The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-10-05

proved successful IN other countries and
was therefore re-ea acted in the act of 1873
In 1878, new method of securing real
bimetallism was tried, for the first time in
history so far as know. Congress in that
year passed an act providing for the pur-
chase by the government of 100000
ounces OF silver per month, and it's coinage
into standard silver dollars which should
have full legal tender quality. That is,
we tried the experiment of limiting the
coinage instead of limiting the tender, as
in 1853 and 1873 Though many able men
feared the result, we have found that for a
time this method can be successfully oper-
ated. 1t will work just as long as we can
preserve the parity of the dollars; that is
just as long as we have gold enough in the
treasury to render people confident in the
opinion that each kind of dollar can be
converted on demand into the othe- kind.
But just as soon as the visible supply of
gold on hand begins to make it doubtful
that this exchange can be made, just at
that moment, 1 say, the experiment be-
comes dangerous one.
In 1890 the silver producers became more
arrogant in their demands. They secured
the passage through the senate of a bill
providing for the free coinage of silver. In
the house the free silver sentiment was
very strong 1t seemed as though the old,
old plan, which never in the worlds his
tory has failed to result in monometallism,
was about to be resorted to. 1t seemed as
though the hands were to be turned back
on the dial-plate of time, that congress,
controlled by men blind to everything but
their own interest, was about to forget
what the past had taught and revert to a
plan that had been discarded by all the
leading nations of the world. To pre-
vent that great catastrophe, the con-
cesslon was made that the sill
yer purchases of the government
should be increased from two million
ounces OF silver per month to more than
twice that amount. The limit was thus
raised so high as to become almost inoper-
alive as check upon the action of the
Gresham law. AS told you two years ago
In my campaign, the sherman act," so
called, was simply a bridge to carry us
over to the time when we should have an
international ratio, which it was hoped
would be agreed upon by the international
conference which had been called at the
request of the United States government.
AS l told you then, it was my Judgment
that If the conference failed to reach a
conclusion the Sherman act would have to
be repealed, at least that portion of it
known as 1.-The purchase clause" The
conference failed to reach an agreement.
and last November the purchase clause of
the Sherman act was repealed, as it de-
served to be.
We are great silver producing coun-
FRY Ma n of lIyI doc hot
dustries shall prosper. To that end we
have gone to the very edge of the precipice
in our efforts to aid the silver producers.
And now, IT they insist upon driving us
over the edge, if they insist on sacrificing
every other interest of the country to
theirs, we who are not silver producers
owe it to ourselves and to the country to
say to these men quietly but firmly:
''The interests of the whole country are of
vastly more Importance than the interests
of any section of it; the interests of the
whole people must be considered as SUI
perior to the interests of any class of peo-
pie, and we shall not permit you to do
that which would be beneficial to YOU
only, and harmful beyond measure to the
rest of the country We appreciate your
anxiety to find market for your product;
we understand the skill with which YOU
have sought to make us believe that we
have some interest and will derive some
benefit from the success of your scheme.
But you underestimate our intelligence
We decline to be misled."
An International Ratio.
AS has already been stated, the unlim.
tied coinage of both metals with the un-
limited legal tender of each kind of coin,
has everywhere and always resulted in
recommendation, the metal overvalued at
the mint being coined and circulated as
money, while that undervalued at the
mint retires from circulation. In the
light of such experience as we have had,
let us try to find out what may reasonably
be expected from common ratio of coin
age for all the nations of the world
In order to make a reasonable estimate
it is necessary for us to consider what be-
comes of the metal that retires from cir
culation. So far as l can learn, it has in
variably done one of two things. 1t has
either gone to the melting pot, to be used
in the arts in it's own country or else
where, or else it has gone to some other
country where it is more highly appre-
ciated as money, that is, where the ratio
was more favorable to it. If one country,
for example, fixes it's ratio at Is to and
another country at 16 to 1, while the actual
commercial ratio is Is 1-2 to 1, it is evident
that one of the countries is overvaluing
gold, while the other is overvaluing silver.
In such a state of affairs, experience has
shown that that portion of the product of
each metal which goes to the mint at all
will Immediately begin to gravitate to.
ward the country where it is most highly
appreciated. The result has invariably
been that each country under those cir
cumstances becomes monometallic on the
basis of the metal for which it bids the
highest. For example, when our own
minis were established we were very anx-
ious to secure supply of Spanish
silver, for at that time we pro-
duced almost no silver ourselves
This was our principal reason for fixing
the ratio so favorable to silver. And our
expectations were largely realized; al
though, as l have shown, it was at the ex-
pense of losing what little gold we had.
In view of these things, we may reason
ably expect, 1 think, that if there were
common ratio for all the countries of the
world, each country would secure and re-
tain the coinage of such portion of it's own
gold and silver product as should seek the
the mint at all. In other words, there
would be no danger that the coin of any
country would be carried away from it for
recoinage in another country. And thus