clectrum," and on nuggets thus formed they stamped the value, the great trading firms guaranteeing its worth. HISTORICAL. While other metals have been used as coin, it was only as a convenience and used the same as wampum, paper, elephants' tusks and otter skins, in emergencies, when no royal metals could be obtained. There never has been a race of benighted heathens l)ut what realized the importance of silver as a medium of ex- change, when they possessed it. Silver was recognized by the whole world as money until this century, when England commenced the demonetization mania. It was the fact that silver and gold are indestructable by fire or water, or air, that caused them to be used as coin, to the practical exclusion of everything else. HOW THE RATIO OF VALUES HAS BEEN DETERMINED. Until the demonetization of silver in 1873, neither of the precious metals had an "intrinsic value," and to-day gold has no such value. Chemically considered, the intrinsic value of gold over silver would be about eight to one. Principally on account of its specific gravity and malleability, but it has never been thus considered since the time of the Greeks. There has been no time since five hundred years before Christ but what the value of gold has been determined by law, and law alone. The rulers of Greece about five hundred years before Christ, by a decree declared that gold was worth thirteen times as much as silver. The Roman Emperors changed that ratio to from nine to one to fourteen to one. As late as the fifteenth century at one time in France, they were, by law, made of equal value. Until the present century the ratio of values between the two metals was regulated in exact opposition to the "supply- and-demand" theory. The Greeks had established the ratio of thirteen to one, but when the gold mines of Spain, Gaul and Pannonia gave out, the Romans changed the ratio to eleven to one, and even nine to one — thus on to 1497, when we find the ratio was ten and three-fourths to one. In 1546, Spain declared the ratio ot thirteen and one-half to HISTORICAL. one, because up to that time she, in her conquests, had obtained more gold than silver. Portugal, upon taking possession of Brazil, and despoiling the East Indias of their gold, advanced the ratio to sixteen to one. This was done in 1688, and at that time, Portugal had much more gold than silver, and she, having supremacy in trade, changed the ratio so as to injure Spain, who, at that time, was accumulating silver. Spain again got control of finances and changed the ratio to fifteen and one-half to one in 1775, which was adopted by France in 1785 and maintained ever since. Spain, in this change, failed to include the Colonies, and there is where our ratio of sixteen to one originates. It was the little, insignifi- cant nation Portugal that established the ratio that rules in this country to-day. Thus for two thousand years before the present century you will notice that each nation, as it got control of the precious metals, by law declared their value and maintained it until some more powerful nation took financial precedence. . And in each instance it will be noticed that tiie advance of the relative value of either metal was in direct opposition lo ilir ordinary rule of supply and demand. When gold was plenty, it was marked up, and when it was scarce, it was marked down. The theory was to keep enough value in the precious metals to sup- ply the wants of currency, and each nation, as soon as it se- cured control of the great balance of trade, took it upon itself to establish the value of the metals. In other words, the rela- tive value of gf)ld and silver for two thousand years before the present century was in exact reverse from what would \n- oc- casioned by supply and dtinand. VAUK OF GOLD ONLY KEGULATED BY LAW. The idea of the mono-mctalist that gold has a specific value nearly ;ipproaching its present worth is remarkable when examined closely. Tlie intrinsic value of goM is a myth. No man can know or guess it any more than he could know any abstract proposition with notliing to base his guess upon. The reason gold has a value whi< li is st.ibic is because the Bank Charter Act of 1844 obliges the Hank of Kngland lo purchase all gold offered it at a fraction under its coinage, HISTORICAL. value, i. c, £2, 17s., lo'^d. per ounce, and the bank usually pays ^3, 17s., gd. for all gold presented. Now, it is this law, and it alone, which has made gold steady in price since that time. If we were to allow England to dictate finances to us for all time, it might be well not to change, but remain on a gold basis, blindly following English dictations However, I have already called attention to the fact that each nation, as it secured the balance of trade, and accumulated the bulk of coin in use, assumed to dictate to the world (and suc- cessfully, too,) its value, and maintain the same. It is a right that has been assumed by every nation for the past 2,300 years, and is an unwritten law of nations. England, at the battle of Trafalgar, took possession of the seas, and the great commerce of the world fell into her lap. The balance of trade had cast the mantle of form and great- ness on Greece, Venice, Italy, Spain and Portugal successively, and at the beginning of the present century, little Holland was a greater financial power than England. This battle, that cost the great Nelson his life, was what made England great, and securing the balance of trade, as was the custom of history, she assumed to dictate values of the precious metals. Having no silver, she adopted the gold standard, intending to strike a blow at Spain and Portugal, and after floundering through panic after panic, in 1844 adopted the law I have mentioned heretofore, viz., obligmg the Bank of England to buy all gold offered it, paying therefor in notes. England, in thus assuming dictation in finances, only fol- lowed in the footsteps of every great nation since history be- gan. Her move was not as wise as her predecessors', and her time of supremacy is now drawing to a close, and it is time for the United States to assert herself and assume control. COINS AND THEIR USES. It became early understood that a medium of exchange was necessary, and coins were made of silver to represent value. First, the great commercial houses issued the coin, guaranteeing value, but soon the rulers of the nations stamped the coins, declared their value and made it good, even if it had to be fought for. The coin of Caesar was good the whole world over : if it was not, he would know the reason why, as soon as he could get an. HISTORICAL. .army in that direction. Until 1666, this whole coinage business was done by the ruler of the country, and he arbitrarily de- clared the value of the coins, and made any seigniorage there was in it. But at that time, the growth of great mercantile houses had placed even kings in the hands of the merchants, and it was changed so the ruler had power to declare the value and coin the money, but the owners of the bullion had the right to obtain coin upon paying the government charge for such coinage. . Since that time it has been the intention of all governments to keep this form of obtaining money. It was at that early day recognized that a government should not make anything off its people by emitting coin from its mint. It was so intended by our Constitution. The framers of our Constitution would turn over in their graves if they thought it had been perverted so that this great and powerful government could conspire against her laborers and miners, and depress the price of bullion, buying it and coining the money, to make a great profit thereby. Let us see exactly what the Constitution says on the subject. Section 8. in defining the duties of Congress, says: "Coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin." * * And in duties of States, Section 10, it prohibits the States from "making anything but gold and silver coin a tender in |)ay- ment of debts." The power of a government to purchase bullion, and make coins, has not been in existence since 16C/). I'.ngland docs not do it to-day. The language of the Constitution i)l,iiiiiy intends exactly what it says. Congress can coin money, but only as an agent of the people. The laws regulating the mint plainly show it was only the intention to coin bullion as a factor, not as a principal. It is an implied violation of the Constitution for tluin lo purchase bullion at all. The prime use of coin is to pay debts; it is a token stamped l)y the government showing that the party who possesses it should be credited with a certain amount. It is not intended to repre- sent any value other than its .?/bcry, and suc( ceded. Their moneyed men saw that, if they <-ould destroy silver as money, they could absolutely control tlie finances of the wf)rl(l. They passed laws obliging the iJank of l".ngland to hoard up the gold by purchasing all presented, and commenced an intelligent and aggressive cam|>aign against the use of si! ver as money. At that time, about one-half of the money in 14 DEMONETIZATION. the world was silver money, and the Englishmen saw that, if they could get silver demonetized, thus reducing the volume of money one-half, they could exact a higher rate of interest. The Bank of England then commenced to dictate the rate of interest, and was successful for years. The action was disastrous to their oVn country, and has ruined her farmer and is ruining her mining industry, and will surely destroy all pros- perity of the great middle classes in England before the century closes. This is no hard feature of finance to figure out, because, if silver is demonetized, there is not gold enough to "go around" and furnish a base of credit. The production of gold does not increase as rapidly as the trade of the world. The result is, that trade must shrink, collapse or in some way come down to the decreased amount of currency. It will hit the Englishman the hardest, and has commenced already. There is no surer sign of distress in national finances than England has shown the past year. Great failures, wide-spread distress and strikes of laborers are the rule in the mono-metal countries to-day. Happiness of the laboring and middle classes in none. The capitalist that thinks by such contraction of the country's currency he is benefiting himself, will find that while he may bleed a little more interest from his creditors for the present, he is building a credit on so small a base that a puff of war or disaster may start a tumble that will take not only his creditors, but himself along with it when it topples over. There is hardly any man but recognizes "the fact that gold is not enough to base a currency upon and insure prosperity, and it is only the money-lender that receives any temporary benefit from a contraction of the currency. It is only a tem- porary benefit to him, because our whole social structure in* this United States is banded together, and if the producer is unsuccessful, the capitalist will ultimately fail. Then, why drift toward a gold standard at all? I hope to show that it is perfectly safe to monetize silver fully and defy anyone to disprove the facts presented. The action of England in contracting to a gold basis has had the effect of nearly doubling the value of their gold as money, so that a gold pound can purchase nearly twice as much of every known commodity to-day as it could forty years DEMONETIZATION. ago. Gold mono-metalism has thus far helped the rich in England, but has ground down the poor in every instance. The theory of mono-metalism means, to make the rich man's gold more valuable, and everything else, including sil- ver, of less value. It certainly is not what America wants. Let us take care ot the poor man; the rich one can take care of himself. We do not want any contraction of currency in the United States, CIIAl^TF.R III. MISTAKES. The first great mistake that \vc made in financial legislation, was to demonetize silver in 1873. The Senate and House of Representatives, we are told, were fooled into this mistake, and the article I have copied shows that it was undoubtedly paid for by Mr. Seyd. It was a business transaction by Englishmen that they were willing to pay for liberally. They already saw that this country was the future queen of finance. They had connived at our maritine destruction. They had witnessed our settlement of internal difficulties, and knew it meant success. They heard of our great Comstock lode, in which some fool expert had reported there were $175,000,000 worth of silver in sight. Knowing that each nation that had controlled the balance of trade, since time immemorial, had assumed to dictate the value of the precious metals, and seeing our power, now that we are united again, they used this means to keep our financial prestige down. It was wise in them, but foolish for us. It was a great mistake. In 1878, we recognized that it was a mistake, and passed a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase bullion and coin §2,000,000 per montli. It was done because we felt the need of some source of increase of the currency to meet the growing wants of trade. And as the Comstock lode did not turn out pure silver, the panic that English influence had thrown our financial men into, had eased up to a great ex- tent. 'This move was opposed by the money-lenders, as they rec- ognized that it was an increase of the currency that they would have to contend against in their attempted control of finance. However, this law was nearly as great a mistake as that of 1873, because it went back to the feudal times prior to 1666, MISTAKES. 