Show THE INTERNATIONAL PROPOSITION There are a number of private plans and more or less plausible expedients offered by financial theorists for the solution solu-tion of the money problem without the I free coinage of silver Among them is I the Monetary Clearing House method proposed by the editor of Engineering atifl Mining Journal which has caused much discussion and which summarized is as follows The establishment of an International Monetary Clearing Honse or commission composed of experts appointed by the various civilized governments and empowered em-powered First to selectIa universal monetary standard Second to adopt measures for securing tho use of gold and silver on such a flexible ratio as will effect permanent stability in the value of the worlds money Third to adopt measures for facilitating international monetary transactions and for their supervision and control A gentleman from Europe who is a financier of ability and an extensive traveler trav-eler has criticised this proposition from the standpoint of experience and we present pre-sent hia views in his own language as follows without comment as we think they are sufficiently explicit to thoughtful thought-ful readers The states in the world with silver currency cur-rency certainly have a population of 910 513303 persons but the imports of all tbeee states do not amount to more than 808246460 and their exports to 1061 267155 or an excess of export of 253 020705 which amount the remainder of the world has to pay these silver currency countries every year in gold or silver These silver countries have a stock of silyer of 51858290476 which they have received as full payment for their surplus of export If now your scheme of bimetallism bi-metallism were to be accepted as it never will be Europe would have to take back I a great deal of that silver at a far higher exchange than it was given and kindly I take the whole loss iustior the pleasure I of such a scheme These silver countries I owe a debt to Europe of 3994371286 contracted nearly all in gold Even this should be repaid partly in silver if your I prop sal could be accepted The gold currency countries have a I population 241003950 persons but an import of fo19i36g275 and export of only 3793143685 and a debt contracted con-tracted in gold ot 111410694002 and a state expenditure of 2672866230 clso in gold The bimetallic states in I bludiug the United States have a population popula-tion of 274980618 persons and an import of 13368968063 and export of 2964259 j 164and state debt contracted in gold of Q 9 9 < > 14440900576 and a stale exjjcadituro in gold of 1881005854 Thj United States imports in lbi3 were 5863146159 and exports ex-ports 1505033439 for 1892 imports 631 601345 exports 51015732011 and for the last twenty years from 1873 to 1892 imports im-ports 112635558186 exports 14281 465238 SI595907052 more exports than imports Since 1S73 the United States have also exported 5535347619 in silver TheUnited States and the Oliver currency countries do as you can learn herein export ex-port a great deal more than they import and in that way are sure to take the gold and fortune of Europe bnt you seem to believe that it goes tooslowJy and propose therefore that we buy a great deal of the silver countries silver stock at high prices and also at high price buy the greatest part of your silver production although you yourself seem to have DO confidence in your own silver Tho American men of finance must believe be-lieve that the European men of finance are exceedingly stupid wheu they will try to offer anything like your proposal before be-fore your country has shown confidence in silver and bought the same quantity as France in proportibn to population and kept up the value to 129 per dollar as France since 1873 has kept Its silver value at 133 without any kind of disturbance or crisis You must surely give up all your hope of international bimetallism until your country keeps as much silver in stock as Franco and keeps thatup in full coinage value and even then you caunot get any bimetallism arranged through any kind of monetary conference because that question must be accepted by all parliaments parlia-ments in Europe which certainly will refuse re-fuse al kinds of bimetallism that do not favor every country as much as the United States and the silver countries which are all selling more than they are buying from us and therefore must not Ilk for more favors than they already have because the result thereof would happen to be that all other countries would answer with high import duties not only upon silver out also upon all theso countries produce which sell more than they buy from Europe The United States with their high import duties have showed the way and may soon be shown reciprocity and in that case you will soon be worse off than at present Your silver is needed mora in this country than anywhere else in the world |