The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-09-09
THE MONEY QUESTION
Most Important Subject Claim
ing the Worlds Attention.
METAL SUPPLY INSUFFICIENT.
free cofnses sheuIa ne Discontinued
III. statistical sitaAtfon-saggss-
tisns By Mr.. Ammfaown.

ate, June II. providing for the Tree eosnzgs
Of silver, but limiting the retarn 10 ths
owner thereof TO IT'S market value. ard
payment 20 be made IL standard silver dol
lars. II 10 also provided shs; such eoinags
shall not exceed a. o0o. 900 per month, and
shalt be discontinued whenever aud g
long as our lawful money Of all kinds ex'
ceeds so per capita, s'to the end that the
amount Of such lawful money shall bs
maintained 81 the rsts Of 80 per capita
Arx. YEyK corxAeK SHOULD HK DISCONTINUED.
This bin is in the Tight.direction 50 Tar
as IL provides substantially for the puF-
chase Of silver for coinage at market value.
and for the enlargement Of our volume OF
money. But silver and gold should be pat
on the same footing and free coinage OF
both metals should be discontinued In that
event both gold and silver. - hen wanted for
coinage. should be boaght By the govern
rnent in open market and the ratio for
coinage be fred at 1 to i51S. Gold and
silver would then be simple commodities.
ana become measures OF value. or acquire
the quality Of money only when coined.
In a paper read before the American
Association for the Advancement OF
Ecience in 1855. said:
"Ths objections which are often made
20 the purchase Of bullion for coinage. ana
the claim that coinage should be Tree,
seem rather to be founded upon former
usage than upon any valid reason. When.
for long periods, the relative values OF gold
and silver continued nearly uniform. and
the influences affecting their values
operated slowly and iBsensiblv. free coin
age was neither unreasonable nor pre5udi-
csal. 1t was a natural consequence OF the
assumed right OF governments 10 the ex-
ssfs4 .tr,F nj Ia
''But, at this day. when the fluctuations
Of values Of the precious metals are great
and the conditions affecting their values
are promptly known. no nation can justly
permit free coinage Of either metal or
allow individuals 10 profit by the differ
ence which may at any time prevail, be-
tween the higher legal value Of coin and
its lower metallic value. IL IL certain that
individuals will not turn metal into coin
at loss. IL there any good reason Why
the government should not reap the profit
of coinage for the benefit Of the people st
whose expense the mint Is sustainedI
ssit may be fairly claimed that such pur-
ehases would be generally confined 10 that
metal which, for the time. might be OF
lover bullion value as compared with It's
coin value. The advantage OF this course
In maintaining the equilibrium of value
between the two metals. az well az in
profit TO the government, Is obvious"
To sustain these views tho following
propositions are submitted, promising.
however, that while the estimates Of guam
titles given below are generally in round
numbers. and from the nature Of the case
may not always be exact, they are the re-
suits of careful examination and sufl-
csentiy exact for the purposes OF this
inquiry:
THE surPLY OF SILVER AND GOLD TOGETHER
PROBABLY INSUFFICIENT foR MoSETARr
DEMAND.
l. The aggregate volume Of gold and
silver available for coin Is not now and
probably never will be in excess Of the
worlds monetary requirements. On the
contrary, there Is reason TO believe that it
II and will be insufficient for she demand
Since 1850 the volume Of gold in the
world in all forms has increased
from 4752 tons to IL SIS tons, or
los per cent, and the volume of silver has
increased from i5o, 900 tons TO 2t0.0 tons,
or about 90 per cent. Mulhall says the
coin of the world. including India. in
creased between 1850 and 1855 from f5i5,-
00.00o sterling 10 81. go. 10000, or about
I3i per cent.
During this period the population Of the
world speaking European tongues in
creased from 29I. 10000 10 az. co., 600
more than 80 rer cent the commerce of
abe world increased from Ell. o00, 900
sterling 30 f2.9o3. COZ. 900. or 3S3 per cent ;
and the use OF steam power in manufac-
tnres and transportation increased from
100000 horse power TO $500. 600. nearly
six-foid or ass per cent. During this same
period India aud China absorbed nine
tenths OF all the silver produced. and since
1ss0 more than 20 per cent. of the gold pro-
duosd has been consumed I'm manufactures
and other non-monstary uses. or absorbed
in Asia
Prof saees, the best authority since DR..
soeiheer's death, writes In 1893:
at is certain that gold alone can never
become tho standard OF the whole earth,
but that. on the contrary, atime will come
when Il will have been entirely absorbed
BY Industry.
'srhe entire monetary stock of the
earth Is smaller by almost one-third than
the product of the last forty years"
sorn METALS BITTER MEASURE az yALUR
rnAS EITHER AEoSK.
2 Stability of value, essential in a meas
IRE OF values. can be far better secured by
abe use Of both gold and silver than by the
use of either metal alone.
Prof pensiow In principles Of Eco
nomic Philosophy" says THE economic
Judgment OF Europe and Amer1ca coneurs
with substantial Gnanimtty. both among
practical bankers aud theoretical econom.
make better equipoise against commodi.
sles than one alone would. Mr.. II. h.
Chapman, OF the financial department OF
the government OF India, ia a remarkable
paper submitted 20 the monetary confer.
snce at Paris in ISL, says. "Snch stability
based apon one meta alone must incvifa-
Aly De wholly inferior 70 that based upon
the two metals In correlation because the
eonpeHsAs0ry influences of the duplicate
standards would be absent and every pass.
Ing nuctnation would act upon a much
smaller volume of material" He adds
ga bi-metaiie standard must ee many
times more stable than either a single gold
81 single silver standard Of value y
Comparing gold with silver for tue last
shros centuries. 'rhe production Of silver
has been tncompsfshly less faetuatlnE
than that Of gold. ~. = senate repcrt,
So. Aug. "a. +. ttA
sKaAfGyE yAEuKs 90 co.'s nErKaNgsEp 81
AAw.
4 Legislation Is competent 70 dsssr.
nine and maintain the relative value Of
sold and silver coin. regardless 81 temra-
sarv fluctuations of the value 81 geld and
silver s. commodities. Ceranscnl saws
.Noney Is value created ~ Law: II.
kssis il legal, and net material" ''rhe
sheovy ~ the intrinsic VAsus 81 msnsy has
heen abandoned By the best writers and
speakers So Enc. Br9S There - no psr.
nanent standard Of value IN nature. -
Albert 0sallattn.
"a III. al. Hav. enc Of ths hlEhssi Euro
psgn authorities on this question, said Ia
= letter written % the Oatted States mon.
sssry commission IN ISIS, 1T mast ~
sv.aest 90 aay one acquainted with the
sahsseG taat the STABILITY 81 she relative
valae III gold ard silver during tav ioEgy
sxnrs prior 90 ISIS cannot Al any way 10
esrFlted 90 tae cost u production OF tae