Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1877-02-10
The Silver Perplexity.

I just now there is great deal of
discussion over the troublesome
question of the silver depreciation;
but while the public men in both
commercial and political quaters are
debating, the people are being
plucked. tits asserted that half the
money of the world is silver. This
has heretofore beeu current as mon
ey on a parity with gold. It is diff
cult all at once to discard it from this
use. The loss of seven dollars on
each hundred is q tangible hardship
to all holders of silver. This on each
500, 000, 900 in the world amounts
to the snug sum of 81 900 900, and
renders the country poorer by so
much than it accounted itself. How
ever, flunctation of mercantile values
cannot be avoided. A stable unde-
waiting parity of values of q bimetal-
lie currency can only be maintained
by mutual consent and fat of law on
the part of the chief commercial ma
tions of the world-that is France,
England, Germany, and the United
States.
To this end Congsess is considering
q joint resolution-which has aleady
passed the Senate-for the appoint
ment of q commission of three
financiers to meet in an international
Congress, with similar representatives
from European governments, of fix
ing the relative valuation of gold and
silver as can be calculated, to which
the coins OF all shall conform. Doubt
less this proposition is wise one
provided the other nations will con-
cur, for without the acquiscence Of
tho great money powers of Europe,
no adjustment that could be made in
this country would be likely to be-
final or of any lasting avail.
One immediate cause of the trouble
in this matter is that our coins con-
tain less amount of silver to the
dollar than the standard requires for
equality with the gold dollar. Hense
the necessity for a change in the in
trinsic value of the coin. Mean
while, the sooner our Government can
solve the difficulty, the better it will
be for the country. In the recent
debate on the subject, in the midst
OF great deal ofirrelevant and point
less talk on the subject by various
members, Representative Hewitt hit
| tho mil on the head in the following
cogent arguments:
:'If silver is again to DO made q
legal tender in the United States it is
indispensable that there should be en-
agreement among the leading COM
| mercial nations of the world as to the
relative value of the gold and silver,
in order that the latter may maintain
its position as a legal teader. The
reason is obvious. If we alone un-
dertake to give a definite value to
412.8 grains of silver and call it equal
to dollar in gold, when it is not
worth that, we must buy all the silver
of all the rest of the world, and sell
oil the gold which we now have or
are likely to have in circulation.
Under these circumstances, because
we are silver-producing nation, and
because we want it to bring good
price, because we want to pay our
debts in silver, it is indispensable
that there should be an agreement
among the commercial nations as to
the ratio of convertibility between
gold and silver"
After reciting the recent Aunctua-
tions in value of silver he adverted to
the fact that Mr.. Cernuschi (whom
he characterizes as "the most eminent,
and probably the most learned advo-
cate now living of the reconciliation
of silver" is now in this city for the
avowed purpose of bringing about the
proposed International Conference,
and in conclusion, Mr.. Hewitt said:
In no other way con the objects
aimed at by the advocates Of the Bland
silver bill be reached. The passage
of this bill is essential to the success
of their plans. if success be possible,
and I am, as I said before, quite at
a loss to comprehend the grounds OF
their opposition to measure which
looks to placing the continued use OF
silver as money upon q stable basis,
by agreement among the leading
commercial nations. Whether with
such agreement the maintenance OF
of q double standard of value is pos
sible, may well be doubted; but with
out such agreement as is surely i'm
possible; and if the Bland bill should
be enacted into a law, we shall SIM
ply put the United States in the same
category with India and China, and
step back two centuries in the morch
of progress.
There seems to be general dispo-
sition to concede the justice OF the
claim of the female lawyers to prac-
tice in the Federal Courts. The New
York World expresses the current
newspaper opinion saying. There
can be no earthly reason why women
should not be admitted to compete
with men in any occupation for which