The next day, Chen Jianqiu rode a black radish and swayed to the venue in the city center.

The so-called Silver Guild is mostly composed of a group of western silver miners.

Many of them have a history of blood, and they are all ruthless people who hang their heads around their necks.

Therefore, the atmosphere of the venue is also very rough.

Those who don't know think this is a bandit gathering.

The venue was held in a large shed built in a makeshift plaza in the central square.

Now it's smoky and noisy.

These big men with pipes in their mouths, who could stand, never sit, wore large silver or gold chains around their necks, and the rings on their fingers glittered.

Chen Jianqiu saw a person he knew.

The man's name was Kendall Saber, whom he had met in Tombstone, the owner of the hotel where he was staying, and the owner of a silver mine there.

When the man saw Chen Jianqiu looking at him, he also felt that this Chinese person was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.

Chen Jianqiu sat down on the chair beside him.

"Sir, have we met somewhere?" Sabo was the first to speak.

"My surname is Chen, and I used to stay in your hotel, and as you can see, I also run a silver mine, but not in Arizona." Chen Jianqiu replied as he took out a comic book from the pocket of his clothes.

"Oh, oh, I remember, it's you?"

Saber didn't even think about the fart, but he knew that the man must have been to his hotel.

Years of hotel experience have made him not as straightforward as a typical Westerner, but somewhat self-cooked.

"What is the content of today's meeting? So lively? Chen Jianqiu looked around.

Saber looked surprised:

"Don't you know?"

Chen Jianqiu shook his head: "I don't know, I don't care too much." ”

Sabo was even more surprised: "Oh, Mr. Chen, you are really big-hearted, the silver mine business needs to be watched all the time, you know, those so-called managers and miners are unreliable!" ”

Chen Jianqiu shrugged his shoulders: "The income from the mine only accounts for a small part of my income, so I don't care too much, just let them toss." ”

He was telling the truth, but in Saber's opinion, it was too shocking.

He caught a glimpse of the two glittering revolvers at Chen Jianqiu's waist.

Having dealt with precious metals for a long time, he could see at a glance that this gun was at least made of pure gold on the surface, and the workmanship was exquisite.

"Mr. Chen, you really are."

Sabo's attitude became extremely respectful, and he was still considering his words, but Chen Jianqiu continued to ask:

"Mr. Saber, you haven't said what this meeting is going to do."

"Oh, you said it would." Saber relented, "The Association intends to put pressure on Congress to get the government to start minting silver coins again, or, again, to buy silver. ”

"Oh?" Chen Jianqiu put down the comic strip in his hand that he was about to open, showing great interest.

"Yes, now there are more and more silver mines, and the use is limited, the price has fallen to the point that it is not in shape, if the government does not intervene, we are all finished!"

Saber added.

"Bell, bell!"

Someone rang the bell that lay horizontally on the platform in front of it.

This means that the meeting is about to begin.

Chen Jianqiu picked up the comic book again, listened to the six roads, and looked at the four grids.

"Members of the Association! Ladies and gentlemen, before today's meeting, I would like to invite a heavyweight guest to share some knowledge with you. ”

The person standing in front of the stage and speaking was a bearded man.

He is the president of the Western Silver Association.

However, the big bosses below are a little unimpressed.

They are not very interested in such a thing as knowledge.

"I have invited the famous economist, Mr. Milton Friedman, welcome!" The president made an inviting gesture to the audience.

A middle-aged man in a suit wearing gold-rimmed glasses walked up to the stage.

His outfit seemed a little out of place in the room, and when he spoke, it was the same:

"Gentlemen, it is well known that gold and silver have always been used as symbols of wealth, and have long been circulated as money in its own right."

He pulled out a one-dollar bill from his bosom.

"We have now replaced them with paper money, but that doesn't mean they're obsolete, and I'm sure everyone here believes that money that can't be redeemed into gold and silver is worthless."

Chen Jianqiu flipped through the comic strips and listened to the economist's speech.

What he said is the consensus of people in this era.

Paper money is nothing more than an exchange instrument for gold and silver.

However, economists have changed their tune:

"But under the influence of the elites in New York, our president, Mr. Cleveland, is unusually obsessed with the 'gold standard,' and he believes that only gold can be pegged to the dollar."

"But this thinking is extremely wrong."

"It is dangerous to measure only one precious metal as the standard of value, because if its supply and demand are affected, the volatility of the price level will be catastrophic."

"So, I'm very much in favor of getting the government back to the standard system! That is, to restore the status of silver. ”

"We hope that the government will be able to buy an additional 4,500,000 ounces of silver every month, at the same time at the purchase price before 1873, and pay for it in new banknotes, which can be exchanged for gold or silver at the government!"

Most of the people below basically didn't understand Friedman's speech.

They only understood the last word.

Let the government buy their silver! Or the minting purchase price that is much higher than the market price!

So, the mine owners expressed their support for the economists with their cheers and whistles.

But Chen Jianqiu, who was looking at the comic strip, frowned.

It's an idea that can't be suffered again.

4.5 million ounces is not a small number.

The resulting additional currency issuance will have a considerable impact on the market.

Crucially, if this news were to be put on the market, it would be seen as an abandonment of the gold standard.

But the people's perception will not be reversed so quickly.

In their opinion, the dollar, without a gold peg, will be no different from waste paper.

So, when the time comes, a run will inevitably happen!

If the federal government were pressured to accept the offer, it would be a real disaster.

However, based on Chen Jianqiu's understanding of Cleveland and the Democratic Party, it is very likely that they will accept it.

Democrats are obsessed with the repudiation of the standard, and on this point they are on the opposite side of the Republican Party.

Cleveland, who entered the palace for the second time, is now like the man caught between his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, carefully weighing the political balance in Congress.

But his clumsy ability determines that he is angry on both sides, and neither side is good.

Chen Jianqiu's expression didn't change much, but he had already closed the comic strip on his lap.

Economists have stepped down.

The president returned to the stage.

His speech was much simpler and more straightforward, concise and to the point:

"Those New York gold supporters are colluding with the Europeans to loot our wealth! Because the center of gold trading is in London! And silver is the hope for America's future! ”

"Let the government buy our silver!"

I don't know who shouted from below.

The meeting hall became noisy again, and some even offered to cooperate with the miners. 、

This is really the second miracle in labor-management relations in this era, except for Chen Jianqiu.

"We can unite unions and put pressure on the government!"

"Yes, we are all exploited! We should stand with the workers! ”

The faces of the silver miners were flushed.

Not every one of them had been a miner before, but they were now looking as if the miners were their own brothers.

Only one person behaved unusually calmly.

Chen Jianqiu stood up and put the comic strip into his pocket.

"Huh? Mr. Chen, are you leaving? Only Sabo found out that Chen Jianqiu was about to leave.

"Hmm."

After Chen Jianqiu nodded, he turned around and walked out of the venue.

(End of chapter)