The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-18

| both gold and silver. putting enough sill
yer in the silver dollar 70 put IL on parity
with gold. II Is perfectly safe to say that
| President Cleveland does not favor the
free coinage Of silver at any ratio except
an international ratio established through
bimstaliic union; that is President
/ Cleveland. under the clear logic Of his
message, cannot favor the free coinage Of
silver until we secure international BIZ
mstaiiism. Uncertainty as 20 the value Of
our currency Will not be removed by the
unlimited coinags Of silver, no matter
what the ratio is.
suppose we began 70 coin today at .
ratio exactly CORES ponding to the market
/ the correspondence might violently van
ish in thirty days. because there is no sta
biity in the market price of silver. The
ratio Of silver TO gold has changed in the
markets Of the world frequently and vio-
| Ieutly both before and since the closing of
the Indian minis, and no human being
can io.esee what its course will be for a
| month at 4 time.
Unlimited coinage Of silver, except IN
der the plan Of international bi-metsllism
means unlimited fluctuation in the value
| Of our currency no matter what change
| We make in the ratio. The instability of
/ silver IS 50 great that in each international
| monetary conference even the bi-metal-
| lists could not agree upon an answer
TO the question, nor could they in the
| British monetary commission Of 1885,
/ What Is the market ratio7 About the
l5th Of May il was 25itk 10 1. At the be-
| ginning OF the second week OF this month
| il was. little more than - TO |. and on
tie Lth inst. It was q. 80 to l. What the
ratio may be next week no man can tell
If new ratio was agreed upon, what
would We do with the 40. 600 go dollars
| already coined At ratio OF Is 20 /? They
would ali haze TO be recoined, and il takes
= long time to recoin 10000. 600 of silver
| dollars. Wipiu few years. or a few
months. there might be another change of
ratio When the Sherman bill was passed,
in July. 1890, suppose We had put into our
| silver dollar enough silver at tho market
value TO be equal 10 gold dollarf Silver
was then worth si.0s PER ounce, and the
cents. Silver Is now worth about y cents
an ounce. and the silver dollar is worth
about IS cents as bullion. Consequently,
If we had put enough silver into the dol
lar then to make il gold dollar. it would
now be . cents short ard the whole Job
would have to be done over again.
This plan for terminating the silver dis
pute would do no good without an inter-
national agreement. 1t had the respect
able sanction of Mr.. Carlisle when he
wrote in his letter of August, 1892:
II believe that a dollars worth OF gold
should be coined into gold dollar, and
that dollars worth of silver should be
coined into a silver dollar"
But Mr.. Carlisle has learned good deal
since August, iS92. and he probably knows
by this date that "the dollars worth of
silver coined into a silver dollar today
would differ much in weight from the
dollars worth of silver coined into a
dollar some other day. OF course n change
of ratio has no significance except we
have the free coinage of silver. for IL we
are TO 60 on with the present system of
government purchases and of limited
coinage, it makes no difference whether
we have any ratio at all. The govern
men,'s credit and its daily redemption Of
our silver treasury notes in gold are their
sole support and guarantee. The silver
bullion behind them is q mere bonus to
the producing states.
change of ratio Is humbug unless we
a. nk~
free coinage of silver the adoption OF a
| legal ratio different from that OF the mar
! ket would, Of course, at once expei gold
/ and gold values from our monetary sys-
| TEN. Bat there is small chance that con.
| gress would agree TO change the ratio. The
/ Populists cry out today agains. it. They
say that change OF ratio from Is to
/ 20. or any other change. would give away
/ the whole principle for winch they have
| been eontendinr; that 1t would add one
| fourth TO the national debt and all private
/ debts: that "the dollar of our fathers"
/ would become as obsolete as the flint-lock
/ musksss, the spinning wheels of our
| mothers. and the stage coaches Of sixty
/ years ago. The Popalist declares that he
is lighting for larger volume Of cireula-
| ton and that he has no interest In mere
! tight for larger dollar.
| OF course. no Democrat or Republican
| who supports Sir. ClevsIand's views as
/ expressed in hls message would consent
| 10 free silver coinage a; any ratio except
/ an international ratio under which the
/ United States and Europe would stand
( upon a common platform OF hl-metallls M
The Nes York Trjbsne exposes the utter
/ ahsurd.ty Of the coinage % silver on a new
! ratio in tae following statement Of s.gnin-
| cant facts aud figures.
AT ~ to the silver dollar. already too
large Tor convenience. woaid contain 5lb
T grains mueA IS the present dollar and
+ a qaarteF--aua would be worta ABOUT 3 =
{ cents az the recent advance In price oi
+ eui.}on. No enc eaa give a reason for be-
l5es'ns that - would neIifs the price Of
/ silver 20 have IL officially rated by the
/ government at Nfs per cent. less than its
/ present coming value. Yet there are some
/ wbo affirm ana doubtless believe that the
( coinage d = tiSErain dollar would so raise
/ toe prscc cl silver bullion that the new
dollar woasa - worth pAr In gold
/ They are surely luu II hope. Bailtoa
/ would have to rise - sfk9 pence per ounce
! ~ 1ear3y o. p~r Gent from SIS recent
/ pssee, before sis grains woald equal - :
! gains II Eo.1. EVen AZ 80, cents Tor sis
! grains, silver wOasd be - ranch rn0re
+ profitable than ~ has becu that pyoiac-
! tioa woa.a Increase sEaln. aud she enor-
i f1scus surpiy - silver wo4sd tenS 20 IRE
/ VSEE an advance. Moreover. the vast
/ stoeS he'd ia EurGfse could saeu - an