17 when rulers asserted the power to buy bullion and declare value of coin, and make a profit thereon. It clearly was a violation of the intent of our Constitution, and inaugurated a system that is vicious and is working out its dire results to-day. It was a sort of compromise between the men who wanted to destroy silver as money and the business men, who saw that the single standard would end in disaster to our nation. It was a subterfuge that quieted the people, who could see that a great mistake had been made in demonetizing silver, and who would not allow the contraction of the currency naturally going on from the payment of the government obligations to continue without some attempt at relief. While at the same time, it quieted the gold men, because they had succeeded in preventing the acknowledgment of silver as money metal. As the gold mono-metalist has, ever since that law, controlled the the Secretaries of the Treasury, and every move made in the wav of silver purchases, has been under their dictation; the whole effort of the Government under that law was to depress the price of silver, and buy it as low as possible, coin it into money, and make as much as the Government coulil off the transaction. Thus going right back in the face of the intent of the Con- stitution of our own country and adopting the position taken by the kings and emperors prior to 1666. If the farmer rould only take his wheat to one mill, and one miller would only buy wheal, and sell flour, charging what he might for the flour, and i)aying what he pleased for wheat, he would be in the same position as the miner, under tiiat law. The law of 1890 is more vicious still than that of 1878. In this, the Government buys 4,500,Of)0 ounces per moi.th. issuing Treasury notes for the market value thereof on the d;iy of purchase. Thisadi)|)t- the Iuigli>li idea of in^lru( ting the |)un ji.isc of bullion; only it did not set the price of bullion by l.iw, as Kng- land had done. Had an idea as the English one was, this is so far worse, that while the English system was bad. this move w.-js positively asinine. Instead of stating that the Treasury would buy a certain amount, at a fixed price, they left it to the various Secrctaric* l8 MISTAKES. of tlie Treasury to speculate with, and each succeeding Secre- tary has tried to see how cheap he could buy the silver; and thus the whole force of the Government is used to depress its value. The result is shown by the price of silver. Its bullion value, taken at a gold basis, is lower now than ever before, and, with this depression, it is carrying everything down with it. It is shutting down hundreds of mines, and destroying great industries that should be fostered. It is only doing one good, and that is, the Treasury is becoming loaded up with silver to such an extent that, as a plain business proposition, the people will take hold of the matter and demand that the value shall be de- clared by law, and maintamcd by the Treasury officials, and this destruction of our great mining interests be stopped by the authorities in Washington; that they pay attention to Amer- ica's interest instead of England's, and that they look to the good of the people and not to that of the money-lender. Last year, the Treasury purchased 54,393,912 ounces of fine silver, paying therefor, $53,796,833; an average of 98)5 cents per ounce; and to-day, if it were to be called for by the holders of silver certificates, , there would be a loss to the Government of about 12 cents per ounce. The arrangements of the Treasury for the purchase of this silver tend to favor the speculator instead of the owner of bullion. A seller has ten days to deliver, and the result is, that the speculator "shaves" the offer of the bullion owner. Then the Govern- ment stops buying, and the speculator, by such operations as brokers are familiar with, depresses the prices and makes a "scalp" on his trade with the Government. The present Con- gress is rattling around trying to prevent the sale of wheat short, while the Secretary of the Treasury is conniving with and aiding short sellers of silver. If he would only go a little further and let the speculators, who are the holders of silver certificates, go to the Treasury and demand the bullion on their certificates, and thus fill their contract with the Treasury with- out removing the bars from vaults, he would then completely destroy the purposes of the law. It is a law to induce bear speculation in silver, and that is all. If the present law should continue for ten years and be lived up to, the Government would own about 600,000,000 ounces of silver and ncarlv as much more silver in coin; and MISTAKES. 19 then everybody would have a personal interest in silver, as a speculation, and this is the only good of the present law. It is not finance, or sense, but a miserable make-shift, that does not do justice to the greatest and richest nation in the world. It shows that our financial men have not the "nerve" of the Englishman, nor the necessary wit, to see the ultimate result, or they would have set a price that the Secretary should pay for this certain amount, and it would have established a value, because then it would not have been the foot-ball of specula- tion and destruction of confidence in the metal s worth, and the whole effort of speculation would have been to maintain its value instead of depressing it. It should oblige the party selling to deliver before 3 o'clock, the same as stocks or cash grain is delivered. In this way, the owner of the bullion would sell the stuff, instead of the scalper, who tries continually to undersell and then bear the market, to be able to fill his contracts at a profit before de- livery. It is well that Senator Teller has demanded the names from whom the bullion has been purchased by llie Treasury officials, because it will show that I have "called the turn" on tlic way the trading has been done. An offer of silver from a refinery or producer should be considered closed on day of transaction, and delivery to Mint directed from the Treasury Department, and the system of only accepting those offers that are lower than tlie market price in New York of certificates stopped, as speculators regu- late the New York price of certificates, and ma dealers at all. '. ALLOWING WALL STREKT AND ENGLAND TO DICTATK. This whole attack on silver as money originated in l".ng- land, and has been perpetuated by Wail Street and our Na- tional P.anks for selfish motives. Twenty years ago it was possibly proper for us to allow English dictation, to a certain extent. We were heavy debtors to that nation, and a nation, like a man. is cowardly when under great iinaiK iai oblig.ition. f)ur bankers in New Yf)rk could not turn .iround for yt-ars without first finding out if it was agreeable to our English cousins, and they, in turn, (li< tatifl to our country banks just as arrogantly as they were di< tated to fmni abrf)ad. In those times, thi-- dir t.iiinii wa- .dlowed. because of a feel- MISTAKES. ing that it was not policy to aiitaL,'-onizc a powerful creditor. The Englishmen, in this period of dictation, thoroughly schooled a great nunil^cr of our financiers into the idea that if the silver was demonetized, and gold alone became the base of our currency, that the bankers of Wall Street could control the rates of interest, the same as the Bank of England had done. The National Bankers throughout the country imbibed the same idea from the New Yorkers. ^ It is correct, too, but against "the interest of the people. With a gold basis alone, the National Banks and the Wall Street sharks, could absolutely control the rates of interest, and make times prosperous or disastrous, as they saw fit, because the volume of currency would be so contracted that // could be controlled, just as the Englishmen claim the Bank of England can do in their country. It would make money more valuable, but the laboring man could readily see that his labor would command less money; the farmer could see that he would have to sell more wheat to get the same amount of currency, and, in fact, just as in England to-day, the money-lender would be benefited, but every other industry or calling but that of money lending would be injured. This silver issue is a straight one between the money- lenders and the producers and laborers of the country. It is the attempt to graft onto our finances the English idea of helping the rich and depressing the poor. In the past year the moneyed institutions have purchased, bull-dozed and intimi- dated the press of the country into misrepresenting the true facts of the silver question. While Mr. Seyd succeeded in bribing a Senator and a couple of Congressmen in 1873, and having them sacrifice their country's interest, these later followers of England's dictation have bribed those moulders of public opinion, the daily papers, or threatened foreclosure or withdrawal of patronage in case they antagonized their interests. They have deceived the peo- ple, and they hope to rob them by such deceit. It is all wrong. SUPPOSED GREATNESS OF SOME FINANCIERS. A great many people assume that Senator Sherman is an oracle on finance because he happened to be Secretary of the Treasury at the time of the resumption of specie payments. This fact has given him great reputation, but the truth of the MISTAKES. 21 matter is, that if our balance of trade had not turned in our favor in 1874, we could not have resumed specie payments and continued it a day. It is not in the power of man to resist the flov; nf money from a nation tv j*: buys more than it sells; and it is but a logical resui: mat money comes to a country that sells more than it buys. Trade turned in our way in 1874, and has continued so, to a great extent, ever since. With money flowing into our country ever since that year, we, of course, could resume specie payment and maintain it, and it was no great thing for Senator Sherman to do, as it was nothing but the logical result of prosperity. To show that his ideas arc not sound, although he claims credit on making some S8oo,ooo,ooo of paper as good as gold by this operation, he says that for this Government to stamp silver to the amount of only $500,000,000 it canrfot maintain the value, and that the gold would leave the country if silver was coined to any great extent. Can it be possible that he is sincere in this position? Is worthless paper, when printed upon, worth more tlian one of the coins of the precicnis metal? Is it possible that he l)elicvcs that a destructible piece of paper should sui)plant a coin that is indestructible, and stampctl by the Government, and its value declared by law? Will the paper circulate and allow the retention of the gold in this country, and if silver be used, the gold leave? Mr. Sherman, and every other man of sense, knows that as long as the balance of trade comes "our way" no kind of money will leave this country. Me knows that this is what enabled liim to resume specie |)ayments when he did. There was no great financial a!)ililv displayed in that move; it was the natural ( oiirsc of events. He has decried the coinage of silver in any form, and is an un- tiring worker against that metal. In l87«, it was Ihe general cry of our f)nan< iers (so-called) that gold would leave the country if we coined silver. However, from 1878 until November 1st. 1891, we coined Sj09.475./'8 in silver dollars, .ind during that same time, accumulated over ^500.000.000 in gold. ( >ur financiers (?) were wrong in their predictions. They are wrong in their i)redictions in regard to silver coinage. Until we lose the balance of trade we will continue to accumulate gold, no 22 MISTAKES. matter whether we coin silver or print promises to pay on pa- per and call it money. We are selling more than we buy, and can do what we please in this matter. The wiseacres of finance cry "thief" to keep the attention of the people from the fact that they want to restrict the currency in order to n b them. They know that their assertion, that free silver coinag ■; would mean silver monometalism, is false, but the money-lenvl^r is correctly des- cribed by Shakespeare. He wants his pound of flesh, though it destroys the prosperity and life of his country. The flow of precious metal from our mines is the blood of our financial system. It furnishes that pulsing life that keeps us prosperous, increasing with our growth, and strengthens every part of our commerce. Let us say to these money- lenders and Shylocks, "Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; but, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed one drop of Christain blood, thy lands and goods are by the laws confiscate unto the State." CHAPTER IV. 44 GRESHAM'S LAW." Easily explained, "Grcsham's Law" is a theory advanced that, in all countries where various kinds of money are used, tlic one of the most commercial value is driven out, by the poorer forms of money. It is a theory that assumes two things. V'nst: that precious metals have a value other than by law. Second: that people are prejudiced in favor of one money as against another when both are guaranteed by the same nation alike. Mr. Gresham was an Englishman in free trade England over three hundred years ago. He made his observations from an English standpoint of study, and his wliole deduction is cor- rect except in one thing. He found that full weight coins woultl \)v exported instead of light weight ones, which, when you consider lli.it ihf full weight coins were worth more for bullion than the others, was really no great discovery. His latter day admirers have ex- tended his theory to the belief that with gold and silver jointly used as currency, the gold would be sent out, leaving the silver. While "Grcsham's Law " was a fart in his day, the deduc lions that his latter-day cliami>ions make, are all wrong untKr the <()iulitions as they exist to-day. An Englishman might truly note that countries which owed England money on balances, having gold and silver, would lose the gold first. The men who (|uole the "Gresham Law" fail to state how il would act in countries which do not owe a balance of trade. It is very proper, and undoubtedly so, that if a n.ition or set of men h.id to remit coin of any kind to England, that ihey would remit gold, because they know they would get £} 17s. (/I. pt-r ounce for it, while if they remit silver, the brokers would "s( alp" It as much as possible. With a balance of trade against a 24 "GRESHAM'S LAW." country, "Gresham's Law" is as sure as fate, but with a balance of trade in favor of a country it is all "bosh." France is a notable example