St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-09-05
A SUGGESTION ON SILVER.

A SUGGESTION ON SILVER.
The silver question stands Oh the side
track with steam up, the engineer in his
cab with hand on throttle, and tie
coaches filled with an eager crowd wait.
ing for free trade to leave the main line
open. If the agitation for free trade
stops. If the Democratic party has
reached in the GorMan act Its hating
place. then the silver question will
forge to the front and the Old fight for a
cheap money will be on in all its fury.
The silver question will differ from the
hatism OF the greenback in many partic-
ulars. However confused by the soph-
istry of the creenbacker, common sense
never lost sight of the fact that paper is
not and cannot be money; that it can
only be representative of money, and
that its value is wholly dependent on
Its being redeemed in money
Silver has, what the greenback did
not have. All injustice behind it: a claim
of a wrong to be redressed. 1t was a
monstrous thing to demonetize silver at
time when it was above the par Of
gold. With silver worth Sl.32 an ounce.
and with its universal acceptance and
use as money metal. it was nothing
less than a crime to deny it access to
the minis. While we done sympathize
with the demagogism that bellows CON-
tinuaily its denunciations of the "goid
bugs" and the ''mOney power" the fact
that the decrease Of the supply of money
increases its purchasing power fur
nishes sufficient ground for the suspi-
cion that 1t was the power of money that
procured the closure of the minis to
silver in this and foreign countries. 1t
was certainly the beneficiary so far as
decentralization diminished the values
of the products of labor.
1t was also inevitable that when 80
per cent of the source of demand for
silver was cut off the price should fall.
That 1t has not fallen further than it
has is due to the increase of its use in
the arts and manufactures because Of
its reduced cost. 1t is equally certain
that its price will advance il its access
to the minis is restored. The CONNER
cial ratio today is between 80 and 81 to
l. While it might have occurred that
the gap between the legal or coming
ratio and the commercial ratio would
have widened under the discovery of
new silver mines and the improved and
cheapened methods OF production. still
no candid person will claim that it
would he as wide today as it is, were
it not for the denial of access to the
minis. To the extent that the govern
| ment caused the fall in price of prod
uct by refusing it legitimate use, to
and to that extent the government is
bound in morals and justice to make
reparation, and no farther.
The problem is how can silver be
given free access to the minis for coin
age without disturbing the currency,
without causing violent arrangement of
| the prices of all products, and. on the
other hand, without giving to silver
producers an artificial price for their
bullion. Some ISOLATION for this must
be found if the country is to avoid the
inevitable CONFUSION of free coinage at
sixteen 10 one. Between the gold mono.
meiallst on the one hand and the silver
monometallist oil the other, the sOnflict
RACES so stubbornly that one or the
other must go down, and everything
| indicates that it will be the former,
| unless middle course be found.
We believe that the suggestion made
| by the GLOBE in 1891, which received
the approval of Mr.. Cleveland then, fur.
nishes feasible solution: and, as state
| and congressional conventions are pour.
ing out their various remedies, we diff.
IDENTIFY submit ours to the convention
for its consideration. Whatever thai
body does, it shouldn't dodge. The Re.
| publicans can beat them hollow at that.
| Briefly. the suggestion is that silver
| bullion may be exchanged at the minis
| for standard silver dollars equal in
! number to the market value of the bull
ion. The issue of dollars to be accom-.
panied with tue retirement OF an equal
| quantity, first, of the silver certificates
of 1878, and when these are retired, the
silver notes of 1890. When, under the
! operation of this competition of the arts
and minis, the price of silver bullion
shall have acquired steadiness indl
! eating all equilibrium. the ratio to be
rcadjusted to the commercial ratio. and
recoinage had Of the current standard
coins. We believe this contains the
germ Of the only safe and sensible solu.
ton of the problem. 1t simply removes
the ban, and enables silver to regain
whatever position it is entitled to under
| free opportunities.