The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-02-10
A. Solution Of the Currency
Question.
BiMETALLl8M ON A GOLD
STANDARD.
A National Currency Rsdssmsbls IN
Gold Coin or it, Equivalent
in Silver Bullion.

a 00t10DAA O0AAOAOy 4S00OOA0VU4V Al
Gold Coin or it, Equivalent
in Silver Bullion.
Free Use Of American Silver ct its
Market Value.
EDITOR KEYSTONE: The business
of the country cannot recover from
it's present paralysis until Congress
has defined by legislation the exact
meaning Of two words-.'dollar"
and tariff" Of the two a defini-
ton OF the "dollar" is by far the
more important.
The repeal of the purchasing
clause Of the Sherman law did not
settle the silver question. 1t merely
terminated a compromise. 1t put
an end to truce between conflict
ing opinions, and brings US face to
face with the enquiry: What shall
the American dollar represent?
Like the repeal of the old Missouri
compromise it clears the deck for
action. But the battle is still to be
fought. A majority of Congress.
men are avowed bimetallists. They
believe that in this they represent
a majority of the American people.
The advocates of gold standard
have demonetized silver. A salts
factory settlement of the silver
question can be effected on the fol-
lowing basis:
Gold bullion to be received and
coined as at present, and paid for
by government, when desired, in ma
tional paper currency. All silver
bullion of American production to
be also received by the U. 8 Treas
ury from day to day at its average
gold market value during the pre-
ceding thirty days in the principal
money centres of the world-say
in New York, Paris, London and
Berlin. National paper currency
to be issued in payment for said
silver bullion, of denominations
from one dollar to one thousand
dollars, as preferred by the seller
of silver, payable on demand either
in gold coin or in silver bullion of
equal value of gold coin on the day
of redemption, at the option of the
government.
The advantages of this system
are these:
/. It would establish a perma-
nent use for all silver of American
production on an equality with our
present gold coin, and a permanent
use for gold on an equality with
silver bullion, as the joint basis of
American currency.
2. 1t would keep all the gold and
silver mines of the country at work,
with the guaranty of permanent
cash market for both metals and
of a permanent use of both metals
as money-the ratio of one metal
to the other, in the absence of an
international agreement, being left
to regulate itself.
3. It would preserve the existing
gold standard.
4. It would establish permanent
national paper currency based up
on gold and silver bullion actually
in the hands of the government, a
currency incapable of fluctuations
in value or of sudden expansion or
contraction.
5. With the development of our
mines CT gold and silver this repre-
sentative national currency would
grow more abundant, keeping pace
with the growth of population and
inasmuch as coin is no longer used
or needed except for small change
in the daily transaction of business,
gold coin or silver bullion would
never be called for except in limited
amounts, occasionally for the set
Element of international balances.
The government guarantee backed
by the metals themselves would be
absolute security, and the gold and
silver would remain in the govern
ment vaults, while the representa-
tive paper currency would circulate
in their stead.
6. Under this system no large
permanent gold reserve and no new
issue Of government bonds would
be needed. The option of redeem
ing its currency with gold or silver
bullion at ite market value would
protect the government against any
combination to advance or depress
the relative value of either metal.
This is the only plan by which
practical bimetallism can be at
tanned. The objection of mer-
chants, manufacturers. and bankers
to the free coinage Of silver at any
fixed ratio to gold, is the belief that
there cannot be two legal standards
in operation at the same time with
out thereby creating practical
momentallism of the cheaper metal,
thus reducing the value of the dol
lar and at the same time excluding
the other metal. But there should
be little or no opposition to a sys.
tenn which, while maintaining the
existing gold standard, establishes
practical bimetallism in the shape