The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1885-12-10

whether such reform Of the currency ought
not now 70 be underworld; whether these
arc not among the prudent AMI Just condi-
tons OF its reforms; ana whether such re-
form night not be promoted, with immedi-
ate advantage to all our Industries and
trade, by repoM Of T'thse clause requiring
treasury purchases Of silver bullion, and rs-
peal Of tho act making compulsory treasury
issues and reissues 6f this legal tender notes
''Gold is 66 per cent Of the metallic circu-
lation of the United States at the present
moment; although it may nest explaining
that with free coinage for everybody's sill
yer into full legal tender silver dollars the
people Of the United Sta.es asked for only
S,O45, ,s3s in eighty years, but that congress
requined the coinage of 215, 5,0Q0, coo in about
eight years. =.
s.Gold is the standard Of value in nations
from which We in the United States took 81
per cent last year Of all our imports and to
which we sent moro than 90 per cent. Of all
our exports And with most OF the coun-
tries having silver as a standard, or in
nearly exclusive use, where we.do the small
remainder Of our foreign trade, settlements
are effected by the gold STANDARD through
sterling bills on Lon Ion.
''Gold from all - aines of the world has
doubled in quantity wirhin thirffY i've years;
silver about doubling SIN the Last ons hum
dred ysarl Gold, Ike silver, a. ;princi-
pal product of mines In tie UHted States,
which have yielded Of the sf~fo precious
metals:,, s=47i:.s...: 49, l.. a. CT eafAi: :"
| ..s . 70 = GSsd.s % q Saver.
For the last ~ yeara r. pG, cdnk yazpeiocent.
For the last IA years 5a4 pa. .ceutam 5Qs PR c.nt.
Lately as years ago sQx laas cent q ye-percent.
Last year. S9-ier cent. ;,s6lx pef cent.
'Who, then, would propose tie dispse Of
gold or ask the enacSmsnS or the continuance
of laws likely to promote the. expulsion or
its use at q premium instead -oe a. the stand
ard of value, to which. by stopping the coin
age Of silver now, the legal tender vnlus of
the 215, ,0O0, ,OOl silver dollars already coined
may be held up and made to conform, until
these trouble be overpast - ,....
"But our 215, 900 silver dol.ars are here,
and cannot be expected senably to decrease,
as our gold may. Nobody will export or
melt them. The, reasons are PLAIN They
will not flow abroad, for the legal tender
quality given them by act Of congress can
not procure their reception elsewhere;. not
in Germany, just as her legal tender, laws,
applied to her deprecated four or fiye- hun.
dred million silver marks in. thalers of, ,pr-
limited legal tender, can not procure their
reception here or in France; not il France,
just as her legal .c tender y, laws,
applied to her. six hundred :; million !.
iIs franc pieces Of unlimitsd legal itepder,- ]
Germany. Ceesing to coffi more, our 2.5,-
OOO, 600 silver dollars will reeniain. Nobody
will melt them, since the silver hneltei Is 1
worth 20 or Is per cent less than the silver
mintcd, while they remain = legal tender for
all sums Therefore no silver to Be used in
the arts or industries or Tor exportAtiou will
be drawn from this stock. It is not to be ex-
pected that congress will withdraw from
these 2l5, ,0O0, ,000 their fun tender quality; it
is not to be expected that congress will re-
deem and melt them and sell the metal. Ths
fact, then, il that we cannot be two-m, It.
allists. r |
'The choice before congress is not between
silver monoEastallism and gold monomstal
ism. Both are inadnissib1el The choics
before congress is not between bitmetallism
and either gold or silver monomstallim. The
latter are not admissible, and bimetalism is
only possible with the cooperation of other
nations which Is not now to be had. For,
although France holds the same friendly ut |
titude and would be followed by some Of her !
associates of tho Latin union, England now,
as in 1878 and. iss1;;' is paHillinx to |
depart from hsr nnintag5aits' 'ssof gold
alone into coins. Of sunlifpited legal /
tender, and how eSs Is iaslsst,
regards the concurrence. of Epsla4d in an |.
international bimetallic union. ;as q sipe qua
non. Such being the facts estahlished upon |
abundant testimony. official andsunofaicinl, T.
gathered by the department ofstate, it be-
comes plain that the. choice Of congress is
only in fact between stopping the coinage of
silver dollars, or risking. by further coinage
tho equivalencs Of those dollars with our
monetary unit, risking the fall of the value
of 215, ,OO0, 600 silver dollars from, their legal
domestic rating to their commercial interna-
tional value which is 20 per cent. less, and
of $50, ,Q00,0 600 dollars, of gold coin, as when
gold was elected by pap. r during the,war.
1.-THE only choice before congress, there
fore, is the choice between one-metallism
and two-metallism. the silver dollar can
not be kept in equivalence with the gold dol-
lar if the coinage of silver, continues: The
gold dollar can not be kept in full domestic,
circulation If the silver dollar is. suffered to
fall, Coming more necessisatesa It's fall
Doubtless some will hope that more silver
dollars can be coined, and yet their equiv
alence with the monetary unit not be lost.
1t is respectfully submitted that there Is ne
for that risk, anda judgment .
90 accordant Of the great business class,s
who carry on the exchangea16f the country
must be accepted as a final estimate Of that
risk. ,cH" - 'N =,
"An adequate sense of the magnitude Of
the actual coin money stocks OF the world,
which join with the potential money exist.
ing in uncoined gold apl silver, and With all
their numberless equivalents, substitutes ]
and representatives to measure prices. not t.
10 mention growing economies il the use Of
money by checks bills of exchange. 6cok ,
,redits, clearing houses, postal orders, tele-
graphic transfers, ETC.. which operate in the
,ame direction, enforces the lessons of ex-
perience as to the impotence Of any nations
legislation to affect prices, If prices are
by staple monetary unit Chang
ng the measure changes nothing except the
of the property Of the losing onea
It does not change prices measured honestly.
But the lessons Of experience cannot be COM
2letely learned in moment For the gen.
'ral range of prices Of the hundred chief
of civilized mans use has been
more than third OF a century in completing
he last leisure1y cycle OF its rise and fall
"a large proportion of our worsinemeu
4 mature years have had an Instructive az.
,erience that lowering the value of auy So =
allied dollar, legal tender of payment for
heir wages, is a lowering that is compen-
alton to everybody else before compensation
caches them. It is a lowering that lifts the
'rices of oil commodities bsfore n lifts qha :.
ate of his wages, "A. cheaper fdoifaT for
rorkingmen of the United States means a +
'oorer dollar. The daily wages Of our
rorkingmen aad workingwomen are by far
he largest. the most important, aggregate
wealth is to be affected By the degrade.
ion of the dollar or any legal tender equiv
lent Of the dollar. All other aggregates Of
'ealth, the accommodations Of capitalists
'hich can only be obtain profitable use by
eing turned over daily in the wages Of
orkmen and the employment of the can
,ins of their industry, all other aggregates
wealth which remain unemployed in the
eyment of wages of the day, the month.
,e year, are not to be compared in their
I'm to this gigantic sum. 1t is this
igantic sum, the wages of labor.
hich Is assailed by every policy
lat would make the dollar of the fathers
orth less than its worth in gold The debt
the United States, large as it is, is wart