The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-03-07
ruE WEATHER.
rHE HArrLE FoR BIMErALLIsM.

1HE RATTLE FOR HlMElALLiAM.
The organization ia Boston OF an as
ISOLATION FOR the promotion Of interna-
tional bmetallism is an event whose
ultimate importance cannot yet be
measured Ii is actually the open ing
gun in the great fight now just starting
an over the world for the restoration Of
silver 70 its proper place beside gold as
money metal
The Boston association, although
small 10 numbers, BE- strong in the in
tellectual character Of it's lenders.
President Francis a. Walker, Of the
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology,
aud President Andrews, Of the Brown
university. hold a rank as political
economists and students o. finance
which commands for their uitarance5 an
instant and respectful hearing. Both Of
these men are profound believers IN the
use OF silver as money metal and each
enforces his arguments with clearness
and vigor that put the champions Of
a single standard 70 their stumps
The New York Evening Post, a Wall
street organ Of the most ultra sort,
undertook TO rdicule this Boston move
ment the other day and provoked a re-
ply from Gen. Walker, in which that
distinguished writer stated the case for
silver most ably. In reply to the Posts
sheer that the government could not
make any commodity circulate above
its market value" Gen. Walker said
that no one proposes TO do that; but
that bimetallism proposes to influence
the market value itself This, it will
be noticed. is the very contention Of the
silver men. "That such an effect can
be produced" says Gen. Walker, land
that TO an enormous degrees, no one but
a bigot now denies. Lord Herschell's
gold and silver comm ission Of lSS0-S,
composed Of six monometallists and six
bimetallists, unanimously signed the
proposition that it was the operation Of
the French law Of 1903 which for seventy |
years maintained an approximate part
of gold and silver az the market ratio Of
fifteen ana one-nalf 20 one. 81
Whenever law sets an economic force in /
motion, 1t can and viii and must affect /
values. That the French law Of 1908, /
by giving every debtor the opt on TO /
pay 10 either metal inliferently, did set /
IN motion an economic force Of tremen-
dous reach and scope is now fully adj
mitted by every man on either side Of
the Atlantic whose opinion is entitled
to the slightest consideration"
So much for Gen. Walker NV let
las see where his able associate. Pres.-
dent Andrews stands. He, toe, has had
his bout with some Of the New York
press The Outlook said the other day.
Were il az immediate question whether
the m.nts u three or four great naiion- .
should be open 20 the free coinage u +
fifty cents worth ot bullion into .eca!
lender dollars, they lsome members o 1
the orgauizatiorl would probably shrink I
FROM IL and accept ha opinion mat 1t /
was dishonest initiation.
TO tins Mr Andrews makes answer
90 "a letter ~ That paper "Nour state
ment, Zee says. "couveys un entirely or
roueous imIrsssiou, implying that part
international b.meta..sm would lepre-
cute tAe immediate adoption o. thlt
systcm. So sent meut cot such tenor
has been exrreess in any meeting of
those ccrtlemen, nor bass one of them
even suggested tic necessity or propr.e- 7
~ Of - a change Boa tho ratio between
the metals when tho "a 1us begin
again the FREQ coinage % a.lvor. All.
those gentlemen wea know that were .
Oimetaile league formed containing
England aud tho United States. the .
bullion Boz @ silver dollar would be- xorth
much more than 90 reuts before o. SIM
gic silver com toH.t Boo strucE~
As 90 'Le dagger ~ al ver-produc- .
ton Of silver money under international
coinage Dir. Andrews sfectually dis /
poses oi That fear "pLeuomena.Iy low
ns the gold price 90, silver is." De- SAYS. /
"thera would bo no danger that iuna- /
ton would follow international free
coinage. provided Great Britain were "a
party % TINS Outside fhe treasury az
the United States 20 large stock 81 sil-
yer bullion exists anywhere. We're iu-
ternationll free coinage rs begin To-
morrow. most u tho silver demanded
would have % be- first mined and then
coined before IL could become part a.
the effective circulation. And when tte
full force Of the new regime had come
into play n the working o. mines and
mints, the sole elect that silver would
exert on prices would be. believe. 10
prevent them from falling any further
No one who has carefully examine the
question longer fears a food of SILVER.
Tins metal, like gold, is under the Stern
law Of diminishing return. Ny own De-
lief ia that, while the international free
coinage Of silver, along with the new