of its fallacy, and this country, since the balance of trade is coming our way, is another. It is a theory that falls flat when confronted with facts. For the past few years England is wavering along that point that promises a complete loss of the balance of trade. Germany and France have built up a merchant navy that is encroaching on England's commerce in every direction. England has to strain every nerve to meet the drafts of this country on her treasure vaults. If it had not been a fact that the United States had been enormously in debt to that country, we would have impoverished that nation. She has not gold enough in her banks, nor have her people enough precious metal to pay us one year's balance of trade. "Gresham's Law" is good as against a nation that owes money but it is a myth in a country that is accumulating money. It is this feature of the silver question that I want to give in detail. I have j)repared tables to prove that gold will not leave this country with free coinage of silver, and want every man to carefully consider the statements made. After all, the only use of money is to pay debts, and in making coin the Government only stamps an indestructible declaration of value, that shall be credited a debtor. A nation that is a spendthrift is subject to "Gresham's Law," but the United States or France is as free from its effects as though it never was heard of. The people of a country do not look to the bullion value of a coin, they merely look to see that it is stamped properly by the Government, and not defaced or is not counterfeit. GOLD DOES NOT LKAVK THE UNITED STATES. On November ist, i8qi, the Director of the Mint estimated that there was a stock of $671,139,531 worth of gold and $539,- 241,624 in silver money in the United States, and of this coin- age, $409,475,368 were silver dollars coined since 1878. His figures on the amount of gold in the country are probably nearly correct. I \\ ill combine his report with Treasury statements and get at a close approximate. The figures of the Director of the Mint showing the pro- GRESHAM'S LAW." duction of the mines of the United States are as follows, since 1878: GOLD AND SILVER PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES. Years. GOLD. Troy Ounces. Gold. TroTounces. Silver at. 29.29 1878 1879 18.80 1881 1882 1883 18-S4 188-- 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 2.476.800 1.881,787 1,741.-00 1,678,612 1.572.187 1,451,250 1,489.9^0 i.5,V<.325 1,6X6,502 1,603,649 1,604,478 1.594.775 1.588.S77 1,604,840 $ 51,200,000 38,900,900 36,000,000 34,700,000 32,500,000 30,600.000 * 30.800,000 31,800,000 34,869,000 33,136,000 33,167.500 32.967,000 32, 84;, 000 33,175.000 34,960,000 31,550,000 30,320,000 33,260,000 36,200,000 35,730.000 37,800.000 39.910,000 39.6S5.513 41, 721. 192 45.792.682 50,094,571 54.516,300 58,330,000 $ 45.200,000 40,800,000 39,200,000 43,000,000 40,800,000 46,200,000 48,800,000 51,600,000 5i,32i,;oo 53.941,800 ^9,206,700 64,76.8,730 70,48^,714 75.210,565 Total... $486,060,400 569,570,650 J736.541.ccq The Treasury reports show our imports and exports of gold and silver during the period from June i si, 1877, to February 1st, 1892, to be as follows : IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF GOLD. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OK SILVER. Vcar. Exports. Imports. Vcar. Exports. Imports. T^'-8. I8.M l'<82 lH><; I'^M iSH; I'^^r, "SS7 JS^S iKV; |8<,0 l8t)i To Feb 1,92 $ 9.204,455 4.:87,6l4 3.6.W,024 2.565,132 32, 187.880 II, /wo, 8X8 41.081,0:7 8.477..S2 42.9^2. 191 9.7" 1. 187 I s. 376, 234 59,9:2.28; 17.274. .»9l 86.^)2.6:4 8.i«72.643 Ji3,33o.2i5 ^,624,948 80.758,31/1 100,031,249 34.377.054 17.7.^4.149 22.831,317 2hM)\.(*ifi 20.743.349 42.910.631 43.9,U.3"7 lo.28:,8:8 I2,943,.342 iS,2^2,:'i7 42,215,860 1 IR78 »24.535.670 ! 1879 20.401^827 1 18H0 |.<.;03.H94 1881 16.841,71; 18H2 16.829, ii9<> 1883 20,219,44- 1.884 26,0:1.426 i.SS; 33. 7 13.633 iSSf) 29.5 11.219 26, »)<).; 04 1 N^r !•-'.. 1 • "' ) 28.037.949 Tfi.'-fc • • |H<)I 2. 1 To Feb 1,92 2'j.S7' 916,191,099 14,671,052 12,275,914 io,;44,2.^ 8,69:, 3.V> 10,755.242 14.594.945 l6,:!;o,627 l7.8--o..?o7 I7,2<)0,I9I i;,4o3,(>i)9 ■"/i:\2i5 18 '84 -80 Total..., >357. 236.627 f 492.644.928 Total.... #.?7o.Sl6,9i7 |»220,I95,«3I These figures show that other countries sent us $135,408,301 26 "GRESHAM'S LAW." more gold than we sent them, and this, added to our gold pro- duction, makes an increase of our stock of gold since 1878, when we commenced to coin silver, of about $621,468,701. It is supposed that about 815,000,000 to $18,000,000 worth of gold is used in the arts each year, but the most of that is not lost to use, if a necessity arises. Does this look as though silver coinage had driven out gold? On the contrary, sec tlie movement of silver. We produced in that time $736,541,009 worth of silver. We coined $539,241,624 and we sold to other countries $150,- 321,086 worth more than we imported, and we used in the arts from $7,000,000 to $9,000,000 worth a year. It will be noticed that we ship away silver, and that gold comes to us, and under the conditions of our trade with other countries this must be so, and will continue. If we had been having free coinage of silver since 1878 we would have had about $200,000,000 more currency in the couiitrv, based on silver. Our $150,000,000 worth of silver would not have been sold to England at a price that was used to depress every commodity raised by the producers of the United States, as I will show later. It positively could have done no harm to this country, but it would have done incalculable good. It is the first instance in history, that a powerful nation obtaining control of the money metals failed to dictate their value to the world. I propose to show by figures furnished by the Treasury De- partment itself, that free coinage of silver would only increase the volume of currency in this country without risking one single interest other than that of the money lender. WHY GOLD DOES NOT GO OUT. The plain reason why gold does not leave this country, is the fact that the United States is making money and that other nations are paying us instead of our paying them balances. GRESHAM'S LAW." I again take from the reports of the Treasury Department a statement of the IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF MERCHANDISE. v^l^fL Total Ex- fune"^. P-'- T„, ,,^ Excess of Excess of Imports. Exports. Imports. 1876 1877 1S78 1S79 iHSo $ c40.3S4.671 602.47C,220 694.»6:.766 710.439.441 83c.638.6;8 902,377.346 7Co.:42.257 823,839.402 740. c 1 3.609 742,189.755 679,524.830 716.183.211 695,954.507 742,401,373 8:7,^28.684 884.480,810 651,263.603 $ 460,741,190 1 $ 79,643,481 451,323,126 ! 151,152,094 437.051.532 , 2:7.814.234 44:. 777.77^ 264,661,660 667,9:4.746 : 167,683,912 642.664,628 2:9.7'2.7i'< 724,639, :74 ' 25,902.6^^ 723,180.914 100,658,488 66/607.60^ T-jSiC-oifi i8Hi j88'> 1M1 1R84. 188; 1886 18S7 188H 577.527.32<:) 63:,436,i36 692.319.708 723,957.114 74:, m, 6:2 789.310,40c) 84^,916,196 458,392.125 164,662.426 44.088,694 23,863,443 $ 28,002,607 1S89 |H<.)0 i8c)i Feb 1,1892. 2,7'?o,277 68,1; 18,275 39,564.614 192,871.478 Total,.. $12,570,903,145 $10,688,021,907 This statement shows that %ve have sold to other ((iimlries since 1876, §1,882,881,238 more merchandise than vvc have pur- chased from them. Add to this the silver purchased from us, Ji 50,321,086, and we have had balances aj^ainst other countries- amountinj,' to the enormous aggregate of §2,033,202,324 to l)e paid us. Now, how was this vast amount paid? The statistics show that the foreigners sent us §135,408,301 worth of gold, more tli.in we sent to them. The balance of this vast sum was paid us in the securities taken of us when we were "hard up"- l)efore, and about the time of the war. At one time it was supposed by conservative figures that we owed f2,50f>,ooo,ooo tf) foreigners, in the form of (iovernment bonds, railrf)ad bf)nds and stocks, etc. It will be noticed that the past few months gives a larger balance in our favor than any tune since 18S1, but the course of trade is su( h, that from February to Jtine. we can not expect much more than even balance with other cf)untries. Tlu- spring months usually show a bal.mce of trade ag.iinst the United States, Now there is no abstract sriciK <• in fin.iiu «•. 28 "GRESHAM'S LAW." The use of gold and silver is to pay debts. If we don't owe people, we keep our gold and silver, and every form of money. If we do owe other countries we pay out money to them, and if they were gold mono-metalists they would demand gold, most likely, in payment for their goods. In the tables that 1 present further on, it will be shown that we are fortunate even in this, from the fact that the countries we owe money to are not mono-mctalistic, and that the countries that owe us our greatest balances, are those countries trying to hold to a gold basis. The published table of exports and imports shows that we have paid four-hfths of the enormous debt we owed Europe in the "seventies." If we continue to drain other countries at the rate of the past sixteen years, there will be no more of our se- curities held abroad in five years' time. Then those countries will have to borrow money of us at a higher rate of interest than we pay at home, or, they must send us gold to pay their debt. England has not gold enough in the whole United King- dom to pay us one year's balance of trade, after we have ab- sorbed all of the debt we owe her. In presenting the tables in this chapter, 1 think that it is made plain that the "Gresham Law" is shown to be a theory in our case. It certainly has been for the past sixteen years, and it ivill contimie to be so as long as we have a balance of trade in our favor. If we of the United States have no confidence in ourselves, it is perfectly proper for us to follow the dictation of England, but I can see, that unless trade changes materially, London must step back the same as Venice, Genoa and Barce- lona have done in the past, and New York take the banner of finance and make her terms to all the world. A.MERICA'S time to IJICTATE VALUES. In my historical sketch, I tried to impress the fact that the nation that got control of the balance of trade, and the bulk of the precious metals, always has assumed to put a value on the precious metals by law. The only exception being in the case of England, that only declared the value of gold by law. It is time now for the United States to declare the value of the precious metals, only she should follow the rule, and hot the exception. I again have recourse to the report of the Director of the "GRESHAM'S LAW." Mint. He reports the following production of precious met.ils, and I use his own figures because he is an acknowledged an- tagonist to silver, and is one of the clique which docs all it can to hurt the use of silver as money. PRODUCT OF GOLD AND SILVER IN THE WORLD FOR 1873 TO 1 891. Year. Silver. Fine, Ozs. Troy. 1874. IS75- 1876. 1877. 1S7S. ;a iMi. i)iS2. 18S4. 1R86. 18.S7. iWW. 1S89. iSqo. I8qi. q6, 200,000 co,75o,ooo 97,300,000 103,700,000 144.000000 iiCJi 000,000 io( 000,000 106. '00.000 io3.ox),ooo 102,00 3,000 9:,4oc 000 101.700.^00 ioS,4oo,a-o io6,ooo,oo>i ios,77;,ooo 110,244,000 1 22,43s, ;oo 1 16,009,000 124,229.000 63,267,00c ;:, 300,000 62.262,000 67,7:3,000 O2.64S.000 73.476,000 74,2;0,000 7^,791,000 7^,S90,ooo 86,470,000 8(). 177,000 81,^97,000 01,652,000 93,276,000 96,141.000 I0S,KSS,000 123,^00,000 I2S,9I4,000 140,683,000 By looking at my tables (jf production, it will be seen th.it the United States produced over one-quarter of the gokl in the world, and nearly c/zc-Z/a^ of the silver (the exact proportion of silver production amounts to 42 ]>er cent.), 1)1. t when it is taken into consideration that the United Stales h.iiulles over lialf of Mexico's production, either in smelting ores br )ught from Mexico, or importing Mexican bullion (which I givo fully in "Trade with Mexico" chapter), it is a fact that tlie lUitcd States to-day controls largely more than one-half the silver production of the world, or nearly 60 per cent. The Director of the Mint also claims lliat we have )?7oo,ooo.- CX30 in gold in this country in circulation or in the Treasury, and we tf)-day have about !>/'ioo,ooo,ooo worth of ^iIver in coin or in Inillion in the United States. :iiul I think the csliniale is alinui correct, it is estimated tliat there are ?!, 700,000,000 gold in the world and the above slu)ws tiiat we already have about one- "GRESHAM'S LAW," fifth of the gold of the world, in our possession, and a strong pull on the remainder if our balance of trade keeps as it has done the past sixteen years — and at the same time we are one of the largest producers of gold. In silver, however, we arc far ahead of all other countries in production. I have not investigated the matter thoroughly, but from the best of figures to be obtained, the amount of silver used as money is supposed to be about equal to that of gold, or say, $3,700,000,000. The reason of my uncertainty, as to amount is the fact that Oceanica, Asia and India absorb vast amounts, and the records of coinage are incomplete. However, it can safely be said that the United States has on hand already about one-sixth of the silver of the world. In Europe.