New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-06-27
The Journal on Lind.

The silver speech of John Lind last
night was remarkable production for
member of a party which has maintained
the credit Of the United States through
the most trying vicissitudes which have
been the lot of any nation.
Mr.. Lind's medicine for silver is, brief
ly, for the United States government to
launch into free coinage on the ratio of
Is to l and, in that case, Mr.. Lind says,
when Uncle Sam has issued such fat ssall
the world would acquiese in the Justice
of the measure" There you have fiat
money in all its glory. According to
MIR. Lind when it takes 25 or 26 ounces
OF silver to make one ounce of gold the
government can make the country be-
lieve that Is ounces of silver are equal
to one of gold and trading and all busi-
ness transactions will be carried on with
gold and silver. OF course Mr.. Lind
knows or ought to know that our govern
ment began business with bimetallic
currency of gold and silver establishing
the legal ratio at to Is between gold
and silver coins. This was in 1892 and
that ratio was not maintained because
the value of silver relatively to gold fell
below the legal ratio. And the subs.-
quent declaration Of the government
that Is ounces of silver made one of
gold did not have any more effect. The
governments fiat to keep the metal at a
certain ratio doesn't keep them there
and never will. The only way gold and
silver can be used together as currency
is to make all dollars equal to each other
by making all silver dollars redeemable
in gold. Our government declared such
to be its policy last year and it will,
doubtless, stick to that policy in spite
of the silver infationists. Mr.. Lind's
prescription would hasten the silv,r
standard on the country and so reduce
the value of all our dollars, paper OF
metal, to the value of silver bullion in
the market. Mr.. Window offered yery
excellent plan for the larger use of silver,
but the silver men would not have it.
Under that plan, anybody would have
the right to tender silver bullion to the
government at its market value per
ounce as it may appear to be from day
to day, and ths government would pay
the party IN legal tender certificates call
ing for silver to the value of their face
in gold. This is about the, only way
silver under free coinage can be utilized
as money at parity with gold. That is
real bimctaIlism 1t will not drive gold
out of circulation and give the country
50-cent dollars as the fiat 16 to free
coinage scheme of the silver barons
would. OF course, gold would have to
be the standard as it has been for 60
years past. The government would
be bound to redeem at all
times the certificates on demand of
the holder at the full gold value in sill
yer bullion on the day of demand, but it
also would, under the Window plan,
have the optisn to redeem them at their
face in gold coin. Silver never in the
history of the world has been made the
equivalent of gold by government flat.
The fat may be issued but the metals BY
national laws don't stay at the fat ratio.
A flat Is to / is not honest bimetallism.
It cannot be. The fiat Of 1892 was Of
no avail to keep gold and silver values
together. And ever mternationalagree-
ment as to q ratio will be Of no avail
without fixed limitation upon each par
ty to the agreement as to the coinage Of
the cheaper metal Minneapolis jour
nal.