Litchfield enquirer., 1878-02-14
THE MEMORIAL OF THE BANKS.
A CAREFUL REVIEW OF THE FINANCIAL LEGIsLA-
 TIoN OF OTHER ooUNTR1Es-THE REASON WHY

TIoN OF OTHER ooUNTRIEs-IHE REASON WHY
 THE UNITED STATES sHoUND NOT RE FLOODED
 WITH SILVER FULLY PRESENTED. ta ..#.
 Tie committee of the banks of New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore, who have presented memorial to Congress against sill yer say at the outset that they do not recognize that 'there can, in the matter now presented to Congress, be any antagonism in principle between the different sections, classes, or in terests of the country; on the contrary, they assume that which is wise, just, and expedient for one must be equally wise, just, and expedi- ent for all The first condition of commerce and of all material prosperity, is standard or measure of value, accurate and uniform the world over, in order that the value of the in dustry, or products of every individual, wher- ever placed, may be determined each day at his own door" 6 a.,s ia..t as1.att 45 liGfss In referring to the experience of other na- tions the memorial says of England
 The monetization of gold and the demoneti- Zation of silver in England effected no change whatever in the monetary condition or opera tions of the people, except that it reduced the value of it's silver coins to such an extent that they could no longer be exported without loss. Gold continued to be, as it had been for long time, the money chiefly in use. That country anticipated by more than fifty years the action of other countries in making gold the sole s andard, for the reason that she anticipated, by an equal length of time, all other nations, in those scientific and mechanical contrivances and improvements by means of which she ac- quired that colossal strength and wealth which carried her triumphantly through the bloody wars in which she was so long involved. With the increase of such wealth, silver gave place to gold as a standard precisely and as natur- ally as with such increase the old highways gave place to the canal, and the canal to that highest achievement of modern civilization, the railway. For that country to return to cur rency of silver in place of goldwould in effect, be the same as an abandonment of the rail- way and the canal for the old highway.
 THE EXPERIENCE OF FRANCE.
 An illustration, still more striking than the preceding, of the revolution ill the use of gold and silver as money due to the requirements of an enlarged commerce, and in accordance with the spirit of the age, is that afforded by 1 France. That country has been regarded as | especially the champion of the silver interest, | and her example is constantly appealed to as | an argument in favor of the remonetization of silver in our own. So far from affording any argument of the kind, her action, for the last twenty-seven years, presents the strong | est possible reason against it. Up to 1850 the | coinage of France had been almost wholly of silver From 1795 to 1950 the total coinage | 1, ,204, 366, 900 francs. From 1850 to 1786, in- elusive, the coinage of gold equalled 8,074, 900 900 francs; of silver, 1, 1,046, 115 900 francs. l For the period first named (ifty-fve vears), the excess of coinage of silver over gold equal l led 4031 GA ,000 francs for the latter period of twenty seven years, the excess of coinage of gold over silver equalled TOPS 7S8, 900 | francs.
 The imports of gold into France from 1880 to 1849, inclusive equalled 449, 800, 900 francs; of silver, 3,202, 200, ,000 francs. The exports | 900, and of silver, 1 1,045, 800 francs. From | 1860 to 1877, the imports of gold into France equaied g. 994 000 900 francs of silver 4, 803, | 70O,0 900. The exports of gold in the same pc riod equalled 4 $50, 300, 900 francs and of sill
 yer 5, ,311, 200, 900 francs The excess of i'm | ports over exports of gold during the same period were 5, I13, 800, 900 francs while the eX- Cess Uf exports of silvor, imports was 507, 300, 900. If we assume the amount of silver that has gone into the arts in that country at 5O 900, | 900 francs annually, the amount thus used will equal for the period named 1850, 900, COG | francs. This sum would reduce the amount of silver in France below what it was in 1850, | by 1857, 300, 900. Meantime the excess of gold over exports equalled 5,113, 800, 000 francs Assuming 9, 900, 900 francs of gold to be used annually i'll the arts the amount so used would equal 675, GOO, 900 francs leaving in the country balance of 4, 438, 5O0 GOO francs of gold. Deducting the increase of silver due to eXportation and its use in the arts, the total increase of the gold and silver coin and bullion during the period oftwenty-sev- en years has equaIled 2,581, ,000, ,00Q francs. Such estimate of increase is perhaps excessive. However this may be, there can be no reason able doubt that there are now at least 1, 300, 900, 000, ,000 francs less of silver coin in France | than there were in 1850, while the amount of gold coin and bullion is at least 3, 800 O00, 900 greater. The tendency is steadily and unmis- | takably in the same direction. The Govern ment has declined to receive any more silver bullion to be coined on private account, un- occasionally with view of reducing silver to the condition of subsidiary coins
 With such examples before us, should the United States not hesitate before entering up- on course of action which is to reverse the | example of all other commercial nations For to that of England and France is to be added | that of the German Empire. The causes which have led to the revolution there were precisely of the character which led to the demonetiZa- tion of silver 10 the United States and Great Britain, and it's practical demonstration ill | France. The latter was compelled to move more slowly than the others from the fact that up to recent date, her coinage was almost wholly of silver, while the amount of this met al to be disposed of far exceeded that held by cial revolution she is now undergoing by no desire of change, nor for the sake of any theo- retical advantage. She had on the contrary, every inducement to retain silver as her chief currency. Her silver coinage was one to which her people had been always accustomed and with which they were wholly content. The change involved vast outlay and the most care ful and competent management through se- 1 ries of years, that the displacement of one currency by another should involve the least possible amount of disturbance and loss.
 The success achieved well illustrates the transcendent ability of that people in financial | affairs. The Bank of France, the most vulner- able point in the monetary system of the coun- | try, has almost wholly surmounted it's part of | the difficulty. Silver, which formerly consti- | tuted it's reserves, has now given place, in a great measure to gold. Of the total reserves, amounting to 455, 78O, 900 francs, held by it in l 1850, when it first entered upon the great un. dertaking; only $11, ESQ., 900 were of gold Of
 the total reserves, 12, ,049, 589,0 held by il on the 23d of June, 1870, 1 1,268, $40, 600 con-
 sisted of gold, and 526, 258, 900 of .stlver. The
 resumption that, after all the sacrifice which | tnaG COuuCTy ldS Hldue, Dy WHICH sue naS gaIe- l ly transferred herself with all her industries
 from one monetary basis to the other, she is
 to retrace her steps, and restore to silver the
 prominence it once enjoyed, is not for a. mo-
 ment tobe entertained. ga el
 HOW SILVER WAS DEMoNITIZED..' X '#
 During the silver agitation in this country
 the memorial says: ....s ss sf... ....,7ss
 Nearly three years elapsed from the intro
 duction of the proposition demonetizing silver
 until it's final passage. During the whole pc
 riod every possible means was resorted to give
 it publicity and to invite whatever opinion ol
 criticism could aid in coming to wise and
 temperate conclusion. It was constantly and
 emphatically urged by the Secretary of the
 Treasury. The bill was considered at length
 by the Finance Committee of the Senate and
 the Coinage Committee of the House during
 five different sessions of Congress. It was re-
 peatedly read in full in both Houses. It was
 printed in full, with the amendments, by order
 of Congress, eleven different times, and twice
 in addition, in the reports made by the Depu | t,yC of he Tho dahoto,