- where the coinage is known, there is about $1,150,000,000 silver money, and $700,000,000 of that is in France alone, leaving the other nations but a small part each; England, $105,000,000; Austria, 8100,000,000; Spain, $90,000,000; Belgium, §50,000,000, &c., &c. The assertion that there is a stock of silver "bullion" in Europe is absolutely false, with the exception of a small lot held possibly by Germany. Europe buys of us every week, and as I will show further along, they use it as a weapon to destroy the prices of every- thing that we sell. The most careful estimate by men in the bullion trade is that there is not 4,000,000 ounces of silver in the form of bullion in England to-day, and she has all of the stock except the little lot Germany has on hand. As the United States owns more of the precious metals than any nation in the world, and is producing more than any other nation, and as her trade is such with other countries that no matter what move we would make in finances, gold would stay with us, what danger is there in free coinage of silver.'' The only one that the gold-bug now advocates, as he sees that gold does not ^o away, is to claim that silver would be dumped upon us in case of a Free Coinage bill passing — and I will pass to this feature of the question. WHY SILVER WOULD NOT BE DUMPED ON THIS '"'^UNTRY. In the foregoing I have shown from the beit authority ob- tainable how much silvei' there is in the world used as money. "GRESHAM'S LAW." 31 The Treasury statement shows that England purchased §15,066,710 worth of silver in iSgi.all of it bullion purchased for the purpose of paying India for wheat that England had bought from that country. If they had had a stock of bullion on hand they would not have purchased here. Now, in regard to other nations sending us the silver thcv are using as money and replacing it with gold, I must say. tiiat the men who advance that theor> must be a little more crazy than the gold men who threatened such dire disaster to the country if we coined silver. The silver money of Europe is coined on the basis of a ratio of fifteen and one-half to one; our ratio, as before men- tioned, is sixteen to one, because, when the great and power- full nation (?) Portugal was overruled by Spain and France in the ratio of sixteen to one, they failed to change the ratio for the Colonies, and the silver in our dollar was based on the quantity of silver in the Mexican dollar. This, of itself, makes an ounce of the silver in a coin in Europe represent a value of SI-33K. while our coins only represent Si.2q j'rt^ per ounce. This would show a loss of say four cents on the dollar to them, but there is another feature that is ;/'Ould tliin have to />ay us the gold t)aik in sitf/enient of debts. Tiiis is one of the great things talked about by the advocates of the gr)ld standard. It is so silly, when looked at from a business point of view, that it is laughable. It has prejudiced many men against free coinage. The wild-eyed follower of English dictation tries to make out that thousands of millions of silver is sacked up, ready to ship to this country, when, in fn.t, it is this country that, unron- GRESHAM'S LAW. sciously, by throwinp^ a little surplus of silver on the markets of London, is dcprcssin<,r the value of silver Inillion, and, in thus doing, is robhini; her pcoiile of thousands of millions of dollars; destroying one of lur greatest resources and working into the hands of foreign capitalists. The United States should awake to the situation, and de- clare the value of the precious metals. Not pay a dollar to purchase l)uili()n, hut declare that for each 371.25 grains of pure silver brought to her Mints, she v/ill stamp it as worth a dollar and return it to the person who brought the bullion. Just the same way as the holder of gold bullion St^^ treated. She should step right to the front, discard all bullion pur- chasing dodges, and "coin money, regulate the value thereof" as the Constitution provides, and not speculate in bullion, as our English preceptors have taught. We own the great mines of f.recious metals. They are ours. It is for us to name the price, and not consult Portugal, Switzer- land, Spain or any other little principality of Europe. We are so near out of debt to foreign countries that we need not fear. Instead of any danger in free coinage, it will result in the greatest benefit to this country. The Englishmen have long feared the day that we will pass the Free Coinage bill, they know it will come, they use argument and money freely to thwart it, they have convinced the great men of WaJl Street that they should stop it, and the money-lenders of this country have thwarted the people; but it will come, because it is right. It is for our country's good, and these same bankers who now oppose it would receive a benefit in the change, because, with free coinage of silver, in ten years time, the center of finance •would be in New York instead of London. We would control the exchanges of the world instead of England. The star of commercial supremacy would change again, as it has done each century for the past four hundred years, and the children of to-day would see the time when hardly a nation of Europe could go to war, without first arranging with this country for the necessary funds. This is the destiny of the United States. A nation of free- men, governing themselves and the whole world, by ways of peace. "GRESHAM'S LAW." 33 We are a brave people, we felt not our strength, until tested in that great civil war. \Vc should be brave in finance, and not supinely follow the dictation of mistaken men — controling the precious .metals prodijction we should declare their value. I will give some startling results of our nation's loss by not maintaining the silver values, which I hope will be instructive. CHAPTER V. LOSSES. \VHAT THE FARMERS AND PLANTERS HAVE LOST. Mining and farming go hand in hand, to prosperity or dis- pair. It has always been so, and shall so continue. In the de- preciation of silver it is more particularly shown than in any special instance of the past century. The raid against silver, throwing it out of the mints, naturally left it to seek an in- trinsic value instead of a legal one, as had been the custom for two thousand years. It naturally had a tendency to sell relatively lower than gold. The value of gold was maintained by law, but the whole effort of other governments, excepting France, was to de- preciate silver. Shameful as it may appear, our own great nation joined in this attempt at depreciation, and continues so to do. Were it not for llie law, can any man foresee what gold would be worth as a commodity? I think not. I attach a statement showing that everything that the farmer or planter raises has followed the depreciation of silver: Average price for 5 years ending 1872. Average price for 5 years ending 1877. Average price for 5 years ending 1882. Average price for 5 years ending 1887. Average price for 4 years ending 1891. Wheat.. $ 1.474 .902 .20 .127 .269 .141 :1^ S 1.259 .14S •'25 .081 .236 .128 .11 .104 $ 1. 192 .11 .08 .07 .177 .103 •093 .082 $ 0.962 .562 .102 .092 •07 .17 .0966 • .07 088 $ 0.877 Corn •52 Cotton Bacon ■X Beef, salted Butter .052 .158 .076 .066 Cheese ^I'Kar Tobacco LOSSES. 35 Now a good many men may say that the falling of price is a coincidence, and not a result. I will show you conclusively that m wheat it is a direct jrsii/t. rrior to 1878, the exportation of wheat to Europe from India was so small that no one ever figured it in results; the highest ever known had been about 4,000,000 bushels in one year. The money of India is the silver rupee, and it is coined at the ratio of 15 to i, or about equivalent to Si. 38 per ounce of «.r/er. This is the money of the country and represents the value stamped thereon; as silver bullion was allowed to decrease in ■.alue the Englishmen have bought it and sent it to India, coin- ing it into rupees and paying for wheat in that country. As silver decreased in value the Indian wheat trade increased. From the Official Produce Exchange Reporter of New York, dated February 20, 1892, I clip the following: "J. E. Beerbohm's Evc7iing Corn Trade List of February 5, i8g2, in its weekly review, says: "'The Indian shipments last week amounted to 70,000 quarters, against 27,000 quarters in the corresponding week last year, so that the total shipments for the forty-two weeks, from April 1 to January 30, are 6,300,000 ciuarters, against 3,030,- 000 quarters last year. The material decline in the price of silver and in the rupee exchange has naturally facilitated ship- ments considcnibly; the present rate of excliangc is nitiicr lie- low IS. 4d., whilst at this time last year it was is. 5%d., ami in 1890 about IS. 5J^d. When it is remembered that a decline of J^d. in the rupee exchange means tiiat the Indian grower tan reduce his limits fully 6d. per (|uarter, it will be seen that Indian wheat can to-day be sent to this country for alxiut 2s. per quarter less than at this time last year, leaving the Indian producer the same net result.' " J. E. Beerbolim is the official statistician and reporter for the British grain trade, and for over twenty years has been authority on quotations and supply and demand; acre[)te743.4'A The farmer has lost on his whole crop, hf)wever. It is tin- sur|)Ius of wheat that establishes the value and a ce)nscrvativc estimate of the farmer's losses on this year's crop of wheat, arising from the In»lian competition, is 1: i«mi, |.. i IiuvIk I, or nearly Sioo.ooo.ooo. The same operation is gone through with on Indian cotton. Last vcar the I'nitcd States sf>ld js2i>o,7l-',H<;H worth of cotton, of which ;>! 70,863,888 worth went to Ilngland. .i89Ji 12 38 LOSSES. A few years a^'o India was not considered a factor in ihc cotton trade, but she has now nearly obtained control of the China market for cotton stuffs and yarn, and sends en()Ui,di cotton to London to knock down the price of our cotton, so that as silver goes down, so does the price of cotton. Silver is now lower than it has ever been before, and the price of cotton is also lower than ever known. It is the low price of silver that directly causes depression in the price of wheat and cotton. A careful estimate of the loss of our planters, by the fact of India throwing over $80,000,000 worth of cotton on the markets, thus depressing the price for our cotton production, is $70,000,- 000. The price of bread stuffs tear down the price of corn^ pork, beef, and in fact, of everything that is used as food. The most conservative calculation, that can be made, would place the loss of the farmers and planters at §250,000,000 the present year, caused directly by the low price of silver. .And in the past ten years this loss represents over $1,000,- 000,000 in our balance of trade alone. Why was it lost? Be- cause our foolish financiers refused to coin about $200,000,000 worth of silver, but sold it to England at a low price, and allowed her to destroy, not only silver values, but the value of everything we have to sell. Still it is said the farmer is not a silver coinage man, and is told that to have free coinage he would loose by it, while the men who stand back of such talk represent the English in- fluences in this country, and connive at the ruin of our best interests. The fact is, that while our balance of trade is $1,000,- 000,000 less than it would have been with free coinage, the farmer and planter have lost ten times that amount by the de- preciation brought on everything he has produced, and it is the reason that f.irmcrs \y,\\v nf)t been prosperous the past ten years. England hopes to foster this Indian trade, and be inde- pendent of the United States in regard to wheat and cotton. .She would gladly expend millions to prevent free coinage of silver. It is foolish for this country to expect that nation to co-operate in good faith with us, in trying to put silver back to its old position. Our politicians are too poor business men to see the point LOSSES. 39 in the whole transaction. The "tailers" after English ideas follow on because they know no better. The banker fearing the natural increase of the currency, and loss of a few cents interest, joins with the opposition, and the farmer is being misled and bled by a press paid by a combination of interests antagonistic to him. WHAT THE RAILROADS HAVE LOST. The railroads are interested in the silver question as directly as the miner and farmer. The prosperity of the country imparts itself to the railroads more directly than to any other line of busi- ness. Our people are cosmopolitan; when they do well, they are travelers and spend money freely. They travel in palace cars, and demand the best and pay for it with more open hand than any people in the world. If we had had free coinage of silver and the benefits therefrom, times would be prosperous and active in this country. Money plenty, and cheap. On our ex- ports, we as a nation would have been 51,000,000,000 better off, our manufacturers having cheap money, would be pusliing their trade in all directions. In addition to the 8200,000,000 more silver that we would have had in circulation, we would have drawn at least $200,- ocKJ,ooo more gold from other countries, through our increased balance of trade, and all of this would mean business for our railroads. But let us get at specific benefits to railro.uls. It will be observed that this country would have exported nearly 400.000,000 bushels more of wheat had it not been for silver's depression. On wheat the railroads aver.ige about 35 cents pt 1 100 pounds to Chicago and llunce to tiie seaboard, whicli equals 21 cents per bushel. In this one iliin the rail roads would have made §80.000,000 more in freight than ihey have done. Of course, no definite figures could be given on another class of business, that would be the result of great prosperity, to this country, but it is safe to say that the railroads would have had an increase of tniffic lr> them of ;^2oo,ooo.ooo if silver had not been demonetized. The natural increase of the currency brought about bv the free coinage of silver would bring great and l;i>.ting benelils u< the railroads in another wav. TLntv -.f inmuv means low 40 LOSSES. interest, and ilic hoiuUHl indebtedness of the railroads could l)c refunded at lower rates, thus making fixed charges lighter and stock more valuable, while at the same time the companies could be more liberal with their employees. Do the raiboads want to see England build up this Indian, trade in wheat and cotton to the exclusion of our own? It certainly is rapidly drifting that way. A fair crop in Europe would make her independent of this country with silver at 87 cents per ounce, as I have shown. Every railroad man should be in favor of the free coinage of silver. Fiist- Because it is right; and, Second — Because it is Americark; and. Third — Because it is for the public good and means prosperity to this country. It would have paid the rail- roads better to have purchased the silver that this country has sold to Europe the past sixteen years, and used it in trimming locomotives and cars, than to have allowed it to go into the markets of Eurojie, and take the important part it has in in- juring the trade of this country. It the depression of silver t)ullion values continue, and silver not remonetized, there will be a day not far distant that our great East and West lines of railroads will miss their export trade entirely, and they know full well that this would mean thousands of idle cars, depression of values and disaster. The assertion by some short-sighted people that Europe would throw over their holdings of railroad bonds and securities to obtain gold from this country, answers itself. It is recognized by all that an increase of currency means j)rosperous times, and prosperous times means increased value to railroad securities. Do these men think that an English in- vestor would sell his securities at a time that he knew they were to advance, and pay higher dividends? My reader, I am sure that he would rather buy more than dispose of his present holdings. It would be the logical result of our prosperity. To-day the great bulk of our securities are held abroad, because they are more secure or better paying than other investments. There is no sympathy or love that makes a foreigner a holder of our stock, it is a business move, and while they want them at present, they would want them more in case we had free coinage of silver, and the resultant improvement from this in- crease of currency. LOSSES. 