The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-07-12

ready said, this experience Is not peculiar. We
are just as well OF as England, Austria and
other nations; the same thing may happen to
them at any time The lesson to be needed is,
We should form larger metallic basis, and II
the quantity Of gold cannot be increased then
silver should be used OF course, we do not
mean to imply that tho present silver policy
should be continued; but we do mean to assert
that the world cannot safely discard the use Of
silver as the basis Of Its paper issues and il it
thinks it can and persists in doing so, we have
no doubt whatever that Heterogeneous and
depressions and panics will follow. Perhaps
the time may come when the use of silver may
be discarded, and gold also, but that time IS
not yet, and tho present dutter caused by the
exodus Of our gold to Europe, and the dutter
on the other side whom few millions is with
drawn from their banks, is unanswerable proof
Of the fact that nations and banking institu-
lions are trying to sustain paper currency on
too small means Of payment In other words,
there is an ever present fear that they cannot
maintain their obligations The remedy which
every one clearly enough sees is larger use of
the two metals
It will be observed that there is no
mention here of the Sherman law as
the cause of the financial futter or the
outflow of gold; authorities like the
Bankers Magazine leave such false
statements to certain politicians and
newspapers that might be named.
The plea of the Bankers Magazine
is that which has often been made by
the Journal. It is that the gold basis
alone is too narrow to carry the vast
superstructure of paper money and
credit, and that the two metals are in
dispensable to that security which a
broad and ample metallic basis can
alone impart.
It is often said that silver is largely
used now in this country. That is
true, but how is it used? Not as money
of redemption, sharing with gold, as
the Bankers Magazine says is neces-
sary, the work of redemption of paper
issues, but as mere token money, itself
to be redeemed in gold. The words of
the article quoted are strong plea for
free coinage of both metals.
In view of these words, how does the
cry for wildcat state bank issues ap-
pear? Aside from their insecurity they
would only add to the superstructure
of credit which the Bankers Magazine
says in the article quoted is already too
large for the existing metallic basis.
What is needed is more money to re-
deem with, and not more so-called
money to be redeemed. The necessi-
ties Of the situation can only be met by
large increase of the metallic basis,
and inasmuch as the gold supply of the
world cannot be increased the cure can
only come by drawing silver and gold
together as coordinate money of ulti-
mate redemption on fixed ratio, which
was the position they occupied toward
each other and toward the paper money
and the business of the world for CEN
turtles prior to 1873 kansas CITY Jour-
nal.
The words in the quotation from the
Bankers Magazine possessing the most
significance and upon which the most
emphasis should be laid are these:
'Perhaps the time may come when the
use of silver may be discarded. and gold
also, but that time is not come YETI
The ideal of Bartholdi's statue, LIB
erty Enlightening the World" can in
no wise more nearly approximate a
glorious realization then by the stamp
ing out in the United States of the hui
manity enslaving fallacies ''specie
basis and ''specie redemption" What
is needed is not more money to re-
deem with" but sufficiency of money
that needs no redeemer. Civilization
must retrace its steps and grope back
ward until the suffering and toiling
masses of humanity regain the liberty
once enjoyed, but lost with the first
coinage of silver coins by the Roman
empire 266 years before the Christian
era.
In the report of the monetary COM
mission of 1876 are found these words:
AT the Christian era the metallic money OF
the Roman empire amounted to 81, $4,000, 100. By
the end of the fifteenth century it had shrunk
to less than $500, 900 During this period a
most extraordinary and baleful change took
place in the condition of the world. Popula-
ton dwindlcd and commerce. arts wealth and
freedom all disappeared The people we're re-
| duced by poverty and misery to the most de.
graded conditions of serfdom and slavery. The
disintegration OF society was almost complete.
The conditions Of life were so hard that indi-
vidual selfishness was the only thing consistent
with the instinct of self-preservation All
public spirit, all generous emotions all the
noble aspira tons ct man shriveled and disap
peared as the volume Of money Shrunk and as
| prices fell
history RECORDS no Such d1SaS trOuS transition
| as that from the Roman empire to the dark
| ages Various explanations have been given OF
| this entire breaking down of the frame work OF
society, but it was certainly coincident with a
| shrinkage in the volume Of money which was
also without historical parallel. The crumbline
of institutions kept even step and pace with
| the shrinkage in the stock of money and the
| falling OF prices All other attendant circum-
stances than these last have occurred in other
| historical periods unaccompanied and unfol
lowed by any such mighty disasters It is a
suggestive coincidence that the first glimmer
of light only came with the invention Of bills oil
exchange and paper substitutes through which
the scanty stock of the precious metals was in
| creased in efficiency.
But it was during the period from 45(
B. G. to $50 3. c. that the Roman en-
pire made her greatest, grandest and
most wonderful progress and attained
the topmost pinnacle of national glory
and the zenith of her power. During
this period her monetary system was
what is known as the numerary system,
under which money was not considered
as commodity and possessed no com
modify value, but was simply the uni