Iron County register., 1893-07-27
The Natural Coinage Ratio.

1t seems to be the impression will
some that the coinage ratio between
gold and silver ought to be fixed by tn,
market price of silver, when silver is
paid for in gold.
But as long as silver is paid for il
gold, gold is the single standard an6
silver is merely commodity. And a.
the intrinsic value of either metal il
not more than half its total value when
it is used as money under free coinage
the effect of purchasing silver in gold
Is to cause silver to fluctuate with a
constant downward tendency. So that
any coinage ratio thus determined is
highly artificial and liable to be deter
mined by such a corner On gold as now
exists.
The coinage ratio fixed by Govern
ment ought to be determined by natu-
raj law, and not by the pleasure OF
speculators.
A natural coinage ratio would be that
exisisting between the amount of gold,
and the amount of silver, known to
exist in the world
Ii the supply of silver is sixteen times
as heavy as the supply of gold; if for
every pound of gold in the world there
is sixteen pounds of silver, then the
coinage ratio ought to be one to six
teen. That is. the silver dollar ought
to weigh sixteen times as much as the
gold dollar.
As matter of fact there is now in
the world about sixteen times as much
silver as gold. This is as nearly as
the amount can be apprOximated by
the most careful calculations. The
extent of the gold corner is shown by
the fact that while the natural ratio is
only one to sixteen, the artificial ratio
in the corncred market is fluctuating
upward above twcnty-fve-that is. ii
now takes over twenty-five ounces of
dcmonetized silver to buy only one
ounce of cornered gold.
All the highest authorities on the
subject of the natural ratio of gold to
silver. agree. that during this century,
the supply of gold has Increased faster
than the supply of silver. There has
been greater increase in the number
of pounds of silver of course. but in
comparison TO silver, gold has increas-
ed the faster. This one fact cstab-
lished by the most eminent authority, |
is. in itself, sufficient to refute every
claim made by the monometallists, for
it shows that the depreciation in the
gold price of silver, is not due to an
increase in the quantity of silver as
compared with gold. but to a corner
on gold, aided by Government action
in demonetizing silver.
For a hundred years and up to 1873,
when silver was demonetized as re-
suit of a conspiracy to corner gold, the
market rate of exchange between gold
and silver was almost exactly the same
as the coinage rate. There was no
Iluctuation worth mentioning. But as
silver was demonetized by the cessation
Of its free coinage, the spectators
forced the market ratio wide apart
rom the coinage ratio. And so it will
remain as long as the Government
lssists them in keeping gold corner
I'd.
The duty of this Government is to
ind AS nearly as possible how much
he weight oe silver in the world ex-
leeds the weight of gold, and to fix the
coinage ratio on that basis, regardless
If the wishes of the gold speculators.
And having done that, it must coin
liver and gold freely. and use them
reely, on an equality as money of final
.ccOunt.
Until that is done, we will have
and panics. A cornered -
old market means stringencies and p
'anics. 1t can mean nothing else o.
And remember, that putting gold up, cs
uts down the price of labor. and of
ii the products of labor. Whatever
lse you forget, don't forget that.-St. B
,ouis Chronicle.