41 In this connection it is well for me to state that a period of general prosperity which would be brought about by activity in our mines, with an increasing currency, would, in addition to making the railroad interests profitable, carry with them every form of trade. The mechanics, laborers and artisans of all kinds would have work and liberal pay. The tide of progress or depression is governed more by the mining industry than any other. If it prospers, the whole country prospers; if it languishes, so does the whole trade of the nation languish. Every laborer in the nation suffers if the mining industry is destroyed. WH.AT THK MINERS HAVE LOST. One of the stock arguments against silver coinage is that every move for its advancement is only one in favor of the "silver barons." Unfortunately the silver barons do not materalizc in Colorado, the greatest silver producing State in the I/nion. When you investigate who the silver barons are you will find a lot of Pacific coast men mentioned, who got rich off of gold mines or stock speculations in the Comstock lode. Of the 58,300,000 ounces of silver produced in this country, the Comstock only furnishes 3,400,000 ounces, and the mines of the silver barons, who are written about, could close down entirely and it would hardly affect the production of silver. Instead of the silver production being a speculation in this country it has become an industry, in which thousands of men arc engaged and millions of money invested. In another chapter I will give definite figures on silver production and its cost, not derived from guess-work while silting in ;in office at Washington, but from experience in managing and running silver mines, and living in a mining community for years. The silver mine owners of to-day are riosc-fisled men who arc not spenilators, with large diamonds and heavy wati li chains. Thiy have invested money largely in mining, and have dejiended on the apparent justi( e of the silver lause to carry them thro:!gh. They have not used money at Washing- ton or elsewhere to counteract the m;inufa< tiired public opinion against silver as money. When you hear that the "silver barons" are doing thus and so, you can depend upon it that it is a canard. ^Iy experience with them is that thcv arc too ^tiiifv to assist in any public 42 LOSSES. good. The rich silver mine owner would not put up cents to help silver coina},'C, where the bankers and En>,dishmen would put up dollars, to oppose the free coinage of silver. The min- ing capitalists have been the greatest losers in the mining country, it is sure; because after the labor of extraction and smelting has been gone through with, and paid for, tlie discount on silver must come out of the mine-owners pocket; somehow they appear to get in the same boat as the farmer, and let things drift along, not trying to stem the tide, or attempting to correct misapprehensions. The Director of the Mint reports that there has been made 371.95-090 in seignorage in coining silver the past thirteen years, and this amount has been directly taken from the mine owner's pockets by the Government; and on the $150,000,000 sold to Europe in the same time the average discount has' been about 20 cents per ounce, or 830,000,000 more. As the mine owner has squeezed part of this loss out of the laborers whom he has employed, and also has been enabled, by the depression in prices occasioned by the low price of silver, to buy supplies cheaper, he, while a large loser, is not nearly so much a loser as the farmer and laboring man, and the other interests in- volved. But when we remember that in 1666 people had grown so civilized as to recognize that it was wrong for a government to speculate off her people, and that the right for any government to purchase bullion, and make a profit by coining it, should cease. It is strange that in this, the most enlightened nation on the globe, we should go back to the system of the media- val ages, and that an officer of the Government should publish it in his report, as if it showed his sagacity. He shows how ably he has succeded in depressing the value of a precious metal, that his country produces the most of, and what a fine "scoo|)" in a financial way he has made out of the American miner. Ik-ing the one great purchaser, his whole endeavor is to buy cheap; and he is not enough of a business man to see, that with this endeavor he is tearing down the value of everything that we sell, and only making an ass of himself, and is laughed at by our British cousins, as being the foolish cat that raked the chestnuts from the fire. Until a change in the temper of the officers of the Treasury, or an upraising of the people, this thing will continue. CHAPTER VI. COST OF SILVER PRO' DUCTION. There has been a report sent out from the Treasury De- partment, that silver could be mined and sold at a much lower price than it is selling for at present, and the miner still make a profit. To a man, with any experience in mining, it is evident that the party who made this report did not know what he was talking about, or he did it for the purpose of assisting the iVioney- lendcrs in their scheme to rob the peojjle. Last year the State of Colorado produced $33,348,934 worth of mineral from her mctaliferous mines, included in which was 23,102,355 ounces of silver — the balance gold, copper and lead. Hardly any of these metals were mined alt>ne, they were tound in conjunction. If the silver mines should shut down, there would be no lead or copper mines in Colorado and but very few gold mines. In iik)i, 15,071 menengaged in mining regul.irly in Colorailo, in mines that shipjjed ore, and were paid i?i4, 503,645 for tlieir labor. The smellers employed 3,405 men who were i)aid J3,02X.475 for their labor. Over i,ooQ teamsters and ore haulers were engaged in haul- ing ore and supplies and they were paid $720,000 for their labor. There are three railroads that run tf> the mining districts in Colorado, that pay monthly ^375,000 to their employees. These road^ are built (o the mining districts, and two-thirds of their business is connected with mctaliferous mining, and 1 thus charge $3,000,000 of their labor to this form of pro(hi|) tin- ground. Counting this expense of "dead work," timbers, piiin|iing, hoisting and mining, it has been found that the average « o.st of a ton of silver ore amounts to S7.J'') per ton at the collar of the shaft. Deduct this from the $13.48 and yon have J6.22 per ton profit, and, as I mined about 1,000 tons fier mouth, the mine paid dividends of S6,25o per month <«* i" in\ . siiinni \.iIih(I at about Sfioo.ooo. With silver at 87 cents, however, the nnne owner would 46 COST OF SILVER PRODUCTION. only receive Si. 96 per ton, and so near tlio limit of absolute loss that he would be foolish to continue mining. As an example of how much our Treasury officers arc gov- erned by English ideas, the assertion by them that silver can be produced at 51 ,V cents per ounce, sounds remarkably like a report from the Broken Hill Mines in Australia, as such was reported to be the fact on one year's operation with their mines. In that report, not a dollar was allowed for the great shafts that had been driven, and preliminary work that necessarily had to be gone through with I)efore the mines were in shape to produce largely. It is a well-known fact to mining men that that report was used to boom Broken Hill stock, and, also, that the mines there are "playing out." While in one year they did produce more than Aspen, it is very doubtful if they keep up this year. If England and Australia can produce silver at such a price, why do they continue to buy it of us, at our prices? England, the first quarter of the year, bought 5,780,000 ounces of this country, and 7,120,000 of other countries, and shipped 13,660,000 ounces to Asia during that time, in payment for wheat and cotton from India. As the Broken Hill mines never produced over 4,000,000 ounces per quarter, and then under forced output to boom stock, it plainly shows that this price of the cost per ounce was used by the friends of Eng- land in this country to cast discredit on the metal. It would have looked better if the officials of our Treasury had investi- gated what it cost this country to produce silver, and not quote from London a price that was given out to deceive, and which was intended as a "bear argument" to push down the price of our silver. In ever)' phase of the question I find that facts are thus garbled to suit the money-lender's arguments. This figure sent out by the Treasury officials, giving the cost of producing an ounce of silver, was intended to deceive. A report made up from a list of the "bonanza mines" could easily make an average of 51^ cents per ounces. Thus the "Mollie Gibson" mine would figure much below that even, but mining men know that such richness does not exist for any length of time, in nature; and figures from that mine's pro- duction would not only be unfair, but jireposterous. Rich as that mine is, its production has but little weight in the great COST OF SILVER PRODUCTION. 47 mininlorado that operated last year, would as a whole, lose money, and that in fact, not over ten mines in the State could m.ikc money. To take a few bonanza mines and estimate cost of production of silver from 48 COST OF SILVER PRODUCTION. their reports, is as ridiculous as to assert that all men earn a thousand dollars a day in New York, because some man found a bond of that value in the <;utter. The operations of the Comstock lode last year show a loss to the stockholders, the assessments on mine owners there being hundreds of thousands of dollars in excess of dividends paid. While the Consolidated California and Virginia paid §216,000, the Belcher, Best and Belcher, Crown Point, Hale and Norcross, Sierra Nevada, Savage and Potosi mines alone, assessed their stock- holders $828,000, and these are but few of the instances that can be cited. The fact is, that it is the laborer who gets the greatest dividends from silver mining, and my figures show why the production of silver does not create the number of "silver barons" that used to be developed from the industry. It also shows that a man sitting in a cozy office in Washing- ton can figure out results that are surprising to the men. who produce silver, and misleading to the world at large. It also shows that after silver mines are opened up and de- " veloped, that it costs about 93 cents per ounce to produce silver, and that when the costs of prospecting, and the millions of dollars lost in digging where no silver mine exists, by mistaken men, are taken into consideration, the silver in a silver dollar no more than represents a dollar's value of labor. It is and always has been so, and nothing to-day so nearly represents an absolute value as the silver dollar. This chapter is written to correct a misapprehension, and not as an argument. The fact that gold was produced at a cost of but $7 per ounce in California is well known, and that it also cost but $11 per ounce in Australia at one time. Nevertheless the Bank of England never receded from its position as defined by law under the Bank charter act, but con- tinued to pay j^3, 17s. Qd. per ounce for all brought to them, and it was merely considered a piece of good fortune that the owners of those mines could make such a profit, and was an incentive to others to seek out and find other mines of precious metals. It was not supposed that too much money could be ob- tained by any nation, until the bo*id-holders of the present COST OF SILVER PRODUCTION. 