Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1893-02-28


continue to expand and Of steady
ing the values of property by the
compromising action Of a compos-
ite measure instead Of resting ev-
erything upon the varying produc-
ton of one single substance. The
problem before the actual workers
in business is how to permit the
new silver to flow out over the
world as did the new gold forty
years ago and to fix upon the nor
NAL ratio between the two metals.
That cannot be SO great as the
present panic stricken market
would indicate but would probably
be a ratio of / to Is; for
the renewed coinage of sill
yer would necessarily raise the
price. Such a grave question
as this cannot be settled by
calling the b~i-metallists "faddists.
That is not a fad which has lasted
from the earliest records of his
tory until a few years ago. The
epithet is more applicable to their
opponents, The evils which called
for inquiry by a Royal Commission
must have been real evils. The
members of t hat commission were
eminent both in position and in
mental power. From the detailed
nature of their inquiries, breadth
of the survey and the careful
deliberations of their conclusions
their report is entitled to the great
est possible respect, yet Mr.. Gift
fen, hearh-inquisitor and supreme
dogmatist of monometallism, is
not abashed in proclaiming it a
scandal of the first magnitude
that they should have talked SER
iously, even for a moment, of the
possibility of a fixed price between
gold and silver" Such a fixed
price existed even in England un-
til 1916 and all over the continent
Of Europe until 1873. Then Ger
many made the " mistake of sub
shutting gold for silver" Ito Dor
row Mr.. Citizens words) and the
silver panic set in. The Bland
Coinage Bill, as the same authority
admits, prevented in the United
States a much more severe pressure
for gold. Bi-metallism," says
Mr.. Giffen, " is protection" There
the " faddist'' shows, for the phrase
he seems to think os crushing does
not count for much out of England.
1t is trade and not gold which
England seeks and, as the report
Of the Royal Commission points
ont, the silver using countries will
1trade with other silver countries.
Mr.. Giffen thinks that the adoption
of bi-metallism would be for the adj
vantage of other countries and ma
tons, he thinks, are not philan-
thropic; but, so far, it seems that
I the gold countries suffer the most
for it is only the English in India
e who are Inconvenience by the fall
in silver. The philanthropy which
e so earnestly breaches free trade
e might not inconsistency go a little
father to benefit the nations.
After all, what is the chief enc
to be aimed at, is it not to builC
once more the prosperity of trade
The difficulty of maintaining an ex
. act ratio between gold and silve
may or may not be great; but it i
not of the essence of the question
, 70 quote from Mr.. Giffen, " tn
- benefits of great facility of ex
change may be greatly exaggera
y ted" He attaches little impor
lance to the steadiness of the eS
changes for he adds that "foreig
trade after all is only a fraction {
the business of great countries.
y: Let only the currency of a countr
be of real money and its abundanc
= need never cause alarm-there ca
/. be no panics or crisis, for such
currency is not based on faith,
+, Then if the gift Of an increase j
the volume Of money be utilize
as in past years, the perennii
truth of Hume's maxim will agai
be seen. 1--WE shall find that j
every kingdom into which none
I, begins to flow in greater abuI
dance than formerly, everythir
takes a new face; labor and indu
try gain life; the merchant becom.
more enterprising, the manufect-
rer more diligent and skilful, al
even the farmer follows his plo
with greater %alacrity and ate.