Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-06-21
THE INFLUENCE OF GERMANY.
White Thinks 1t Had Little to Do With
the Depreciation.

White Thinks 1t Had Little to Do With
the Depreciation.
II Is said by SOME that Germany did all
the mischief by her acts of 1871 and 1873;
that she compelled France and the Latin
union to close their mints to silver, and
that this caused the great decline in the
price of that metal If this wtre true It
might possess an academic but not a
practical interest since Germany is not
answerabfe to other nations for her likes
and dislikeA We cannot go back to 1871,
nor blot out the intervening years AS to
the decline in the price of silver, 1t bad
continued after Germany had completed
her monetary reform. Germany ceased
selling silver in 1879. The decline tn sill
yer up to thrt time had been pence per
ounce, but since that time IL had been l3
pence.
This proves that there We're other causes
in operation even more potent than the ac-
tion of Germany. France had the same ex-
perience as England IN her endeavors to
keep the two metals in circulation ON a IA
ito fixed by law. There were twenty six
changes of the coinage ratio in period of
200 years. 5 80 Y Z -
In 1878 there was premium s6 rs per
cent. ON gold in the Paris market. Silver
bullion was going to the mint in unusual
amounts to I've coined and exchanged for
gold for export 1t was now necessary
for France to make definite choice be-
tween silver and gold. The Latin union
nations were hastily assembled in confer
ence and they agreed to limit the coinage
of silver 10 l2O,O00,oO francs per year for
al the countries composing the union
This coinage was TO be only on govern
ment account. This was virtually the de
monetization of silver in France, but the
formal act closfng the French mint TO sill
ver was not passed till 1876 The truth is
that the gold standard made its way in
France not only without any design on the
part of individuals, but in spite of the
strenuous resistance of almost all the men
who busted themselves with the subject at
all It was the same way in Holland and
Austria. sketch of whose monetary leg
islation and experience was next given.
NOW, if we find movement of civilized
mankind going on steadily for 100 years ~
said the speaker. working out. in differ
ent countries uniform results which com
mend themselves 70 successive genera
tions, the prescriptions are all in favor Of
that movement being beneficial" The
secret thought which paralyzed the Brus-
sels conference and all other conferences
was What would happen the day after
international bimetallism if individual
men should continue TO prefer ONE ounce of
gold TO sixteen ounces Of silver"
The speaker Thought that the scramble
for gold would be more pronounced the
day after a bimetalNc treaty than the day
before, because everybody would suspect
everybody else of gratifying his secret
liking for gold at the expense of his neigh
bors. He considered the gold standard
beneficial TO AL classes, and he examined
and answered the various arguments adj
vanCed TO show that it was detrimental
to some The present silver law, COM
monty called the Sherman law, was not hi
metallism 1t was based on the idea thf {
the purchase of silver and the issuance I
treasury notes against it increases the sup
ply of money in the country. whereas il
diminished it.