49 generation have advanced the theory. The cost of the pro- duction of gold never was connected with its use as money, neither should the cost of production of silver. However, if any argument is to be used in this phase, it is all in favor of silver, as it certainly costs nearer its value in labor than gold. It takes more science and skill to produce silver than gold, and because of scientific knowledge we should not allow ourselves to be swindled out of our profits by mistaken financiers. BOO.M LITKRATURli. To a great extent the silver miners have, by drawing the "long bow," assisted in destroying confidence in silver. The "boomer" of the silver mining camp is usually an enthusiast, who builds a great future for his camp on as small a basis as the one on which a gold mono-metalist would want our finances placed. He reports millions in sight, and asks capital to help him get it out, and capital goes in with him, without thinking a moment of the fact that if the boomer had millions in sight he would not need his capital. In 1873 one of the greatest injuries done to silver was the ridiculous report of the Comslock lode's great riclnKss. It was the leverage used by the Englishmen to raise any amount of corruption fund necessary to liring about the demonetization of silver, as the\ represented that silver would in a short time be so plentiful in the United States that she would soon control the value of the precious metal Ijy controlling the production. The talk was that there were ^175,000,000 in "sight," when in fact there have never been Sio,ooo,ooo in " sight" in that vast line of properties, and half of that value was in gold; it was to "boom" the stock, and impress the fcuci^n visitors with its great value that caused this misrepresentatinn. The boomer will go into figures, and state that there is |ro,ooo,ooo in a mine, but when it is investigated it will l)e found that he has figured from a streak of 20 ounce ore with heavy silica base, absolutely unmarkctaljle, and that his figures are based on the supposition that his streak of ore runs a 1,000 or 3,000 feet in depth. If things would continue as he hoped there would be 10,000,000 ounces there, but as it wotild cost nearly twice what it was worth to mine it and reduce it, its value would be absolutely nothing. The present year, we have one of those remarkable waves 50 COST OF SILVER rR( )1)UCT10N. of boominfj of mining camps. We hear of wonderful strikes at Crecdc of silver ore, and at Cripple Creek of gold ore. There are valuable iniiK's at l)olli of these points, but the assertion that Crcede is a camp that would rival Aspen or Leadville in production in this year, or, in fact, in any other in the near future, is a ridiculous statement. Aspen will, un- doubtedly, produce nearly as much as Leadville and Creede put together, in 1892, and she will not increase much over last year, if any. It is doubtful if Colorado produces as much as last year of the precious metals, even with both of these new finds. There arc two good veins discovered at Creede of valuable silver ore, but a man who would estimate over 1,500,000 ounces in sight in that camp, considering the faults, and possibilities of the future, should be classed as a boomer, and let drop at that. Also at Cripple Creek there have been three good leads uncovered. One of which gives remarkable evidence of value, but if Cripple Creek produces over $1,500,000 this year I will be surprised, and this is nothing against that camp, as I have investigated it thoroughly and believe it gives promise of some of the greatest gold mines in tliis country. In fact, mining is an industry. It takes time to develope the mines, and until they arc developed, they cannot produce an amount of ore enough to affect the general production of the country. Four years from now these new camps can produce large amounts, but it is an injury to the business to have these wild representations go abroad. CHAPTER VII. INTERNATIONAL CON FERENCE. One of the greatest things that has stood in tlic way of free coinage is the fact that, a large class of men believe it is neces- sary to have a conference of nations, that would jointly agree to remonetize silver and establish a ratio of value. Now a person who thinks tlial Kn','land would join (except to prevent action), in such a conference, under the present cir- cumstances, is too poor a business man to be considered as really sane. The demonetization of silver, and < onsccjuent dif»-issi';ime position ;is France is to-day. Her policy is to so regulate her imports and ex|»orts bv tariff regulations, as to keep other < ountries |)aying money to her, and thus increase her riches — and it is this only reason that enables her to keep her largo reserves of gold and silver. If her statesmen find that her bal.ince of trade is against her, they not only impose a heavy tariff on ( ertain things that the) import, that they can do without, or absolutely prohibit its importation altogether. 56 TARIFF AXU FREE COINAGE. Last year wc p.ud France nearly $15,000,000 in gold to settle our balance of track-, and the French people found less trichina in our pork at once, and they reduced the duty on our flour also. If the balance of trade had been the other way the wise Frenchmen would have still declared our pork diseased. So the United States could by tariff regulate her trade in the same way. An investigation of our imports shows that. we are the greatest nation of spendthrifts in the world, and that of the §842,000,000 worth of goods, etc., that we purchased from other countries in 1891, nearly one-third of that vast amount was for luxuries and things it would be better not to have had. We buy things that we had better raise ourselves, or go without, and we frequently buy them of people who do not trade with us in return. The reciprocity feature of the present tariff is a good one, because it would be a corrective of such a balance of trade. This country has got to a point that it should notify the different nations that sell largely to us, and buy little in re- turn, that unless they can give our trade a fair show in their markets we will be obliged to charge a tariff on their goods and check the importations until they nearly balance their purchases from us. What nonsense it is for us to buy millions of dollars' worth of beet sugar from Austria-Hungary and send over the casA to pay for it, when that country hardly buys a thing of us. We should be made to get along without her beet sugar, unless she buys something of us in return. We can produce beet sugar as well as they can. We should put such a tariff on that sugar as to make a loss of money in sending it here, or the importation of beet sugar from Austria should be pro- hibited. We should declare that it has bacteria in it and stop it from coming here. The same with the wool from Turkey, in Asia, and a great many things that I will call attention to in the detailed state- ments. We could completely fortify our position in the future, in case we should declare for the free coinage of silver, by such a tariff move, and it would make our country only the more rich and powerful. The McKinlcy bill in many ways has done the very thing I propose, and although it was badly cried down by a great TARIFF AND FREE COINAGE 57 many people at the start, it will be found, on close study, that it was a wise move in the right direction. 1 1 did put a tariff on many things that has checked importation, but it very much cheapened the tariff on many necessities. My investigations lead me to believe it the best arranged tariff law we have ever had in this country. It strengthens the position of this country, and makes the proposition of the free coinage of silver more safe than before. As a tariff of some kind is a necessity, why not have an American tariff instead of a protective tariff or a tariff for revenue only? Let it be based on the principle that if nations buy freely of us we will not charge a tariff on their production, and, oh the contrary, if they do not buy freely of us, by a tariff preventing them selling goods in our markets. This is a principle in business that is carried down through all branches of trade ; it is as right for nations to adopt it as for individuals; it is the fundamental starting point of business relations and is only common sense. Why should we pay great balances to nations antagonistic to us for things that we could get along without or buy from our friends? CHAPTER IX. BALANCES OF TRADE. In tlii?; chapter I present a compilation of our trade with the world, divided in such a way as to be afterward subdivided for the purpose of explaining the various featMres that I wish to present. Our total imports last year were $844,916,196, and our ex- ports 8884,448,810, the latter amount, including foreign and ilomestic exports, showing a net balance June 30, i8go, to June 30, iSgi.of 839,532,614 inourfavor, hut in theseven months, June 30, 1891, to February i, 1892, this balance has rapidly increased, Jis has been shown in the statements of exports and imports that I have given previously. The seven months show a. balance in our favor of $192,871,478. BALANCES OF TRADE 59 o fo L--d o o ac ro N r^ •/■■ r^ • i«. ■*»• r*! i^ ac N — t^ • O a z oo »r» C^ O « O N 1^ = c (N| lA (S « -4 ; i yS. ffl5 en «» *> a , < 13 t^ fO M O ■ . ^ . . r^ b: sj V O N «?> • • ir\ • «>. o Q 2 c a .r> ti h; q ■ • '^ • vO "lll'4 : rC « rC « ; 00 *. "f : 1 ?- — O u «» « t« (d & J (A • 1 Cm l?.r???,^,p| oe ■< > rt u) « .J < be < iT- OC sO — T — ^-'' CO U HI W CO li"' r>. ^D . rj »r^ . =8 O C» 1^ N 5- • i'^ic.' : i^ Sen i^i^ ; 00 z - c— ; 1A ; f^ ri" ; ^ i* 'J 5^' i'. S B> , ?§:?i^^r^i? o 00 ft o ^I'^IJl:^;!^'^ 4 X _J J^ 5 1^ 1' f ^, -^ ^ is i ^%'ps'e-'^^3.^^ * o '/I it^ii^^A^ "i 5 < H S "T c7 »: ' ■/. «» ^ (S o u . . t» ; u. s • • * • c < : • 8 : : V. "(5 :•= •:« o •* . e • o • e ' '9 ' Qni 2c3 ; : • 5J I'g U i '2 -3 • ■■ " :% d i Is' ■ j 2 « > 3 : g : i3 _ <• (I Iff ?' ■::? l; 5- X, < ; 6o BALANCES OF TRADE. It will be observed that wliile some of the Europecin countries have a balance of trade against us, that the geo- graphical district of Europe owed us §245,492,723 for goods purchased, and, in addition to this vast amount, we shipped to Europe §87,746,147 in gold and silver, so that we paid indebt- edness or laid a basis for exchange payments to other countries, amounting to $333,238,870. From this amount we paid in exchange on London principally that vast debt we owed South America. While we sent to South America $2,601,703, the States in South America sent us 62,582,140 in coin and bullion, nearly balancing coin shipments, but we paid in exchange on London 885,039,288 for goods purchased from them more than we sent to those countries. Also with Asia and Occanica— in my statements for that district the movement of coin will be explained — it will still be seen that while we purchased $53,717,969 more goods than we sold, we only sent that geographical district $[,160,384 in coin more than we received, and we also paid the balance, $52,557,- 585, in exchange on London. The West Indies and Central America also scored a balance against us, amounting to $5,170,289, and in addition they sent US$717,623 in bullion more than we sent to them, so that we paid them $5,887,912 in exchange on London. Cuba sent us $1,216,682 more bullion than we shipped them, and it was mostly gold, as no country other than Mexico and Columbia sent us as much as $1,000,000 worth of silver in 1891. So that we paid in exchange on account of Cubian importa- tions and bullion $50,706,189. While we paid in exchange for an apparent balance of §12,324,367 in favor of Mexico, when our trade with that country is analysed it is a doubt in my mind, if it is a disad- vantage to us, and as Mexico has a special chapter I will let it go for the present. The trade with other countries is so near a "stand-off" that it is hardly worth while counting them in our calculations. .Summed up in a concise manner, we, by selling goods and shipping gold and silver, established a credit in London amounting to $333,238,870, and from that amount paid by drafts; South America, $85,039,288; Asia and Oceanica, $52,557,585; West Indies and Central America, $5,887,912; Cuba, $50,706,- BALANCES OF TRADE. 6i 189, and Mexico, 812,324,367, which would leave a balance of $126,723,529 that Europe would owe us. Europe has no gold or silver to spare, it buys its supply from us, as shown by our statistics, and this §126,000,000 last year was paid by sendintj us back bonds, and stocks purchased from us, when the balance of trade was going England's way. The great bulk of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad came back to us in that year, and we are gradually drawing all of the American securities from the English market in this way. American securities are always quoted dull of late in London, and any of their traders who want to speculate in American stocks send their orders to New York, because they have too few stocks to operate with, to make speculation secure in London. It is better it should be so, as it makes brokerage in New York and profits for Americans. With the free coinage of silver, and the benefits arising therefrom, not only our own stocks, but the bonds of Russia, and every borrowing nation, would be governed by the New York quotations in ten years time. We would be the nation that had money to lend, instead of our friends across the water, and owning the great mines, and making more money than all the world combined, this great trade in exchange would concentrate in New York. W'e would furnish exchange for others, and instead of the English "pound" that is made stable by English law, we would estab- lish the American clollar as the unit of value all over the work!, and sustain it by law, as should be done at present. It is America's opportunity and should not be lost. r.UROPKAN HALANCES. I present the following statement of our account with European nations: 02 BALANCES OF TRADE. H C u D t/3 o c o < u Z O U ~ r* ^ s CO <• < a A y. o c/j O y. •6 5 1 TT .E> f^- : 1< N 1 o'S "S Oi *» *A ....O'*'^ •^rs. N • •a OC u'M-i • »/i 1^ 4A^ : t ,9 o- .f.CN . !>• u- zt& '■ 00 tn «» • - r^ • >r.r^ « *4-. '. IC^? . Jf,./-.0 N OOCC '* t-v -QC c^ •^ gcfi 1 in 1- vO |p . . fOt~.vqrO * ■ n M T ■« * • ' N • * rO ca •ft «A c5 ■* - o- " .<»• q. .V vo - ^ ct !> ->_^ -J -,^ f'} 1 'O °, '- nJoi-C rotAcio^fo cf ^O fO X-C o Q r^ CT- r^ CT' t-C "T r^^vr^ro o x^ -*o f^, ■•r <-" o — cr n 1/-.-0 c^ r 4 -^ tn o a * 0^ «» «» .7, a^ S f. a- K. f/O •&<> -> "-. q i-; «<» - d sd t-^ cf'S'x - - N «" r'i w \d c^ -* « < N vi a E 3 t^ ir. *^ ^ ■^ «» . : c . c 1. .■a •■?« \l l^'- ; Z P i^ ■ c • S 1" ■ Cr • be ■ ffi ■ :z . 0.!: 1 U c * L> i-STjWl 3 J : 7-j : «:^:r: i* ^^ *T .— i_ c J = c c-c 3±^ a J ■ 1- h/i rt « (- ^' =T S •'' ^ E = pi:-£ ^'i^i c = = P >•? 3 S ^ ^ * '^ , * ^ -7 ^ J ■ r ■ * :2 :a .& :a -S i'/ ,7 .'J jr" t< t: I BALANCES OF TRADE. 