The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-11-01
MIR. brad BEVERLY ON TIE TIMES

| mh. BRAD BIZ Ehbh ON ihE lihErs
In the speech made by Mr. j. Brad. Bey-
| erly on oregon Hill in this city en- Monday
evening, referring, very properly. to The
Times as one of the ablest papers in the
country. he said that it had told its read
ers that the decentralization Of silver in
1873 was due to the fact that gold had
then run silver out Of the country, and
yet that The Times now claims that the
free coinage Of silver will run all the
gold out oe the country Mr. Beverly
| thought these two positions most incCn-
sistent, and he could not understand how
journal so conspicuously able as ne
was compelled to admit The Times to
be, could present them both 70 the public.
Very well. With proper acknowledge
ments TO Mr.. Beverly for his very kind
reference to The Times, we will make
the matter so plain that he viii always
be able TO understand it hereafter.
There is a general principle in financial
matters Of universal ard Unvarying oper-
alton called Gresham's law, which may
be, and generally is, thus stated. Cheap |
money viii certainly drive away dear |
money. This means that if men have |
the option to pay obligations i'm a coin
worth 20 cents or in a coin worth 100
certs, they will certainly pay in the coin
worth 80 cents Equally. also. the persons
possessed Of the coins worth 100 cents
will not use them for the purpose Of deb.
paying. They will sell them as bullion,
and, with 80 cents they will buy the cheap
coins TO roy their debts with, pocketng
the ten cents as profit. This is Greshaufs
law, and it works always and infaHibly
with the same certainty as the earth
goes round the sun Rev. Jasper to the
contrary Notwithstanding
Now, for a long time prior to 1873 the
silver in Silver dollar was worth con-
sid6rably more than the gold in a gold
dollar Gold dollars were then, therefore,
the cheap money and silver was the
dear money. Consequently, in obedience
to Gresham's law, men paid their debts
with gold dollars and sold their silver
dollsrs for bullion This accordingly
d. owe all Of the silver dollars out ,f
circulation. But about 1873, Germany de-
monetzed silver and all the other conn
tries Of Europe substantially did the same
thing in short ame thereafter. and
they threw all Of their silver money ON
the market for sale as bullion About
the same time also, the silver mines Of
the silver States commenced to make
heir marvellous yields Of silver. which
have gone on increasing Until thew now
put out about three times as much as
they yielded in 1873. This has caused
he supply Of silver to be immensely
increased, whilst Europe, being no longer
bidder for it, the only nations wanting
I have become the United States. the
East, and Central and South America.
The supply has enormously increased
While the demand for It has enormously
Silver. consequently, has nou
allen to one-half of what it was worth
n 1873, and the silver in a silver dollar
5 only worth now a little more than g.
ne-half what the gold in a gold dollar {
worth. Silver, then, has now become
he cheap money, and it win now run
'old out just as gold in 1873 ran silver
nut when gold was the cheap money.
We are sure that Mr.. Beverly can now
understand the case and can see that
here was no sort Of inconsistency be- ,
ween the two statements as made by Y
he Times. t