The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1878-01-24

arus OF Naiut ana lhclr history, IL WOulG De
unreasonable 10 expect much from him.
No man can be eminent in everything, and
therefore, il Is not ! special reproach TO him
that what ne gives Is facts are ccnrradicted
by everything that Is known on the subject.
and that what he enunciates as general
principles have in very few instances been
accedted among men. To show that his sta
tistics are almost whimsical in their error
l will quote few of them:
On page 81 1 find aGold is the worlds
standard. Gold is the universal measure
OF value" The countries that have SIM
single silver standard are Russia, Austria,
Egypt, Mexico, Central America, Ecuador,
Peru, China and British India, with an es-
timated population OF seven hundred and
sixty-nine million. The countries that have
double standard, or gold and silver, are
Greece, Roumania, Columbia, Venezuela,
Chill, Uuruguay, Paraguay, France, Spain,
Holland, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and
Japan, with an estimated population of one
hundred and thirty-seven millions. The
countries having an exclusive gold or single
standard are Great Britain, Germany, Nor
way, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, and the
British Colonies Of Canada, the Cape OF
Good Hope and Australia, with an estima-
ted population Of ninety-two millions.
These do not include the United States,
which Is in controversy. Neither does it
clude some other nations where the STAN
dards cannot be counted legitimately under
either head, or of which SO little is known
as TO make speculation or statistics value
less. So much Tor the-universal measure "
Again, on page %, he says: "Other
kinds Of money there are-silver, copper,
paper-but they all must conform to gold
and be measured by it." In nearly all the
countries in Europe, those included in the
Latin league, the standards of law fix the
proportion OF gold as one to fifteen and a
half. Our old American dollar is as to the
standard OF American gold coin under the
coinage laws, since 1888, as one part of gold
to sixteen OF silver, or within a small frac-
ton Of it. So the standards of gold and
silver are different in different countries,
are fixed by law. change, and have
changed. That is as to their relative
weight and fineness. Gold and silver are
measured commercially by each o her, and
their relative value in the market of the
world is governed by the amount pro-
duced Of either, and by the use as money
that may be made of either. Their other
Uses as manufactured articles do not add
much value to them and could never pre-
serve their present value.
Again, on page "a, he says, gold comes
to It's supremacy as representative of prop
erty by the long established custom of man
kind" So far is this from being fact that
until very few years ago Britain was the
only nation that attempted TO maintain a
single or gold standard. She adopted it in
1916, not very much more than half Gen.
fury ago. The German Empire attempted,
or did, demOnetize silver SO late as 1873.
since that time, the Scandinavian nations
have attempted the single or gold standard
1t will thus be seen that a single or gold
standard, so far from being the ''long estab-
lished custom of mankind" is a Compare
lively recent experiment 1t is an expert
ment, moreover, the success of which is BY
no means demonstrated. The whole histo-
ry of the movement shows that it is a
scheme of the creditor class in the world to
keep up and push up the standard of value
BY taking away one Of the articles of which
it was composed, and while everything else
is subject to vicissitude and decline
that accumulated capital shall protect it.
self against the inevitable accidents of the
law Of supply and demand by using law
arbitrarily TO take away the ancient stand
ard. 1t is an experiment which can hardly
commend itself to the wise or patriotic
American, since the United States is the
greatest silver producing country in the
world. 1t is an experiment that has nearly
bankrUpted Germany, fresh from great
military and political triumphs. her Golfers
have scarcely forgotten the jingle of the
French indemnity ere her industries are
paralyzed and her laborers idle, because
her financiers in the experiment are chok-
ing enterprise, and sucking one-half the
blood from the arteries of trade. France
has resolutely refused to do
it, and to-day the victor of Sedan stands hui
inflated and broken before French finance
am admonished that the sprce | NAV
be able TO obtain Of You will not permit any
elaborate treatment OF this silver question.
might go on and quote and show nearly
every statistical point made by Mr.. Beecher
to be incorrect. To be brief, let us say that
gold and silver have constantly changed in
value, and that since the European discov-
cry of America both have steadily declined.
Shortly after the first discovery of gold the
plumber Of the ancient American nations
was sent to Europe in such quantities as to
disturb the value of everything, and several
nations demonetized gold. When this first
golden wave subsidized and silver was dis
covered in South America, silver declined
as to gold and then capital attempted to de-
silver. When the gold mines in
California and Australia were discovered
GOLD daclinal 10 stlvar anI
nations demonetized gold. Of late the dis
covery of silver in our own country and the
application of improved machinery to its
production have increased the silver pro-
duction. j wish to state here that ow-
ing to the vast amount Of gold and silver on
hand among the nations, the change in
prices owing to sudden production is much
less than wsuld be supposed. Our own
country is to-day the greatest producer of
both gold and silver. From 1892 to 1913
the production of gold and silver is esti-
mated by Chevalier to be as FIVE parts
Of silver to two and a
half parts of gold. This in
value as estima:ei). From 1S49 to 1876
both inclusive the proportion has been there
Of gold to one of silver. Under these last
conditions silver steadily rose in value as
with gold, although the increase
in value was not very great. From the re-
port of the director of the mint, now before
Us, the production of gold for the past year
is put at forty-fve million one-hundred
thousand dollars. The production of silver
millions nine hundred and if
y thousand dollars; that is in the United
States. 1t will therefore, be seen that there
9 no legitimate cause for the decline in sill |
Ter, which ought in such sonditi ms to APP
,recIate rather than decline.
The decline in silver dates from 1873,
when Germany and the United States de- |
ii. The United States had little |
liver coin on hand. Germany had a coin |
lge of four hundred and thirty millions six |
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This |
he has been throwing on the market. In |
with the director of the mint, /
)r. Linderman, few days ago, he gave it |
8 his opinion that Germany could not |
hrow on the market to exceed eighty-two /
Millions of dollars from what was available
( her silver coinage. The Scandinavian /
ations have, as states in the past two years
tempted to demouetize silver. In 1873 |
liver stood in London at 60 pence per
unce in gold. In 1872 it stood 60 sic. At
ne time since demonstration it touched ar
ow price as As pence, and may now be
uoted about 81. The oriental nations have
n the past twenty-five months imported
rom London and San Francisco one hun
red and forty-three million dollars worth
I silver.
1t is generally believed that the change
] the relative value of gold and silver
nce 1873 is chiefly caused by rise gold.
or instance, of the standard articles of