63 You will notice that the very first nation on the list is Austria-Hungary, with a balance of §10,284,227 against us, and hardly any purchases from us. Now, what do we buy of Austria, which is an unfriendly nation and a competitor of ours in several branches of trade, that wc could get along without? I find we bought 83,957.310 worth of beet sugar, S2, 595.659 of which came in free of duty, as low grade sugar. We bought 8105,386 worth of wool, $281,592 worth of beans and peas, §299,781 worth of manufactured wood and §745,200 worth of buttons, which makes an aggregate of §5,389,269. or over half of the balance of trade they had against us, that was paid for those things we ought to raise or manufacture ourselves. It is all right to buy Austria's prunes, glassware and such things that we cannot raise or make ourselves, but it is folly for us to buy those things we can do without, unless Austria returns the compliment in purchasing from us. We should put a duty on those things I have enumerated, so high that it sliould be held out of the country. Wc should trade with those who trade with us. I pass by the countries that trade liberally with us and pay us balances, but will show the class of extravagance in our purchases by analysing our balance sheet with I- ranee. We bought §15,995805 worth of goods more of France tliaii she bought of us. We paid her in gold §14. 586,849 on that balance. I find that we bought §45,400,000 worth of silks, dress goods, wines, precious stones and jewelry, cotton fabrics, china and anchovies. I also find that the McKinley i)ill imposed a duty on all of our imp()rt> from France exrcjit §io,vv;.344- 't ^^'-'^ the fear of France that our statesmen would impose further duties on their goods, to balance our trade with them; that in- duced them to let in our jiork .ig.iin and reduce the duty on our flour. Had the balance of tr.ide been ag.iinst I" ranee, no argument would have changed her position. Germany comes next, with a balance of 84.520.927 against us. and wc shi|.ped to CJcrmany §12.926.574 in gold more than she shipped ns, to pay that b.ilanro and part of the l)alance wc owed Austria. As Austria is attempting l(. resume specie pay- ments after a period of practical bankruptcy, she is anxious to secure a stock of gold. If wc had a law j)rohibiting the im- 64 BALANCES OK TRADE. portation of beet sugar, Germany would have been largely our dcljtor. We purchased the enormous amount of Si 2.891,689 worth of beet sugar from Germany, $5. 767,692 worth of wliic li came in free of duty. \\'c also lx)ught 8780,739 wortli of rags, $1,872,909 of rice and rice products, 81,328,617 of cement, and $1,051,234 of tobacco. So that of* our trade with Germany we, last year, bought $17,925, 188 worth of stuff it would have been better to have gone without, and and by purchasing so heavy wo had to send our cold cash out to pay for it. If by a tariff on beet sugar we would wipe out the adverse balance of trade of botli Germany and Austria it should be passed at once. I would propose a duty of about 5 cent per pound, and let the German and Hungarian eat his own beet sugar. We certainly don't need it bad enough to pay cash for it when we can possibly work up a trade with some other country. The next country that we owed a l^alance of trade to was Greece. I find that we bought $1,172,159 worth of currants. 1 suppose we want them, but it is a luxury easily gone without. Italy is the next country that we owed a balance of $5,631,283. I find that we bought of Italy 8490,541 of rags and paper stock, 8451,328 of n-on ore, $75,384 of salt; $297,005 of beans and peas, $487,108 of wood manufactures, and $1,668,000 worth of oranges. Or a total of 83,469,366 of articles we could well get along with- out. We also bought $4,111,327 worth of lemons and 82,140,516 worth of sulphur, but it appears that Italy furnishes us nearly all of these two articles that we import, so they are omitted from my list. The little country of Switzerland "hits us hard" in a financial way, as we owed her $14,069,488, wliich we paid for in exchange. Of this amount $9,265,700 was for laces and silks, $1,704,007 for clocks and watches, and $775,946 for cheese. Our people would not suffer if we stopped our whole trade with Switzerland, but as she is a sister republic, and even if kindly disposed could not buy enough from us as amount to anything, a regulation against Switzerland should be only a dernier resort. The only other European country to which we owed a balance last year was Turkey in Europe, the largest items of which were carpets, 8462,033, opium, $433,487. I suppose we BALANXES OF TRADE. 65 must have them. Russia on the Black Sea sent us 81,247,662 worth of poor wool, and we owed that province a balance. Hut Russia as a whole, is a good customer, and while I think we ought not to allow the wool to be brought here, it is of little consequence. I find that of the 8459,305,372 of imports from Europe that over one-quarter is for dress goods, say $37,000,000 ; silks and laces, §33,000,000; wines,S9,7oo,ooo; wool.Si 2,628.131 ; beet sugar, §18,232,277, and on these articles a tariff could be placed at any time we found we were losing coin. For my life I do not see why we should pay §30,000,000 for wool and beet sugar to-day, when on investigation we find that we pay cash for it instead of working it out in trade. It is not the way business men work their own business. While we can afford it it is well enough to buy the wines and silks, etc., but we are working • agamst our own interest to buy beet sugar and wool of countries that antagonize our monetary system, and also to buy nearly §5,000,000 of rags and paper stock from the slums of creation, and import a possible plague with every cargo. With a tariff properly regulated, there are plenty of things we can cut off without injury, and prevent a flow of gold or silver out of the United States. Willi .-i business administration, instead of a lawyers' and politicians', these things could be hanrlled so that in ten >ears' time we would h.ive the great bulk of money in the world in our vaults. Now is our oppor- tunity and we should not wait. IJAI.ANfKS WITH sol 111 A.MKKICA. The countries in South America, as will be seen by the table given, are those to which we pay the greatest amount <<( monev. 66 RALANCES OF TRADE. 55 D O U z < u t/1 C U < si »i-l Sh z C (- *- <— • r/^ ? bl Z Q < < J , K ^ •X H = W U. [•' fy c ■r" f- u H z u "r" >s H r 1 *-• _j :; X <; ^ lj u: CO a: ^ < > C ,.; >* >i Z ■ ■ < D X •— » (A H H < H C ?4> S X 00 *" /^ o z ro < 7. X H - as H Z c s "< u X H X o"S OS •o ■5 a c/3 bo < 8 O OO -*r^ . -r\r,0' ^ • S r*. . ^H :^ — C^ r^ CT' C7; ""J C^ rj^ 0\A »/*" rf rri i/oc' f^ ^^ -4 cf V? O h Z. c ^1) « 3 5 N— - >- O <23 ;^ 3 2 g .2 O - bf. J; N o H u « BALAN'CES OF TRADE. 67 The first on the list is the Argentine Republic, to which we owed 83,157,419. Of this amount, §1,378,116 was paid for wool that we ought not to have allowed to come into the country at all. The other large items are for hides and skins, which of course we want, and must expect to pay for. We can raise our own wool if we would keep out this wool that we bring in from Europe, China, Asia and South America — usually bought of people who do not buy largely of us, and who are not in sympathy with us politically or otherwise. Our trade with Columbia makes the best kind of a showing, as we only buy things that we need from that country, and charge duty on but §17,668 worth of goods purchased there. She sends her bullion to us to handle for her, and our trade is growing rapidly. British (iuiana is situated so that our market for manufac- tures is restricted through England's competition; but as our principal purchase was sugar, which amounts to within Si.ooo.ooo of the full amount of importations, we can stand it. Our trade with Uraguay was principally in hides and no doubt but what they were needed. Venezula was a large creditor of ours, taking ?7, 293, 585 from us, of which we sent to her Si,<;84,885 in silver and gold, and undoubtedly remitted drafts on Londwn to balance. As we paid for coffee alone §10,814,874, it is hardly woiili wliili' to account for the balance. Brazil appears llctes the bill. Our relations with South Amirira are in a j)cruliar position. We have practically removed the t.iriff from all of tlicir juo ducts, etc., and we pay them a heavier balance than any olhor countries in the world. They do not want our brcadstuffs, and our manufacturers have not secured their trade. It is a demonstration that free trade alone does not bring hap|>iness and plenty unless some- thing else accompanies it 68 15A1.A\CES CF TRADE, We pay South America §85,000,000, and if every country drew on us in this way, the gold, and silver, and all kinds of money, would fly to other shores, as the "Gresham Law" claims it would. What should be done by this country, is to subsidize a line of steamers to South America, and our merchants should establish agencies and work those markets for all there is in them. It cannot be done by "tramp" steamers; there must be regular fast line steamers, that would make time, so as to bring New York closer than London to that country. The Yankee can work his way if he has a chance, but the Govern- ment should start the venture by assuring a certain revenue, so the steamer could, if necessary, cut the rates and force the trade our way. As it is, nearly all these South American States and countries are heavily in debt to England, who is paid by us, instead of our sending the money to them direct. In other words, they send us goods and we pay England for her manu- factures, that she has sent to them. In fact, for the very purpose of preventing our trade in tliis direction, a line of freigiit steamers subsidized by England and Belgium, make what is called triangle voyages. The Liv- erpool, Brazil & River Platte Navigation Company have a line of steamers that make the trip from Antwerp and Liverpool to Brazil, thence to New York, and thence back to London, and that line is instructed to attempt to destroy any American line that is started, by taking freight from Brazil to New York, if necessary, at a loss. It is done to prevent our merchants getting a foothold with their manufactures in that country, and to "bluff off" any at- tempt we should make to get control of that trade. It has worked so well that while we, at the present time, buy more from Brazil than all other nations combined, they buy of Eng- land three times as much as they do of us. While we do not impose a duty on any of their goods, they charge a duty on their coffee and rubber exports to us, and on nearly everything we send to them. If the United States would start a weekly line of steamers to Brazil, equipped as elegantly as our Transatlantic steamers, swift, powerful and complete, started out with a backing by the Government that would give notice to the world that those steamers would run if they run only in ballast. Then our BALANXES OF TRADE. 69 merchants could get sale for our manufactures in that coun- try, and instead of our paying big bahmces to Europe for them, we would pay Brazil and the Argentine Republic in goods for their coffee, etc. h wouUl be better that the Gov- ernment should carry the goods "D.-M." for five years, than to allow this condition of things to continue. If we had free coi-nage of silver. South America would rec- ognize our dollar as good, and we could pay these countries in silver, and lay a foundation for trade on closer relations l)eing established. With swift lines of steamers and close business relations, this system of exchanges passing through London would stop. It may be news to some people in this country, but the let- ters from the United States officers at the naval stations in South America are sent to the Inited States via London. How can we expect anything else in the way of exchange? The South American would be glad to have closer relations with our country, and would be glad to adopt any monetary system that would suit us, and as we owe them money, it wouiil l)e better for us to consult with them in this money conlerence, than to call in England, or Portugal, or Italy. Without some kind of close relation, as I have suggested, we will have to continue to remit to London for purchases wc make in South America, because it is the quickest route. In all the talk against silver we never hear that lirazil, the country that we pay the most money to of all the nations in the world, is objecting to it, and in fact she is never mentioned by the howlers for gf)Id money. In all this discussion it is remarkable that the only talk of a conference is to l)e with nations that pay us money, instead of those that we pay money to. It ai)pears that if wc were trying to make a dishonest dollar our creditors would be the ones to consult. The fact is that not a nation in .South America would refuse our money if we would declare for free coinage of silver. BALANCES WITH r I'HA. From June 30, l8c/3, to June 30, uS^l, wc imported from Cuba $61,714,395 worth of articles. We exported l)iit isI2,224,8H8 worth of goruU, owing that country ;>49,4.S(;,5o7 as a balance on merchandise account, and in addition Cuba sent us Si, 216,682 worth of bullion, so that we owed her §50,706,189. 