The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-11-30
THERE CAN BE BUT ONE STANDARD
OF VALUE.

nractical or perTnaheht ''N
go The effort to make silver stanu-
ara ~ value I'm the United states al"
A.. r,,,rone f. an attempt 10 do that which
.. 40, possible. For reasons beyond tne
uo.,roi Of man, gold is the standard OF
...,,,n In those countries, ana IL IL Ho'
WITHIN the Iaw-making power OF man W
o,,s, Il from its functions. II such 'h'"e
- Tho two metals, retaining forever the
.o,,,o ratio of value TO each other couid
T.. zach could be made n standard OF
value; but because the quantity VI |"'
sunply OF each ia always Varsihe' '"'s
uniformity OF ratio cannot be, ana theTe-
fore IL is not possible to have the t"o
r,o,a,s operating as standards OF value
=, tho same time. With two standards
tho standard would be always varying
II would be like having one yard-such
.ha. was inyariable and another that
ranidtv contracted or expanded hhoei
the influences OF heat and cold.
The demand that silver shall be
.,o,dard NJ value is founded on mis-
copception of that in which the standard
~ value originates, and in a failure TO
attend to the true part which silver mas
nlaved in the history Of money.
silver has never been money In the
rrnitcd States. Between the foundation
81 the Government and 1873 only SS'OOO'OoO
~ silver dollars were coined by this Gov
eminent. There was therefore, pracu-
ca,v no silver here in circulation TO DC
used as money of full legal tender power
u ,s true the Constitution provides for
both gold and silver money. But "heh
the Constitution was framed England
and America. though approaching to the
cold standard. had not reached 1t. They
were in the transition period, and our
ancestors, though wise In their day.
could not foresee what has actually taken
place-the actual dropping or silver as q"
money metal In the same clause OF the
Constitution that authorizes Congress TO
coin money they gave Congress power 10
regulate the value OF foreign coins show
Ing that they expected these to commune
TO circulate here. Yet we see how u"'e
and events have disappointed their e~-
rectations In this regard.
Five hundred years ago silver was
money I'm England and in the other couh-
tries of Western Europe, but IT mas been
steadily vacating this function all over
that country until it Is not money now
| excent for change. in the greater part OF
Western Europe. 1t Is money all over
the East. In China, Japan, India, &c.
/ But why?
Tho institutions Of the East are servile
! The people are in fact, II not in name
| little better than slaves. A mans daily
wages are so small, that if you paid him
in gold. the particle Of gofd given him
would be too small to be preserved. Gold
cannot be divided into pieces small
enough to serve for the daily transactions
Of life. The people are, therefore, forced
to use baser metal. This is why silver
| is the money of the East.
But as civilization has advanced In
| Europe, as institutions have hberaiized,
as the price of labor has risen and has
now come to a point at which gold can
| be used to pay for it and what 1t pro-
duces, as the magnitude Of transactions
increase and men deal in thousands AID
millions they prefer to use gold, because
! It is more easily carried, handled and
| used For this reason gold has come to
be the money of Europe and America
| Silver. then. is the money Of countries
where the transactions are small; gold
| is the money of the countries where civil
ization and liberty progress and are
cherished and the transactions are large.
| 1t is customary for the free silver ad-
vocates to argue that silver is lawful
money in the countries Of Europe that
{ constitute the Latin Union. Hence they
say it would be good to make it money
here This is true, but true for those
only who stick in the bark. In those
countries silver is legal tender, but
no silver is really coined or used, except
| for change. Paris is as exclusively a
gold basis city as London is. If you pre-
sent a check for a hundred froncs &29l
at a bank in Paris, the banker never
thinks Of handing you silver. He hands
you gold or bank notes. If you present
hundred franc note $50 note) to &
merchant In payment of bill Of twenty
francs go, he hands you gold or banl
notes in return. Silver Is used in Paris
as here. for change only. to pay cat
fare and other small charges. No bust
ness transactions are based on it. The
same is true of Brussels, Antwerp, Rome
are silver countries in name, but not IL
fact. They use silver as token coinage
but not in business transactions. A Law
far more powerful than any that Their
lawmakers can frame has brought thei
transactions TO the tombstone Of gold
and although in their standard of value
they call themselves bimetallic countries
they are really as entirely monometalli'
countries as England is, or as the Unitet
States are. for though we call ourselves
bimetallic country. we keep our snve
stacked up in the Treasury, because w
can get no one TO take it out except TO
change. 1t is too bulky and heavy 10
our uses
These are some of the principal reason
which make the task Of the monetar
council difficult. We earnestly hope som
ground upon which all may stand ca
be found, but If they do find such commo
ground this conference viii necessaril