Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1894-08-16

lief against the hard times at this juno
ture is hard to see. As to female suffrage
it is a luxury which few. sensible Wonsh
care for or wonM use 1t Is a theory long
floating in the air among an ancient band
OF reformers, butt is a condition which
few of mankind or womankind pine for
Surely little immediate relief could be OBJ
tanned from this innovation at this time,
In connection with the claim for FREQ
coinage Of silver at f1e fatio Of is to i
comes from these reformers the charge
and insinuation that the characterization
of silver in 1873 is the chief cause Of the
financial and industrial depression now
prevailing in the country. In order that
you may see how untrue and untenab1e
this charge is, and in order that you may
realize and fully understand the full effect
Of the immediate and unconditional free
and unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio
of 16 to 1, l shall have to take up and dis
cuss, in as brief way as possible, the
principles which govern the coinage and
circulation Of
Gold and silver as Money:
By the phrase "a ratio of 10 to " is
meant that 16 ounces Or parts Of silver
coined into money shall equal Gne ounce
or part Of gold coined into money. This
is the coin or statutory ratio, as distin-
guished from the intrinsic OF commercial
ratio of the metals. Carefully compiled
statistics from original sources show that
the commercial value of silver between
the year 1GS7 and the year 1899 fuctuated
from a ratio Of II. IA to a ratio of Is SO, and
that in the last year named the commercial
ratio of silver was IS r. At this time the
first coinage act of the United States was
passed, providing for the free coinage OF
both silver and gold at Il ratio of Is to l.
And here l ask you to note how near the
coin atiotpproximated to the commercial
ratio. Had the trainers of that law steered
as wide from the commercial ratio as the
Populist reformers do today, the ratio
would have been net Is to 1, but S to l.
But the men of those days were imbued
with hard common sense and business in
tegrity, and had no silver mines or silver
bullion to bull or initiate.
To understand the effect of this and the
subsequent coinage laws of the United
States 1t is necessary to call your atten-
ton to the universal and memorable rule
governing the circulation of money known
as the Gresha am rule; that where two kinds
of money 81 equal con value, circulate
side by side, and are not by law incontro-
vertible with each other, that money
which is intrinsically and commercially
the cheapest will drive the dearest out of
circulation. The debtor will always pay
with the cheaper dollar, and the buyer al
ways buy with the cheaper dollar, while
the dearer dollar will be withdrawn from
and disposed of as bullion or
at its bullion value. The element of inter
being wanting under the
act of 1892, silver gradually depreciating
in value until rea;hing a ratio of nearly
l6 to by 1884, through the force of the
rule have described, had driven all our
gold money out of the country. To remedy
this evil and bring back the gold into cir
culation, the coinage act of 1884, fixing tn,
ratio at 16 to 1, as it is today, was passed
and hence, under the rule of circulation
described to you, gold drove our silver out
Of circulation. To cure this evil and keep
some silver in circulation, the act
of 1858, providing for a greatly de
based coinage of small subsidiary silver
coins, was passed. Save and except those
debased subsidiary coins, gold was the
only money of the national government in
from 1910 down to 1869, at
which time our national government first
paper currency, and this cur
rency remained the only circulating me-
dunn from that time until specie payment
was resumed in 1879.
Continued next week