The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-06-23
English and American Coins.

The following is the letter of Prof. Jeyons in
reply to one addressed to him by Mr.. George
Walker asking his views on Senator Sherman's
measure now before Congress for assimilatiDg
the American dollar to the English pound ster-
ling:
OWENS COLLEGE. Manchester,
June 1876.
George Walker, Esq:
Dear Sr-I thank you for your letter of the
22d May, and for the report on Mr. Senator
Sherman's resolution. Both are very interest
ing to me, for have no doubt that the United
States Government is now in position in
which their decision upon the weight and value
of the dollar will influence the future currency
systems of the world more than anything else
could do. 1t is impossible not to concur in and
admire the spirit in which Senator Sherman
brings forward his scheme, but for two strong
reasons am sorry to think that his scheme is
mistake. In the first place there is not the
least probability that the English people will
revolutionize their currency, and adopt dollars
and cents because the dollar is made an exact
fraction of the pound. do not believe that
any English Ministry would venture to pre-
pose such change, and / am sure that it
would not be passed if proposed. This is not
because of prejudice against the dollar more
than any other new unit, but simply because
the English people, as far as 1 can judge, are
intensely conservative in matters of currency.
You are no doubt aware that although the
pound notes throughout the present century,
the English will have none of them. No
change of any importance has been made in
our currency arrangements since 1876, and two
or three proposals which Mr.. Lowe was so bold
as to bring forward were all negatived. thus
take it to be altogether out of the question that
so extensive change as that involved in Mr.
Sherman's proposal would be accepted here in
any calculable time. The result, therefore,
would be in no appreciable degree to forward
his objects. and If iS nrnhahla that the
effect would be of an opposite kind to what he
wishes. The people of the United States might
readily misinterpret the motives leading to q
rejection of their proposal In the second
place, even it we accepted the dollar as the
fifth part of pound, this step would do away
with all hope of assimilation to the unit of the
Latin nations.
The largest part of this population of West
ern Europe and some minor States elsewhere
have conclusively adopted the franc, and it is
not to be expected that they would relinquish
it for many generations at least III, on the
contrary, the American dollar were made equal
to the French fve-franc piece, an immediate
step toward International currency would be
established. The difficulty on the part of
America would hardly be greater than in the
case of Mr.. Sherman's proposal, and the change
would bear frut at once. The coincidence be-
tween the American dollar and the French ecu
would give such prestige to both coins as to make
them certainly the basis of the future interna-
tional currency. Other minor nations would
afterward be sure to take either the dollar or
the franc as their unit of value. Already, as
you know, some inclination was shown by the
English Government to make the English
pound equal to twenty-five francs, Ia reduc-
ton of rather less than ore per cent, } without
further change in our money, but even this
slight alteration was decisivelS rejected by the
House of Commons. The partial accession OF
America to the franc system would immensely
increase the motives for the English to accept
also. If the English were to accept the dollar
and cent, the change would be so great that
the slight alteration in the value of the pound
then required, (less than one per cent y would
surely not be thought of any importance. On
these grounds it is that 1 think the sssimila-
tion OF the American dollar to the five franc
piece would be the most likely means toward
the ultimate adoption of the dollar IN England,
the Australian colonies, and other places where
the sovereign is now strongly established OF
course am only expressing my own individ
ual opinion, but am afraid that do not at
all exaggerate the difficulty of making any
immediate change in the English currency.
l remain, dear Sir, very respectfully
w. STANLEY JEvoNs.