The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-11-29
CARLISLE ON THE CURRENCY.
Able Address by the Secretary OF the
Treasury-Some Limitations on the
Coinage Of Silver Necessary to
Maintain the Parity Be-
tween the Two Mo-
ney Metals.

=
Maintain the Parity Se-
tween the Two Mo-
ney Metals.
New YORK, November 2l.-At the
one hundred and twenty-fifth annual
banquet Of the Chamber of Commerce
isst night, at which three hundred
prominent business men were present,
the Hon. John G. Carlisle, Secretary of
the Treasury, responded to the first
toast of the evening, which was:
Commerce demands and the honor
of the country requires that the obiiga-
tions ,the United States shall be paid
in coin current in any market Of the
world, and that that question shall be
settled for all time and beyond contro-
versy.n
In response to this sentiment Mr..
Carlisle, after a few Introductory re-
marks, said:
Money and its representatives consti-
OK
and the banker performs their parts in
the numerous and complicated trans
eesions necessarily occurring il The
growth and development of our trade
at home and abroad. II is not possible
to do perfect work with imperfect in-
ssruments, and if it is attempted the
consequences will not fall upon you
alone, :,ut must be felt sooner or later
in every part of the land Confidence
would be destroyed, trade would be
interrupted, the obligation of contracts
would be violated, and all the evils
which have invariably attended the
use ofa base or flac,uatiug currency
would ahiict, nou the commercial and
fnancia! classes only, but the country
at large.
But our comm. rcial Interests are not
confined to our own q country; they ex-
Tend to every quarter OF the globe, and
our people buy and sell in nearly every
market of the civilized world. A very
large part of our farmers, merchants,
and other laboring people find constant
and profitable employment in the pro-
duction and transportation of COM
nodities for sale and consumption in
other countries, and the prices of many
OF our most important products are
fixed in foreign markets. Without e1-
.ception these prices are fixed IN tue
markets Of countries having gold
standard or measure of value either by
express provision of law or by public
policy which keeps their SILVER coins
equal ia exchangeable value to the
gold coins at. the legally established
ratio.
The value of our trade With the peo-
ple Of other countries during the last
fiscal year was more than 81, zoo, ,o00, 900,
and more than sl,1o0,0o0,oo0 Of this
was with the people of Europe, while
With the whole of Asia it itamounts to
little over 100000, 900, and with all
the countries of South America, ex-
GLIDING Brazil, which has single gold
standard, it was only SAG, ,O00,ooo.
While it would be unfair to attribute
this unequal distribution OF our trade
with the outside world to the charac-
ter of their fiscal legislation, I think 1t
may be safely asserted that this coun-
try could not long maintain its present
position as one OF the most conspicuous
and important members Of the great
community of commercial nations
which now controls the trade of the
world unless we preserve monetary
system substantially, at least, in &C
cord with the monetary systems OF the
other principal nations.
AN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT.
There can be no international legal
) tender without an international agree
ment, but there must, from the very
: necessities of the case, alwa,, be COM
I mon basis upon which bargains are
made and common currency in which
balances are settled. No one nation
can determine for the others what that
basis shall be or what that currency
shall be. 1t may establish currency
for itself and for the use of its own peo-
pie in their domestic trade, but the
! value of that currency will be ulti-
mately measured and coSclusively
fixed by the international standard.
swhatever that may be.
!, The stamp on it's coins attest their
sAweight and fpeness, but it adds moth
= ing whatever to their intrinsic value,
md nothing whatever to their ex-
aangsa5le value in the markets Of the
5rid, so that nations stock of inter-
StioDai money always consists of its
coined bullion and the bullion value
its coins. It cannot augment its
;sss x OF such money TO any extent
|@ @ ,atever by overruiing either gold or
s.1;sr in its coinage laws, nor can it di
ish it's stock to any great extent
lever by undertaking. either metal.
e the number of its nominal dol
81 shillings, or francs, may be in
d or diminished, as the case may
actual value of the bullion or
cill not be changed in the least,
1t Of Congress, or other legisla-
:, can repeal or alter the laws
S e, and every attempt to do so
Git in disaster sooner or later.
s IN sE ONLY INTERNATIONAL
MONEY.
& 1,se only international money,
S.sie balances are settled ir
s Sich IS the same thing, on a
4 sSsll other forms of currency
\, ed to that standard. It is
81 -ae advocates Of q different