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Show I THE FINANCIAL ADDRESS. ! The movement which was begun here in tho early part of Dccembor last for the purpose of suggesting a scheme of financial relief from, the currency stringency which waB then so acuto, has culminated in the report printed in The Tribuno yesterday morning. The address submitted by .tho committoc, of which Mr. John Dern is chairman, is i very moderate, and was concurred m by all of the members except Governor Cutler, who was not present at the final meeting. The ills to be remedied are fairly enumerated and suggestions arc made for measures of relief. The first suggestion sug-gestion is the issue of $75,000,000 per month fn the next four months of Government Gov-ernment notes of the same nature as the outstanding "greenbacks," which would practically double tho outstanding outstand-ing issue of that form of papor. The immediate cause for this issue, however, how-ever, has pasaed. Tho country is once more on n currency basis, with money available for all legitimate purposes. This suggestion of relief, therefore, will not strike tho country with tho force lhat it would have done had the recommendation recom-mendation been made six weeks ago. The second and third propositions are of practically the same emergency character. char-acter. And while we should all bo glad to see the Government tako hold of tho silver question in substantial form, it is practically assured lhat this method of relief will be lost sight of .in (he multiplicity of remedies proposed now trPj' Congress has met. The fourthugge-jted remedy is a petition pe-tition lo Congftss lo initialean international inter-national conference on tho question of some form of remouctizing silver on a fair ratio with gold; this to be by commissions com-missions from tho different nations meeting jointly lo consider the ques' lion. It seems as though thoro ought to be vitality in this proposition, and that somethiug should come of fy. The field for this sort of effort is "certainly more inviting than it has been for some years past. It is. in fact, more inviting now than it was at the time lhat the last international conference on this 'question was held, The great commercial natioua of tho .world . arc moro and more coming into contact with the silver-using countries. India is an immense consumer of silver, China is just stirring to awakori out of her , sleep of the ages, and when she does begin to awaken sho will bo a much larger consumer of ailvor than India is or ever wa, becauso the population is greater, and tho OhineBe are better and more oxtensivo natural tradors than are the East TndiaiiB, Since tho former silver sil-ver agitation, Great Britain has in-, itialed tho coinage of what is called tho Straits dollar for commercial use in the Orient beyond India, and to some extent in Tndin itself. Tho United States has struck off a coinage for the Philippines of somewhat the same chnracter, and China is awakoning to the desirability of having a settled coin in place of an indetcrminato and shifting shift-ing valued tacl, which is more properly a weight than a eoin, and is often, called a "slug" in commercial dealings. deal-ings. In view of these facts and in' view also of the comparatively diminished di-minished product of silver, a product from which it appears now the commercial com-mercial world has nothing lo fear as to its volume and "swamping" qualities, there need bo no such haunting nnd frantic fear of the silver question as was manifest twolvo to fifteen years ago. when tho silver discussion was ou at its fiercest. It was supposed by Easlorn people at that time that silver could be produced in practically unlimited un-limited quantities, tho samo as iron or copper. Everybody, even the narrow-minded narrow-minded Eastern financier, now knows that this was a groundless fear. The joinder of the two propositions, viz., the immensely greater field opening now for tho use of silver that was not avail-able avail-able at tho timo of tho former discussion, discus-sion, joined with the woll known fact of tho limitations on tho possibility of tho output of silver, should mako tho proposition for an international confer-once confer-once on tho question of silver coinage a much more feasible proposition than over before. Tho arguments adduced by the committee com-mittee in favor, especially, of the silver form of tho propositions submitted, arc thoso lhat aro familiar to the pooplo of this region. They may bo new to the people of tho East, and certainly in view of the changed conditions as outlined out-lined Jicrcin. they should certainly striko the Eastern people in a new light and with greater force than over before. Wc boepcak for tho report of this committee the earnest and candid attention at-tention of tho people of tho whole country. coun-try. The question is a very largo and important one, and it should receive that courteous attention and thorough, impartial investigation that tho subject itself in all of its bearings calls for in its primacy before the civilized world. Tho recent financinl stringenc' in New York shows the intimate and important connection of the commorco nnd finances of the world in more diroct and immediate im-mediate form than was ever exhibited before in the history of the world. That fact, also, should tond to unify tho commercial world everywhere on the proposition that in silvdr is a relief from depicted money conditions that needs only to be fairly and properly ap-plied ap-plied to be of the highest possible- service ser-vice to our domestic commerce and finances, and to international financial relations. |
