The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-07-16
This Country Should Take the Lead.

The Cincinnati Enquirer wants inter
national bimetallsm, but it believes that
this country should take the lead. 1t
says:
Ours is the greatest slver-producing coun-
try the globe and the best interests of
all who are producing wealth will be i'm
measurably promoted by its universal use
as money.
The Enquirer is ready to advocate any
practicable, honest, honorable and states
man-like mode to make silver q universal
standard of value 1t is in the power OF the
American congress to make it to the inter
est and profit of all commercial nations to
join in the coinage of silver at a fixed ratio
with gold. We heartily concur in the Opin-
ion of Bafom and other distinguished
English statesmen that if the United States
persist in the coinage of silver England
and other European monometallst nations
must conform their money to ours or lose
their most valuable trade. With common
standards of value and universal reciproc-
ity, the peace, happiness and prosperity Of
the whole family of man are assured, With
the continued favor and blessing of COM
mon Father.
OF course England and other gold
countries will not give up our trade and
see us corner the trade of all the silver
nations. When she finds that we are
full place in our monetary system she
will yield very graciously, and claim
that changed conditions make bimctal-
lsm necessary. We need not be afraid
that our foreign trade will suffer.
recent writer on the subject says:
But what of our foreign trade if we cease
coming gold and silver? Our foreign trade
is the boge-man of the metallists simply
because they do not understand 1t. 1t has
no more to do with our currency than with
orr quart cups and bushel baskets. Ma
tions do not swap" money any more than
they trade yardsticlls; they exchange COM
modties Our commerce with foreign coun-
tries amounts to hundreds OF millions an
nually. How many French francs or Brit
ish guineas have you got? And can You
purchase a drink or a dog in this country
with your imported coin? The prattle in
dulged in by the metailists about money
that is good the world over is mere goose
speech, intended for intellectual goslings
There is no such money.
America sells a cargo of cotton to Eng
land and buys fine wines of France: Nc
British money comes to America, no Amer
| lean coin is carried to France. Bills of ex-
! change do the business and one debt is made
to discharge the other We can pay oul
| foreign debts and collect our foreign dues
only in commodities. Our gold coin is it.
abroad--mere bullion, worth so much an
ounce in the country to which 1t is carried
The nation in whose favor the balance OF
trade lies does not necessarily Drain the
debtor countries of their coin any more
than of their pound weights and pint cups
it drains them of general wealth-accumu-
lates their securities and c0mpelS them tC
give it of their products in discharge of in
tereSt or dividends.
This is true Even with our dcpre-
| ciatcd greenback currency for fifteen or
| sixteen years when we had no coin in
| circulation, our trade with Europe was
| enormous and our people imported more
| Injuries than they have ever had before
! or since that period. If our trade did
! not suffer when we had an irrcdcemabie
| paper currency, made Il legal tender by
| the government because it had no mon
| CIV. we can certainly get along with Il
currency OF gold, silver and redeemablc
paper.
! This is the common sense view OF It,
There is no more reason for waiting
until Europe adopts bmetallism than
there would be in waiting for Europe
to adopt any other good thing which IS
within cur reach and under Our control