The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-07
The Effect of Free Coinage of silve

To the Editor of the Press:
The free coinage of silver by the Unit
ed States would bring two results: first,
the price of silver would appreciate to par
with gold within a trifing margin of
divergence from the coin ratio of from
one to three per cent ct being under
stood that the capacity of our minis be
equal to the coinage of the silver offered,
second, gold coin would be driven out
of circulation: thereby contracting the
volume of our money to that extent.
The result of this contraction would be
falling prices of commodities and labor,
accompanied by a constantly increasing
number of failures, discontinuance of
many business enterprises, scanty employ
ment and lower wages of labor, and the
consequent suffering of the entire pro-
ducing class, which embraces probably
nine tenths of the people at least.
No monetary legislation could be SO
disastrous to the country, in the present
very grave exigency, as that which would
lead to the further contraction of the
money of our country. Free silver
coinage certainly would. In support
of the first allegation, that silver would
appreciate very nearly at par with gold.
we need only cite the history of the free
coinage of both gold and silver in
France
The sole cause of the substantial parity
in value of the two metals under stimuli
taneous free coinags is the well recog
nized fact that owners of the cheaper
coin value, minus the trifiing expense
of it's transportation to the mint and
loss of interest while the coinage is
going on.
& The fact that the United States had
adopted the free coinage of silver as well
as gold, would be known in all CONNER
cial countries within few hours, and
no one could buy silver of the well in
formed except at substantial par with
gold
In support of the second proposition
that gold coin would disappear from
circulation, we need only cite the history
of what happened after the discovery of
gold in California just prior to tn at
was estimated at 10000, 600 and of
silver at $32, 500, 900. In 1852 the
annual production of gold had risen to
about $50, 600, 600, while that of silver
had risen only to S42, 500, 600. When the
California discoveries took place the
stock of silver in existence was at least
one half greater in value than that of
gold. Within twenty years these proper
Of course to cheaper gold relatively to
silver; and hence under the French law
the coinage of gold begun actively. In
eight years, ending in 1857, the minis
Of France coined gold to the value of g.
721, 000, 600 francs, about S506, LOG, 600, in
United States money.
During the same period the coinage of
silver had fallen to 100000 OF francs
in 1857. Silver being the more valuable
metal it began to be exported. In 1852
the excess of exports over imports of sill
yer in France amounted to less than g.
600, 900 francs, in 1858 it rose to III Zoo, 600
francs, in 1854 to 1874, 0000 900 francs, in
1855 to 1877, 600, francs, in 1856
to 2S4, O00, 600 francs, in 1857
to 1862, 100000 francs in short in
about eight years two ffths of the French
stock of silver money was exported.
During this time the premium on sill
yer ranged between one and three per
cent.
In our own country the same thing
happened. The French coinage ratio
was Is 10 to our ratio was and is 16 to
/. From 1850 to 1873 we coined about
$67, ZOO, 900 in double eagles alone, to
which might be added smaller gold coin,
making the amount of gold coinage
| much more than $10G, ZOO, COO. During the
same period we coined less than IS, O00,-
900 of silver dollars, because silver was
the more valuable metal.
This long experience in our own coun-
try as well as France demonstrates the
facts that where there is free coinage
of both metals the divergence of the
prices of the two metals from the coin
ratio will be slight, and that the more
valuable coin will disappear from circu-
latlops 1.-as--------