Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-22
GOLD THE STANDARD
Monetary View of the Secretary Of
the Treasury.
ADDRESS At A new YORK BANQUET.
Mr.. Carlisle Talks to the Chamber
of Commerce.
HIS POSITION ON SILVER.

At the one hundred and twenty-flfth an
nual banquet of the New York chamber OF
commerce last evening Secretary Of the
Treasury Carlisle discussed an international
monetary basis, holding that there could
be only one standard, and that was gold.
Regarding the use of silver he said: The
wsest and safest friends of silver are those
who have had the sagacity to foresee the
inevitable effect of its continuous accumu-
lation in the form of bullion in the vaults
of the treasury, and he courage to remove
from the statute book ar experimental law
which from the time of it's er actment was
whole country
After stating a few general propositions
regarding the attributes of money which
are generally acknowledged, Secretary Car
Isle proceeded: Il think it may be safely
asserted that this country could not long
maintain its present position as one of the
of the great community of commercial ma
tons which now controls the trade of the
world unless We preserve a monetary sys-
tenn, substantially at least, in accord with
the monetary systems of the other princi-
pal nations.
There can be no international legal ten
der without an International agreement,
but there must from the very necessities of
the case, always be a common basis upon
Whlch bargains are made and common
currency in which balances are settled. No
one nation can deter mine for the others
what that basis shall be or what that cur
rency shall be. 1t may establish currency
for itself and for the use of its own people
In their domestic trade, but he value of
that currency will be ultimately measured
and. conclusively fixed by the international
standard, whatever that may he.
Gold is the only international money,
and all trade balances are settled on a gold
basis, all other forms of currency being ad-
justad to that standard. But the gold eagle
and double eagle are not accepted at par
tlcular valuation in these settlements SIM
ply because the United States of Ameri-
ca have declared by law that they shall
be legal tender at their nominal value, but
solely because the bullion contained in
them, If uncoined, would be worth every
where the same amount This is a great
and powerful government. but there is one
thing it cannot dot cannot create money.
1T can suspend or limit the coinage of
either metal whenever it is ascertained that
the coins of the two metals, of the same de-
nomination, are of unequal value; or 1t can
change their legal ratio so as to make them
as nearly equal in value possible; or it
can maintain the parity of its coins by re-
celving them ana their paper representa-
lives III payment of all public dues and dis
charge all its own obligations in whatever
kind of money its creditors may demand.
when the government of the United
States mas undertaken to supply the coan-
try with a currency, and has issued its OBJ
legations in the form of notes to circulate
among the people in the transaction of
their private business. and has received for
every dollar represented by such notes a
dollars worth of the peoples services or a
dollars worth of the peoples property, its
honor, as well sound public policy, de-
mandS that they shall be redeemed upon
N a ha
markets of the world.
ImpOssibilfty of Double Standard.
For my part, / have never been able to
understand what is meant by a double
standard. or double measure Of value. and
have never found any one who could tell
me- To my mind 1t seems as absurd to con-
tend that there should be two different
standards or measures of value as il would
be TO insist upon having two yardsticks of
different lengths or two gallons of different
dimensions. If there were two standards
or measures not equal in value. it is evil
dent that one of them must be a false meas
ure: and IL they We're of equal value il is
evident that. no matter what the law might
declare, there would be in fact but one
measure. although composed of two different
kinds of material
1T does not follow from anything | have
said that nothing shall circulate or be rec
ogniZed as money or currency except gold,
of paper issued against gold, nor that the
prices of commodities ought to be or will
be liked upon the hypothesis that gold Is
the only money in the world, but it does
follow that no part Of our currency wheth-
er 1t be silver or paper. should be permitted
TO depreciate below the established and rec
ogniZed standard.
Gentlemen. the question whether the OBJ
legations of the United States will be paid
in coin current in all the markets in the
world has already been settled, and it has
hAn 1A1 Co. ali
come. by the spirit and obvious purpose OF
the whole body of existing legislation upon
the subject. and by the deliberate juig-
ment OF the American people and the de-
clared purpose of those who have been in
trusted with the execution of the laws
THE fluctuations in silver's value have
been so rapid and so great as 10 demon.
strate the fact that il can not be safely
coined without limitations into money OF
final redemption at the existing ratio or a,
any other ratio that might be established
silver of the World.
1T Is enough to say at present that we
have already on hand a stock of silver
coined and uncoined, sufficient to meet all
the probable requirements of the country
for many years to come. The minis of the
United States have coined AIS, 49, $50 stand.
ard silver dollars, and We now have l4a,.
! 6@, go fine ounces of silver bullion, which
at the ratio of 16 to 1, would make sISl :.
9lts41, or $601,241,391 in the aggregate
Besides this We have s76,911.OO2 in sub.
sidiary silver coin, which is legal tender tr
the amount of ten dollars, and is by law
redeemable in full legal tender money on
presentation. Our total stock of gold coin
and gold bullion is 1868. l61,3i9.
The five countries composing the Latin
Monetary Union, with a combined popula.
ton of more than S0,0U,0W, exclusive ot
their colonial possessions. have Sg15isa,s
in gold, S125,00o,000 of full legal tender sill.
yer, and S95,o00,O0O of subsidiary silye,
coins; and yet they found il necassar>
several years ago to discontinue the coin.
age of legal tender silver and enter into an
arrangement by which each country agreed
TO redeem in gold all its own legal tender
silver coins when presented by any othe,
| member of the union. Thus gold has beer
made to support limited quantity of silveI
and Switzerland, as it has been reonired ~
do IN the United States since 1878 and as
1t must continue to do hereafter here a nd
elsewhere, unless great change shall occu,
in the relative values OF the two metals :,