Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-01
A PLEA FOR SILVER.
The Monetary Question as Presented
by a Free Coinage Man.
FACTS IN FINANCIAL HISTORY.
This Country Needs a Larger Currency,
Silver as Well as Gold.
A BASIS FOR PAPER MONEY NEEDED

To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Briefly, money may be defined, as means
ofexchange of commodities and storing accu-
mulated wealth. 1t is creature of law.
To make it, fix its quantity, say of what it
shall consist, and give it its legal power, is
one of the legitimate functions of govern
ment. 1t must consist in some form of one
or more commodities. In coin form, or
otherwise, it may Re represented by paper
promises ordained by Law to circulate as
money and find its money functions in the
fiat of law that fixes certain quantity of
the commodities represented equivalent to
the dollar of account
From an early antiquity, gold and silver
have chiefly been used for this purpose, as
in their nature they are well suited, and
the fact that these metals, Notwithstanding
the fluctuations in their production, have,
for thousands of years, held a parity of
relative value, not varying much, from Of
| gold to 15 of silver, is significant, and
should not be disregarded when considering
the now pressing question as to what shall
constitute the base of our money system.
SOME HISTORIC FACTS.
Illustrative of this note the following
facts: From 1901 to 1920 the worlds an
nual production of gold was SO, 710, 800, and
of silver $50. ,5OO-four times as much
silver as gold; from 1921 to 1910, of gold
S11, ,466, 900 and of silver S21, 1864, 900, twice
as much silver as gold; from 1841 to 1860, of
gold S85, 10000 and of silver S34, ,826, 500,
two and one-half of gold to one of silver;
from 1860 to 1880, of gold S117 ,991, 900 and
of silver S68, ,043, 900, nearly two Of gold to
one of silver.
Now, during these fluctuations in the
amount of the annual production of these
metals, statistics in the bureau of the
United States Mint, reported from the Lon
don market, show that from 1901 to 1878 the
extremes of fluctuations in the relative
value of these metals were only as 1 of gold
to 1926 of silver, to 1 of gold to 1911 of
silver.
We are further informed by statistics that
from tie year 1900 B. C. to 1897 A D.,
period of over g., 900 years, the comparative
value of gold and silver f1uctuated from l of
gold to 10 of silver, to 1 of gold to IA 40 of
silver, and that from 1897 to 1901 the
greatest fuctuation was from of gold to
1910 of silver, to of>gold to Ii. IA of silver.
And these were the extremes far above the
average. When in 1890 our Government
commenced to coin money the ratio was
fixed to about of gold to 16 of silver, that
is, ST. 25 grains of fine silver to the dollar
of account, and 2.32 grains of fine gold.
THE SILVER DOLLAR IS HONEST.
These facts show that the American sill
yer dollar was no ''fraud,' but at pre-
MUM, as shown by the London market up
to 1873, when its money function was taken
away. How much the fiat of law, backed by
the consensus of opinion and the practice of
nations for thousands of years, had to do in
maintaining the relative values of these
metals do not say. Probably back of all
this lies the simple fact that they represent
the comparative cost of production; but
that the fiat of law is chief factor in
maintaining fixed quantity of gold or sill
yer, equivalent to the fiction-the dollar of
ACCOMPLISHMENT be questioned, for certain
it is that if YOU deprive either metal of its
money function you will depress its value
while increasing that of the other.
1 venture the following as postulating the
logic of history on the money question:
First-Plenitude of money in circulation
promotes activity in business, prosperity
and peace; stops litigation and increases the
wealth and comfort of the people.
Second-Scarcity of money in circulation
causes idleness, poverty, starvation and
crime, and renders great natural resources
nugatory.
Third-For the chief use of money, to
facilitate the exchange of commodities, two
conditions only are necessary-convenience
and currency.
PROOF OF THE PosTULATEs.
As proof of the above postulates offer
the following incidents in history, enacted
through many years and on a large scale:
For 600 years preceding this century, the
bank of Venice, great and popular monied
institution of the then commercial world
issued large sums of paper money and never
paid out dollar of coin for its paper; yet
its paper was at par with gold and silver.
In the early part of this century the Ma
poleonic wars had drained the treasures of
Great Britain, and her banks were COM
PEELED to suspend specie payment and issue
large sums Of paper money; and for 26 years,
until contraction had made money scarce
and the banks resumed specie payment,
England prospered and regained her fnan-
cial standing in a marvellous manner, as
though the nation had received new in
spiration and impetus.
In 1912, when the Franco-German War
with the enormous indemnity exacted by
Germany exhausted the specie of France,
she issued large volume Of paper money,
y,
and manufacturing activity sprang up in a |
wonderful manner, which rapidly repaired |
her losses in the war, while Germany, |
struggling with her tight money market, |
owing to her gold basis for money, soon |
paid back to France for merchandise the |
large sum of money exacted. For years the |
German people, pressed by poverty, have
been fiocking to this country by thousands, |
while the French are very prosperous at |
home.
THE EXPERIENCE OF AMERICA.
Thirty years go we entered into a great |
war to preserve the life Of the nation. Up
to that time we had no financial standing in |
Europe. United States per cent bonds |
were in London at discount. Our wealth.
producing power was not one-fourth what
it now is. The great war involved an ex-
penditure of over 81, ZOO, ,00O, 900. Against
the protests Of financial experts, who proph-
esied that it would ruin the country, we
issued paper money, vast volumes of
"greenbacks, promises to pay, and bonds
of various kinds and for four wears the
bloody drama was enacted And what has
been the result.
The Union of the States was trinmpbant-
ly established. We have already paid off
three -fourths of the great war debt. and
what bonds are yet unpaid are at a high
premium. Our paper promises are at par,
circulating as money, and 800, 900, 900 or
400, ,0O0,O 600 Of our 'greenbacks" are per-
forming the full function of money, while
our Treasury holds several hundred millions
in gold and silver.
From the close of the war in 1865 up to
O-n 4ha