New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-04-17
THE MONETARY STANDARD
A CHANGE IN ENGLISH OPINION.


SINGLE GOLD sTANDARD--ENGLIsH f1NAN'
CIERs NOW LEANING TOWARD DOUBLE
STANDARD.
To me EDITOR OF The Trt6nne.
SIR: The position Of England is prime factor In
the problem of international monetary union The
financial and commercial community OF the United
States and Of the world justly holds in great respect
the teachings and example of England in all
matters relating to money and monetary policy.
Lord Liverpoors Letter to the King on the Coins
of the Realm" qS05) and the celebrated " Bullion
Report" TO the House of Commons uS1O were
noble arguments i'll behalf of Hard Money and
Honest Coinage, those cardinal truths which are
the foundation OF sound monetary science. Hand
in hand with these great truths, Lord Liverpool
brought forward the dogma of the Single Standard
of gold. The doctrine of single metal Tor the
STANDARD measure of value" was not new.
Mlrabeau, in 1890 had championed silver mono
metallsm in the French National Assembly, and
the celebrated Citizen Berenger in 1902, with I'M
equalled ability, supported the same views, al
though both without success while Lord Liver
pools great countryman, John Locke, had been III
theory silver monometallist
But EDglald's complete adoption of the single
god standard in 1916, beng, as 1t was the hrst
actual enforcement OF proscriptive ban against
one of the two precious metals by great civilhed
Nation, attracted the prOfoundest attention Oh Tue
world and, followed az it was by the SUCCESSFUL
| resumption of specie payments in gold by the bahk
OF England and the succeeding decades OF extra
ordinary DEVELOPMENT and prosperity in the conn
try seemed to approve itself by the result OF prac-
tical application among the greatest commercial
and trading people. Homage was freely given TO
the English system all sides; the British pros
perity was attributed in small degree to the gold
.f.I hut an
parent fulflment of the arithmotical and mathe-
matIcal requirement of unity OF metal III the yard
stick measure of values. Scientific thought con-
sdered that nothing was to be said in favor Of the
Old ana time honored system of the worlds money
of gold and silver; it admitted that silver
might serve as the money of lni-barbarous China
and india but that gold alone fit for the high
civilization of Europe and America. Men forgot
that silver and gold remained practically the money
of tie world notwithstanding the English reform;
that France with her tremendous stock OF Spccic,-
probably double that of England,-had retained
the use of both metals as full legal tender at fixed
rate Of equivalence. and that gold and silver were
freely coiuable at her minis; they overlooked the
compensatory action of the silver mOnOmetallism OF
Germany and Austria balancing the gold mono
metallism of England; the equllibratlng action OF
the French bimetallic system with free coinage OF
both metals acting rs a specie clearing mouse iof
the gold sovereigns Of England and the sllver
rupees of India not understood the laws OF
supply and demand and the cost of production were
considered supreme in the case of the money metals
as of all other commodities; in a word England was
admitted TO have led the van of the worlds pro
gress IN acceptng only the Drocious yellow metal
as her money-anG the other Nations looked to The
day when They might cmulaie her noble example.
The Paris International Monetary Conference OF
1867 was a love-feast, and the lond of union was
gold. That assemhage was convened to lay the
basis of an International Coinage. The chJect was
not attained but the Conference solemnly adyo-
Gated propaganda in favor of the single monetary
standard of gold. The delegates We'd with each
other IN landing gold; and It's praises we're sung
in the verses OF Ovid:
Era dabant OHM melius nunc omen in auTo est
Nlctauue cOnced1t prlsca moneta nova
The payment of the billion dollars of war fine by
France to Germany NS71-73l placed the latter
Nation in possession OF vast sum in gold specie.
The German monetary doctrinares taught that the
time WAS ripe for their country to follow the lead
of England and to adopt the single standard of
gold An active and vigorous propaganda based on
the decision of the Paris Conference Of 1867 had
prepared the German people to believe IN and ac-
cept the change; and silver 1.-THE former German
money was demOnetized, and the metal offered for
sale In 1874. closely foOwipc upGn this action
of Germany, France. moved probably rather bv
political than economic reasons, and the other
States of the Latin Union for the first time put
limitation upon the coinage of silver. and ia 1877
the coiuaso was suspended altogether. linme-
diatey upon the french limitation of coinags, the
value Of silver experienced the most violent uctua-
tons From an average price in London OF sixty
pence or a little to The ounce which had been
~. Of
tbe ,olA price of silver fell in 1876 10 46si pence
and although rallying subsequently, had evil
IDENTITY lost all element of stability. The econo-
mist had seen the relative prices of gold and silver
remain almost absolutely steady in the Western
world during the years of the great Californian
and Australian gold yields after 1850. when the
produc ton of gold in relation to silver increased
nearly or quite fifteen fold as compared with the
weld from 1sOl-'lO, and more than five fold as
compared with the yield OF 1S49. They had given
nothing approaching satisfactory explanation OF
this extraordinary phenomenon; but they readily
accounted for the fall in silver after 1874 chiefly
due to the enormous production OF the American
silver mines the fact beng that the total world
product of silver at the height of the d" bonanza"
oulput was only about double tho production of
1850. The whole monetary world became pro
foundry exercised; the economists and teachers of
old monetary orthodoxy were seen To be at fault,
and men everywhere began to think; and the re-
suit of this thought was very strong suspicion on
both sides of the Atlantic that something might
vet be learned III monetary science. Where all had
been certainty after the cdthedrd utterances of
the Conference Of 1867 doubt not only crept in but
took definite form. not alone in France in Ger
many and in the United States, but in England IT.
self. the / ONE and citadel OF the gold standard
If now monetary scientists and practical men of
all countries have accepted with Difference the
teachings of English theory and practice in times
mast Teachings of honesty and good faith i'll the