The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1893-09-15
BIMETAELISM.

| All countries may be roughly divided, fol
our purpose, into gold-using and silver using
| The former use almost exclusively gold money
| or bank notes, based upon a reserve OF gold
money, and in them the use of silver, as the or.
binary money of trade is practically incon
| venient They are in general rich and highly
developed countries, such as England, France
Belgium and Holland.
| In the latter the facts OF industry ana the
habits of the people (hand labor and low
| wages, for eXampleO make the use OF gold
| practically impossible. Among these may be
| mentioned China and, formerly, India, where
| ordinary wages are from two to eight cents
per day. In certain other countries, rs the
| Spanish American States, where wages are
| from II to 30 cents per day, the general use
| of gold, while not impossible, is undesirable.
| Having these two groups of gold countries
| and SILVER countries" Bimetallism proposes Il
league of the chief among them SO that each
| lish the free coinage mot necessarily gratui-
| tous coinage,) of both metals, at Il fixed ratio
determined upon in advance by agreement
The claim is that such league will keep the
relative value of gold and silver close to the
established mint ratio, so that on the market
silver will be worth no more and no less than
A ratio suggested is 10 to 1, l. e. Sixteen
| ounces of silver shall be equal in value to one
ounce of gold.
Bimetaiiism has two objects: First, to es-
| tablish Il par of exchange between silver coun-
tries and gold countries.
For instance. u merchant in New York ships
goods to China and receives in payment
So, 600 in silver money. There being no bime-
tallic league, how much will this be worth in
New York? 1t is impossible to say, because
the ratio not being maintained by agreement
of the governments, by the time his silver
reaches New York, instead of Is ounces of
may be 90 to /, or on the other hand 10
to 1, and the merchant consequently loses or
gains in proportion. Thus arises great uncer-
tainty and trade becomes speculative in charac-
ter A merchant may buy the right kind of
goods and sell them to advantage in the best
markets. and yet have his prohts consumed
by the speculations of lot OF Wall street
A second object and benefit OF bimetallsm
is that better money is secured by thus bind
ing together the two metals thanh either We're
used alone. There would be a greater steadi
ness in the value and supply of money be-
cause the inequalities of mining would coun-
silver was mined would he years of dearth in
gold production, and vice versa.
Such being the two objects desired, can bime-
talliSm effect these results?
Suppose that in the United States both gold
and silver are legal tender, and that owe
$1,000; Suppose so much silver the same
would be true of gold is being produced that
it is growing cheaper, and can buy s., 600 in
silver Tor $3.50 in gold. Naturally l and every
great demand for silver. and with silver, just
with hay or wheat, or any other commodi-
ty, as soon as the demand increases the price
will rise. On the other hand gold, which is
dearer, will be less in demand and will there
fore fall i'll value, so that the result is a much
less wide separation in value than If only one
luCldl were leSdI tcuucE.
This process could continue as long as the
United States had any considerable quantity
of the dearer metal on hand to be sent abroad
in payment of debts.
A single nation can do much towards such
result, las did France up to the year 1874 and
Il league of the leading mercantile nations of
the world would keep the ratio of gold to sill
yer practically ut a stand still, because not
only would every State in the league increase
the available supply of gold, but it would at
the same time lessen the number OF States that
demand gold in payment.
In this way the relative value of gold and
silver would be kept very nearly constant, and
besides, by using the two metals, we should
have much larger supply of money as Il Cir
culating medium and much less probability of
n Stiingency in the money market. Farmers
would not have SO much difficulty in obtaining
funds to move their crops, and manufacturers
would not suffer from Il lack of money to pay
their employees.
We should thus have all the advantages of
an increased circulation with none of the dan
gers that would arise from the issue of incon-
ver.ible greenbacks or any other medium that
would not circulate in other lands.
The first sep to be taken in order to accom-
plsh these results is to repeal the existing sill
yer laws without the substitution of free
coinage bill" The immediate relief from this
ly believed, though such action would I'M
doubtedly serve as laxative, by restoring
public and mercantile confidence. Let this be
followed by bimetallic union of three or four
of the leading nations of the world, and by
revision of our Ubiquitous tariff legislation, and
then will agriculture, that palsied right arm of
our national body, be restored to it, former
vigor, us if by the miracle-working touch of
Divine Healer. l.. M. L.