The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-22

Mr.. Bsand in his speech at the opening
an untruth when he said that France had
been able for period Of seventy years
tfrom 1913 to 1879 to maintain the parity
Of the two metals all over the world at
the ratio Of i55< 10 I. Mr.. Robert 6iften,
the statistician OF the British Board OF
Trade. SHOWS that this statement 10
founded upon an entire misapprehension,
for the reason that France did not have
the two metals in concurrent circulation
during the period under consideration,
but had them alternately, first one and
then the other. he produced and pub
ilshed the market reports OF Paris for
each month from led to 1877, during all
of which time there had been premium
on gold ranging from 4 per cent TO per
cent. Nobody would pay debt in gold
when 4 per cent. could be saved BY pay
ing ii in silver. On every debt of 1000
francs from TO % francs could be saved,
according TO the premium of the day, by
paying In silver. The literature of the
period Is fun of proofs that gold was not
in circulation az this time. although ii
was coined more or less at the French
mint for money changers and hoarders,
After is47 q change took place due TO the
gold discoveries in California and Austria
liz. Silver went TO premium in France.
and Was exported aud melted to such an
extent that the country was left with an
insufficient supply of small change, and
was Obliged TO adopt token coinage by
debasing the tineness Of all coins smaller
than five francs TO SIS thousandths, in
stead Of 800. After 1867 there was another
change. Gold went 10 small but in
ereasing premium, which became so ex-
cessiye in 1878 that the coinage of franc
pieces was limited by law, and stopped
altogether In 1876. in order to prevent the
expectation of gold. In short the facts
show that France did not have the double
standard in practice during the period in
question any more than We in America
had il.
The French economist. chevalier. the
great champion of silver in his day. is an
other eminent authority that is quoted on
this point. He says:
"In the year XI (is03). when the Law of
seventh Germinal was enacted, which es-
tabiished for temporary standard the
ratio of ! to 15Iz between the two metals.
this ratio actually existed IN the CONNER
cial world; but little by little il changed,
aud soon gold came To De worth ordinarily
\ lissle more than ISL times as much as
silver-it has sometimes been worth
little above ~ times as much. This dis
crepancy, which has usually been about a
per cent. Chat Is, one-haif Of that which
manifested Itself from i726 to 1851 would
have had no effect ii the provision of Gau-
din had been correct. On the contrary,
IL had a very considerable effect; il
su fficed TO retire gold from circulation. A
few years after the passage OF the law of
the year XI gold became so scarce that peo-
pie had 10 buy IL of the money changers
when they wanted to carry that kind of
cash on their journeys. In fact, the circu-
lation of the two metals side by side which
Gaudin battered himself that he should
establish by means of the coinage OF pieces
denominated 20 francs and 40 francs, had
ceased TO exist shortly after the year XI.
and twenty-five years after that date the
circulation consisted of silver only. ia
Monnaie," p. ZIG.