The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-16
THE SILVER QUESTION.
Views of an English Bi-Metallist-Letter
from Mr.. Henry II. Gibbs to Mr. Bnckner.

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WASHINGTON, March l5.--The publication of
the following letter from Henry H. Gibbs, Esq.
late governor of the bank of England and now
president of the International Monetary Stand
ard Association has attracted general attention
in political and financial circles
LONDON, Feb. s. 1885.
'Dear Sir-Mr. Fraser has shown me your let
ter to him of the 18th ult., and think it may be
well that | should make some remarks upon 1t,
and upon the attitude of this country towards
the question of a b-metallic standard.
You say in your letter that the Democratic
party will be found to be strongly bi-netallist,
but at the same time averse to the existing com
pulsory purchase and coinage of silver. and that
the Bland act will shortly be repealed as the
readiest road to bi-metallism
Now, | imagine that am not wrong in sup
posing that if you repeal that act of the Legisa-
ture 1T will be in order to what Ill. Cernuschl
calls declarer la guerre contre largent. in the
hope on the part Of the bi-metallists that the
complete overthrow in the value Of silver which
that repeal would produce would become intoler-
able to the gold nations having dealings
with silver using countries land especially to
England in her relations with lndia), and that
they would be driven to agree to the general
adoption of a bi-metallic standard.
Now what wish to press upon you, and
upon all who DESIRE rs do, that silver should
bear its full share of work as q money metal,
is, that such measure is probably unnecessary
as regards the continental nations, and certainly
hopeless as regards England
The immediate effect of the repeal would be
that all gold mono metallist financiers all over
the world would rejoice. They would say, The
attempt has failed. The United States, who
were best able to make the attempt. have made
it. and it has broken down. Do what they would,
they have foundsit impossible by any artifce to
keep up the value of silver. 1t has gone down
irretrievably, and must still go down. Our only
course now is to pursue with redoubled energy
our great object of making gold the one stand
ard metal in the whole commercial world
II need not point out that if they succeed in
this, the evil which has already been produced
by the growing scarcity of that one metal, in
proportion to the goods which it measures,
will be increased tenfold with the result to al
ready depressed trade OF that increasing depres-
sion which must accompany falling prices. 1t is
not desirable to kill trade in the hope that out
of it's ashes new and better trade will arise;
that the spirit of trade will revive when its body,
the traders, are past praying for.
Il have said that the attempt to convince
England by declaring war against silver is hope
less. 1t is so because the preiudices of our peo-
pie in favor of gold standard is so ingrained in
them that they will not even look at the argu-
ments on the other side. There is plenty of
ability in our statesmen to understand the mat
ter but there is no disposition TO study it. They
ignore all depression to trade, or, if they admit
it, maintain that lowness of price, being a gain
to the consumer cannot DO any grievance to the
-
modities cannot be in any degree due to the
scarcity-the rising price-of that in which the
value Of commodities is measured They learnt
they say their political economy forty years ago,
and then they found Tor thought they found)
that single gold standard was best for England.
They will not take the trouble to consider
whether any new circumstances, existing ia It's
or possible solutions have arisen which should
modify their old beliefs. They have learned
nothing and forgotten nothiug. They are like
engineers who should be content to construct
their engines on the basis of theoretical forces,
| but without taking friction into account. 1t is
| hopeless, therefore, to work on England. If
the Bland act is repealed, and silver goes to the
lowest depths; if the trade of England and OF the
countries who trade with her are brought SO low,
| half our statesmen will say: Very WELL we
must leave things to follow their natural course;
| me must not endeavor TO create, by legislative
! acts, a fictitious and delusive prosperity And
the other half will say: The state of trade is TO
| doubt very melancholy, but you must not imag
inc that it has anything to do with the money of
the country. 1t comes from the spots in the sun.
| or the lack of education, the spread of educa-
| ton, or the want of sanitary arrangements
| anything but the true causes
1.-The attempt to convince the continental ma
tons is unnecessary, for | believe that for the
| most part they are convinced already France
| departed unwilngy, and under an unnecessary
impulse of alarm, from her ancient system. and
| her most enlightened statesmen regret that she
| did so, and are willing that she should retrace
| her steps The Germans were, in an evil hour,
| persuaded that the prosperity of England was
due to her Reputation OF her ancient Inheritance
| the bi metallic standard of money, and that the
| way to wealth was through the adoption
of gold as their sole money. They
have not succeeded in doing it. for
| the thaler is still current, nor, so far as
they have done it, in being the better for it. and
am told that whereas they formerly thought it
an excellent thing to break through our envable
monopoly the possession of single gold stand
ard, large majority of the Reichsrath begin
now to perceive that to do so only to share
our misfortune; and while those who believe
that bi-metalic standard under an international
| agreement was the best for the prosperity of
commerce, yet hesltated to move without Eng
land, they now begin to see that they were pay
! ing us too high compliment in insisting on the
co operation OF this country as a sin qua
Either is it good that gold and silver should be
allied in the performance of the money duties of
the world, or it is not If it is, say to my
friends in Germany, why do you hang onto the
skirts OF Englandf You are strong enough 10
carry through and maintain the reform without
her assistance, for France did so for nearly a
hundred years; much more then could you do it
in concert with France, Italy and the United
States. And what say to them, allowing for
varied circumstances, say to you
Your Democratic party, you think, are salts
fled that your experiment has been a failure.
and that you cannot alone and unaided bring
silver to a parity with gold. Why that should
be impossible with you which was possible in
France cannot understand, and it will be,
think, difficult to explain but can readily be
lieve that half measure, imposing on the gov
eminent an onerous duty, and giving the people
a money differing i'll nominal value from the
same weight of metal in the market is pro-
ductive OF annoyance and powerless for good
Abolish the law without a concurrent attempt to
remedy the present state of things and you will
surely bring about the mischief to which have
referred above. But abolish it, if you please
and restore at the same moment the free coinage
of silver at certain ratio and you will at once
and without any foreign aid, English or other
restore the parity of the two metals at that ratio
Yet foreign aid is valuable as insuring the per-
manence OF the settlement and the ground is
prepared for you in Europe France, Germany
and Italy would make no great difficulty in
agreeing with the United States on a common
basis and the ahstention of ENGLAND thnnnh