, 1891-10-02
A DECIDED

perusal. He says: mo monetary policl
can long endure that is not founded OF
sound principle. For this reason the ac
of July IA, 1890. providing for the pur
chase OF silver bullion and storing it as q
sort Of collateral for the issue of paper
money, canno be accepted as a final solu'
ton OF the silver question.
':It is important hat the difference
between this policy and free coinaves should
be thoroughly understood.
IN the one case silver itself is money,
absolute and final. In the other it is a
commodity purchased at its value as
measured by another metal, and is held as
a commodity to SECURE totes issued upon
it. 1t may be coined into standard
dollars, If required for the conversion of
notes into silver coin, but even these coins,
on the theory of Mr.. Sherman, are to be
redeemed in gold If required. Thus the
paper and the bullion on which it is based
are both made to follow the course of gold.
If foreign governments, or the great
banks of the world, should combine to
gather a hoard of gold, or should
separately enter upon a scramble for gold,
as has often been the case, and this metal
should suddenly rise, tie value of a great
stock of silver bullion that could not be
converted into money, would as suddenly
fall. and as a mere security for notes,
would fail.
I'm short. the principle of buying silver
bullion to hold as a commodity to secure
notes, its value all the time to depend on
gold, is precisely the same as buying tin
plate or DIE iron for such a purpose. Such
a policy cannot last. To buy all tie silver
bullion produced in the United States and
to limit purchases to the silver of the
United States does not change the princi-
pie. 1t Is plain that such a policy must
come to an end. The end will be either
free coinage or no silver money. That is.
either silver itself must be money as final
and absolute as gold, or silver money will
be abandoned. Thus, the difference be-
tween silver purchased at a price 10 gold
and stored az collateral security Tor paper
money, and silver itself money as abso.
lutely as gold, is marked and clear.
Under free coinage silver is not pur-
chased at all. 1t has no price in gold.
Its relation to gold is fixed by congress
and is is. 90 to /. At this ratio it is
coined into dollars or units, as in the
language OF the act OF 1872. Silver under
free coinage is no more measured by gold
than gold is measured by silver. That
was the condition when our government
was founded apd our constitution was
framed. To coin money! in the Ian
and silver coins. By money was meant
gold and silver. If emphasis was laid on
either it was laid on silver; for silver was
then the principal money of this country,
and, for hat matter, of the world. The
Spanish milled dollar was at that time the
best known coin OF the world. 1t had a
wider circulation han any other and was
a standard coin everywhere. This dollar
was adopted as our standard coin and has
never been changed in weight of pure
metal. In this connection the language
Of Webster cannot be too often quoted.
Referring to the constitutional power of
the government over the money, Mr..
Webster said:
Il am certainly of the opinion then,
hat gold and silver, at rates fixed by con-
gress, constitute the legal standard of
value in this country. and that neither
nor any state has authority to
establish any other standard or to dis
Mace this. n n The legal
tender, therefore, the constitutional stand
ard oil value is established and cannot be
overthrown. To overthrow it would
shake the whole system"
And the whole system has been
shaken. The present status of silver
cannot longer be maintained. 1t is un-
sound in principle and cannot last. II
silver is given up as money gold will be
given up also, for the people will not be
deprived of money and will not be tied
forever to the single gold standard with
the gold supply yearly growing less. Are
we ready to spring loose from both metals
and launch ourselves on a sea of irredeem-
able paper2 Either this or silver must
lie restored to Its place as a money metal
equally with gold open to everybody to
convert the money.
This can be done only through coinage
on the same terms with gold. This done,
then, as of old, these two metals. would be
again set apart from everything as money
material, limited only by the stock on
land and the worlds annual supply.
The only question then would be, is the
supply OF the two metals adequate to meet
the requirements of increasing population
and wealth? From 1850 to 1873 81, 900.
100000 of gold and silver were added tc
the worlds stock Of metallic money
What an era OF prosperity The worlc
las experienced no other like it. Can W,
count on 5000. 600, 900 a year for tn
world for the next quarter of a century
Probably not. The present production o
both metals is about $3.50. 600, 900 a year
hut at least a hundred millions of this
of both metals-ls consumed IN the arts