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Show OPPOSED TO FREE COlNACE. Mls.onrl Ba.ln... M.n B.fora Ik Coinage Commit... i Washington, D. C. Feb. 10. The house coinage committee assembled this morning, Geo. E. Lelghton and E. A. Hancock of St. Louis, representing the merchants and manufacturers, with a capital of $100,000,000, who signed the memorial against the passage of the free coinage bill were present and the former addressed the committee. The memorial signed in St. Louis, he s.ild. did not have the signature of a single hanker or capitalist. Leighton said he believed the world was now in such close business communication that an international bimetallic arrangement might be effected on a proper baiis, but that nothing could be accomplished if this country started out with the determination deter-mination to force tho acceptance of its views. Notwithstanding the cry of interested in-terested parties, he maintained that the great body of industrious people of the west, and especially of Missouri, were opposed to free coinage. The witness having stated that it was necessary that the currency should bo of a metal whose value varies the least, and that metal was gold. Carter called attention to the fact that silver never varied so ernatly as gold between 1848 and WO, and then asked why the use of both metals should not constitute a more unvarying standard than either of them separately as experience expe-rience shows it is alternately but not simultaneously that the supplies of gold and silver are increased, the witness wit-ness in reply said he was a bimetalist but believed the free coinage of sil ver without an international agreement would not raan himHtalism but the use of silver only. That the silver agitation agita-tion had greatly affected business he said was shown by fast notes and new bonds now in many instances made payable in gold by special contract. The silver advocates might say the gun was not loaded but the substantial sub-stantial point was that a good many people believed it was loaded, and nothing noth-ing should be done to disturb confidence confi-dence when business was in a very satisfactory sat-isfactory condition. In the end it would be the consumer and producer and not the business men who would have to bear the hnrilen of the wide, tliietuji- tions. Commerce would always take care of itself and would always churgo a premium that would more than cover the risk taken. In his judgment this country was already adding; too much silver to the currency of the country. If kept up it would inevitably result in our getting on a silver basis. All the talk about public sentiment in favor of free coinage was bosh. It was the appearance ap-pearance of a sentiment that did not exist. A vieorous protest against further silver legislation from the bankers' association of Buffalo, N. Y., was laid before the committee. Adjourned. |