70 13ALANCKS OF TRADE. Cuba is a dependency of Spain, and until very lately (Septem- ber 1st. i8qi), that country had imposed a heavy duty on all articles that the I'nited States sent to Cuba, and assisted in every way to keep out our j^oods liy heavy tariff impositions. Our purchases from Cuba that amounted to anything were sugar and molasses, $47,000,000, and tobacco, $10,484,604. The sugar was needed and the tobacco was a luxury. While times are good let the tobacco come; but if llie balance of trade would go against us, as 1 do not smoke, 1 would be in favor of cutting it off by a prohibitory tariff, declaring there is nicotine in it, that it is unhealthy, on the same principle that the French had found that ourjiork was diseased. General Grant's idea of the United States taking possession of Cuba was a good one. We have paid for the island over and over since that time (since 1876 we have paid Cuba §732, 191,- 917 balance of trade), and until last September their statesmen and government treated the United States in not only an insolent manner, but tliey bled our merchants and commerce in every way possible. The treaty negotiated by Mr. Blaine, under the reciprocity clause of the McKinley bill, was the first concession we have received from that province. If Cuba belonged to this coun- try of course her finances would be the same as ours, and no bad results would be noticed in case we made heavy payments to her, and as it is, she belongs to Spain, but Spain is not a mono-metal country, and would be glad to follow the United States in any such move that we would choose to make. The silver dollar of the U'nitcd States would be taken by Spain and Cuba, if it were guaranteed by this Government; so there is no danger from this source, in case we declared for silver coinage. If the Cubans did not take our coin we could ask them what they were going to do about it. They have no other market . for their sugar. They could choose to take cither such coin as we declare to lie moneys or goods of equal amount; we would be just as pleased one way as the other. I notice that we imported from Cuba and Porto Rico $1,651,054 of iron ore. As the balance of trade stands with that country it should be stopped by a higher tariff on ore. BALANCES WITH MEXICO. We bought of Mexico $27,295,992 worth of products, and BALAN'CES OF TRADE. 71 sold them §14,969,625 worth of goods in return, showing a bal- ance against us of 812,324,367. Let us see what we bought of Mexico. In ores we purchased S2 14,803 worth of gold, $8,953,- 608 worth of silver, and Si, 847,696 worth of lead; inall.Sii,- 016,107 worth of products of nietalifcrous mines, which nearly amounts to the balance we owed that country. In addition to this, our other two big items were coffee, §5,094,839, and fibrous grasses, 85,754.552. The amount of sisal grass is a surprise to me, and in case of any misuntlerstanding, it could be cut off by a tariff to check a balance against us, but I think the condition of trade with Mexico is improving, and instead of being a bad thing, it is benefiting us, especially if wc should declare for free coinage. In addition to this large amount of precious metal that she shipped to us in her ores, she sent us §1,257,350 in gold, and Si3,o40,,o8i in silver bullion, so that we received from Mexico, in ores and bullion, $23,461,842 worth of precious metals. As Mexico's production is but §40,000,000, it will I)e noticed thai we got 60 per cent, of all she produced. It only shows that we already contn;! her precious metal, as well as our own, .uul that if we would declare for free coinage of silver, it would re- sult in that country adopting our standard coin as her own. because our interest being in common she would do what every nation in her position has done for rcnturies, viz., adopt the standard that the most powerful nation declares right. Last year the United States did not send but §167,335 J^"'*' to Mexico and the Central American States and British Honduras, so the silver of Mexico was not sent here lo tradr for gold. .She sent her gold here, as well as her sil\ cr, just ,i> Columbia had done. if the I'nited States would il(.( hire lor free coinage of silver, I firmly believe that the silver dollar would bcrccogni/cd as the standard of v.due all over both of the .American continents. There is not a country that wc owe large balances to but what is in favor of silver money, and there is no use for us to call a conference of European nations to ado|)t measures for increased use of silver, because if we do it ourselves it will be recognized by those wc pay money tr>, and why should we con- sult those that have to pay us money? We already control the silver product of the world; it is our place to proclaim its 72 BALANCES OF TRADE. value. It will cement to us the good will and trade of those growing countries on the Western Hemisphere, and they would look to us as their sponsors in finance. Unless we assert ourselves no one will respect us as a nation. The balance of trade for the past few years has been apparently increasing against us with Mexico, but as its growth is principally made up by precious metals that are sent to us, if we should have free coinage it would only bring more money into the country. This is the first century that has developed men who con- sider themselves statesmen and think it possible for their country to be too rich, or to have too much coin in circulation among its people. Do they know better than the financiers of the past two thousand years? BALANCES OF TRADE. 73 Q Z < H < H o o u z O z 5 b H z O x H ? /i ■-^ , D U < Cfl O X a< .ij S H (/) si < y r< o •/; u. Z z X < < ! *-; < ^ (/j O a yi UJ a; a O c UJ s -v* z H < < Z H >< U) i: a :s H V) D Z Z •;; J o 65 < <• ;-l u o z < a: H Z u c/; u o z < u Q < H U. O u z < X u X (- o I 73 O Q. 35 CO o • be O X o a H Z 3 O u oc'oc N 1^ o o vO ^ t^ir. ■ ooc 5*0 — '^ . *^ rj- -^ro O -^ r^sO TT '^ O O . "«r o Tj- — — -^ ir.»ri r^ — O N ^"O OO « O oc ro c*r O M H- w^ ro ■V • Q I O 'Oc* « .OC C o : "5-, rivC d^ *^- '^' ^OC f^, -f •^^ '-^i d "4 1. wO — _ I^ t^ « « « « N sO — 1^ "I O 3 Up I WIS ■-5^-?-= r-- So 3 :< -3 ^ -r: -^ _e — 1' -5 >- S :£.'i 'i., ■'■z n 3 O.y-p-C rt i =-C n = 5 fl = Zx=:Cu-Cx=xi:s o O 5- g- \jr\ :w5 rt -*■• o H 74 BALANCES OF TRADE. The only country in this list that appears to have a balance that amounts to anything is the British West Indies. We purchased $2,305,622 worth of bananas, and $8,130,936 worth of sugar, but they buy liberally of us, and it is a good trade to fos- ter. The trade with these countries is increasing, and it will be noticed that they all send their bullion to us, except Hayti, to which country we sent $i ,35 1 ,869 in gold, that was purchased out- right by that country, as we did not owe her any money on trade, Hayti had a little war of her own, and had to buy enough gold of us to purchase some old second-hand guns m Europe, and that was all that that movement amounted to. With the United States declaring for free coinage of silver, the dollar of the United States would pass current in these countries as freely as in our own. BALANCES OF TRADE. 75 Id O Z < H H r^ r. ? , <■ , x u. ■r ^-N f- CC '^ « !- C o z 0. <^, D X O u z u D D c« z ■~' ^ < ~ iX ir r-i Si (1 < K ^ > c oo ■x u< — a o Yi U o Z < H ;!._ IS >c ^ «». trt C C mJ •e a: O < u. u: etf X o a. 1 < z •< u o u X H ^ Z < o u z u c < < c '/"l t/i v: < u < u X z •< H < — * ^-1 >j < < P3 X Q H •^ r" (/i lb O V. -r; J ^ e 1 > 1 ^ g % ■o r* ■ r^. .5^ ^^^ '. o 5- 1 iS - o °'v CO . CJ '->?. i/» ; ur' o ESS « .A QOOO vO-.- M cS3«c .n O • O O f^ -^ . j^ ■ N o ■ t^ So. ^ : s 1 c c. ■ Crc3-Lr. o . O ! U2 •.f ; rC X 1 1 1 «» |-/. tfj PI »r\»ivo O fN. *- »» O ac cC ./-■ r', c- * 1)^ O —CC nD O v*r tC < C4J 1 N O ^ .'.t-.. ^ " o rt •/■. ' sO i/".t^ ^nO O t^ <*; — r~ O -TCCtC ^u-i N tA vD ■" be < tA '/> u ^nx N - oo >/ r^ o ^ f^ M — QC - M >2 . o .'■ -T ..^ q^C oc or; ,00 f'^iAxT NQC U^i . ./.L/-. o f^ oaf P) t^r>)- oe -fsO k^' "rt n «» «» ' ? (0 4.4 I-. ^ !>. 1^ o **» "^ ''•^ — f^ ^ r^ cf >' - * . . * - r>) »f. a X •^ U '^ *r V* •/» (n ^^^iiri?^,^,i?3t= r or o r o a E « B T rr I.. i - o -• -o '^' <^ tf ^f^^r^O "'n O & ^^ M «» !2 « £ :2!P.. : : ! fli :.2!CS u o o nan Islands h East Indii 1 East Indie pine Island ■y in .Xsia.. a in .\sia. .. h in Dceani ?3 '^ r ^ 'J ' c Ic °--i :: 3^ 3 3 d oc= 1 L T ZZz '.- -^ ,!. liU -- ZZ '.U >4 1 76 BALANCES OF TRADE. This is another section of the world that the United States annually owes a balance. Last year it amounted to $53,717,969. Let us first take the trade of China. We purchased $7,587,274 worth of tea, $4,352,574 of raw silk and cocoons, $804,209 of rice, $658,765 of silk goods, and $1,045,114 worth of wool. The latter article is about all that we did not really need. It looks as though there was a balance of trade against us of $10,620,842, but when you take it in conjunction with Hong Kong, which has a balance in our favor of $4,205,422, it reduces that amount, so that the $4,609,076 of silver that we shipped about squared our accounts in that section. With Japan we were not so fortunate. We bought §9,185,286 worth of raw silk, etc., and $5,533,335 worth of tea, and S140876 worth of rags, and with other things run up a balance amounting to $i4,!;oi,5o5, on which wc paid $918,686 in silver, and settled with the London bankers for the rest. Hawaii "touched" us for $8,788,385 on which we paid $912,- 750 coin, and either credited their account or possibly paid some debt of that dusky kingdom's that was pressing for the balance. We ought to have that island as a coaling station anyway. Our heaviest debt in that direction was to British East India. 1 find that $4,291,851 was paid for tin, $1,472,467 for flax-seed, $2,566,791 for jute butts, and $2,578,637 for jute and bags — the above amounting in all to $10,908,746 — and as I hope the McKinley bill will stop the tin, and that a tariff should be placed on flax and jute so high as to stop that importation as well, this balance' could be easily regulated, and is the only balance we owe to that section of the world that would possibly be questioned if paid in silver coin. A suggestion that if our coin was questioned, that we would not buy their goods, would settle all their scruples in regard to silver in one day. While the Phillipinc Islands do not buy anything of us, to mention, our purchase of them of $2,789,1 13 worth of manilla was nearly all of that article we imported, so they must have a practical "comer" on manilla, and we must stand it or go with- out. In our trade with Australia wc scored a balance against them of $6,778,111. They sent us $5,863,667 in gold, and the little balance in silver to pay their bill. This drain of gold came on them unexpectedly, as they had depended on giving drafts on London to settle their balance, BALANCES OF TRADE. 77 and when London failed them, and they remitted the gold to San Francisco, it created a panic in Australia that unsettled their finances for several months. Notice particularly that we paid what we had to pay these countries in silver, while they paid us in gold. Does that look as though a silver flood was coming from the far East? It was just the contrary. The ratio of coinage in India being fifteen to one, and in China less than that, it would be to them like paying Si. 50 on the Si.oo to send us silver. It would be the same as paying us S1.38 for S1.29, if we had free coinage of silver. China and Japan don't want the gold. If wc had remone- tized silver, as wc should have done, or if we do remonetize silver, our dollar will be above jiar in China and Japan, and eagerly sought after by those people. P-ven the gold-bugs do not predict that these people of the far East would let their silver go from them, no matter what action our country would take on the subject. BALANCK.S WITH BHITISH A.MERICA— THE AMOUNT OF IM- PORTS AND EXl'fjRTS AND THE BALANCE OF TRADE WITH NOKTII AMERICAN COUNTRIES FRO.M JUNE 30, iSrp, TO JUNE 30, 189I, WITH THE BALANCES I'AII) IN I'RECIOUS Ml.TALS BY VARIOUS COUNTRIES. COUNTRIES. Imports. Exports. Balance for U. S. Prince Kdwarr) Islands. Nova Sco- tia, New liiunswitk Queljcc. Oiitarii), Manitoba and N. W. iirrritory 5 6,8oS,635 $ 4.041. 571 29,680,751 12.100.000 ti 2,4I9,2^8 2.;';«.39 39.34.^74S « 3.368.4«2 COUNTRIKS. Balance Coin Against U.S.j Shipped. Coin Received. Prince Edward Islands, Nova Sco- tia, New Hrunswick Quebec. ( tntarin. Manitoba and N. W. Trrrilory t 2,767,064 1 •• \t 4.655 692,205 1 British C*r .111 11)1 >i.i $ 264,915 New Foundland and Labrador — Total » 3.459.269 $ 4.655 1 264,915 78 BALANCES OF TRADE. There is hardly enough difference in our trade with these countries to mention, and it is so near a balance that it would not effect us in any event. However, in case of free coinage of silver and these provinces would refuse to recognize our coin, there is hardly a thing that we buy of them except fish from the St. Lawrence Provinces but what we could do without. If they would discredit our currency we would close our ports to their lumber, salt and coal, and there is not a business man but what knows that this action would ruin the whole of the great Central British Provinces, and they would be only too glad to recognize our coin and continue their trade. BALAN'CE WITH AFRICA — THE AMOUNT OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS AND THE BALANCE OF TRADE WITH AFRICA FROM JUNE 30, 1890, TO JUNE 30, 189I, WITH THE BALANCES PAID IN PRECIOUS METALS BY VARIOUS COUNTRIES. COUNTRIES. t-, a I— , a X Balance for U. S. Balance against U.S. u > ._ u -8. CHAPTER n. Demoxetization ^-^^ New School of Finance. 10-12. America Following England's Dictation. 12.13. Contraction of Currency Natural Result of Demoneti- zation, 13-15. CHAPTER HI. Mistakes 10-22 Allowing Wall Street and England to Dictate. 19, 20. Supposed Greatness of Some Financiers. 21, 22. CHAPTER IV. "Gresuam's Law" 23-33 Gold does not Leave the United States, 24-26. Why it does not. 26-28. America's Time to Dictate Values. 28-30. Why Silver would not be Dumiied Here, 30-33. CHAPTER V. Losses 34-42 What the Farmers and Planters have Lost, 34-39. What the Railroads have Lost, 39-41. What the Miners have Lost. 41, 42. CHAPTER VL Cost of Silver Production 43-.50 Boom Literature, 49. 50. CONTENTS. 93 CHAPTER VII. International Conference 51-54 CHAPTER VIII. Tariff and Free Coinage 55-57 CHAPTER IX. Balance of Trade 58-78 Balances with Europe. 61 -()">. Balances with South America, 65-69. Balances with Cuba, 69, 70. Balances with Mexico. 70-73. Balances with Central America, 73. 74. Balances with Asia and Oceanica, 75-77. Balances with British America, 77. 7S. Balances with Africa. 78. CHAPTER X. Movements of Precious Metai 79-82 Imports of Gold and Silver, 79. Exports of Gold and Silver, 80-82. CHAPTER XI. Toi'RiST Travel and Immigration 83-85 CHAPTER XII. Certificates 86-89 CHAPTER XI II. CoNci.t'sios 90, 91 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below i-Tl 61956 MAY9- MAY28 1958 mi •1969'* Form L-9 S0m-1,'42<8&1D) uc SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FAC LITY AA 000 593 804 8