Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1894-12-21
Continued from last ,ceek }
FREE COINAGE OBJECTIONS.

would make us the dumping ground
for all the silver of the world. The
director of our mint estimates the total
silver of the world available for money
AT only $4,000, coo, 900. II it were all
dumped here it would give us onl5 500
per capita of our population, ald that
would do nobody any damage, that
anyone can now point out. But the
idea is absurd; there would be no object
in bringing silver here, except to buy
our commodities, and To suppose other
wise is to suppose silver would be more
valuable here than elsewhere. But IL
the price were advanced here, it would
be abroad, to the same extent, aud
there would be no excessive low of
silver to this country, as foreign
nations need it for money as well
as we
II is likewise said that free coinage
would drive gold out of the country.
The same false logic is used in this OBJ
lection as in the preceding. 1t assumes
that gold would be more valuable
abroad than here. Whatever value
gold has abroad it would have here,
and there could be no reason for eX-
porting 1t except to settle an unfavora-
BILE balance of trade.
Again. it is said that gold would 90
to a premium and would be boarded
be Withdrawn from circulation and
cause contraction of currency. Well,
here is the temperance of that same
old "bull" of logic. Free coinage
would cause an immense initiation of
our currency. and, of course, deprecia
ton; it would drive gold out of circu-
lation, causing it to be Loarded, make
thus a great contraction of our cur
rency, and, likewise, an appreciation
of money. Here are two contradictory
results produced by the same cause,
according to the wise (?) men of the
east. As will appear in future article,
all history shows that the free coinage
of silver would produce no imitation,
would not drive gold out of circulation,
would not cause it 10 be boarded, would
cause no contraction; it would simply
force the parity of the two metals at
the coinage ratio and leave both in cir
culation. But" says another, "you
can't legIslate and make a thing which
is only worth 80 cents in the market
worth one dollar. Law can't fix value"
The truth of this statement depends on
two conditions, viz, whether there IS
an unlimited supply at command, and
whether the government could create
an unlimited demand. If the supply
of ostrich feathers were limited and the
government should require every citi-
zen to wear a certain number-say
half dozcn-we are of the opinion
that the government could fix the value
of ostrich feathers as high a il chose,
within certain limits. Likewise, this
government, by making silver money
TO an unlimited amount, could fix the
price of silver within certain limits.
We have no doubt that this country
could fix the ratio of gold to silver at
10 to if it so chose; and this would be
practically the market ratio the world
over. This, great nation, would be
a BILE TO do from its almost unlimited
capacity to absorb either of the money
metals as money. The demand be-
GENES practically unlimited. Possibly
no one of the great nations of Europe
could mainssin the parity alone if all
her; and still, France did. unaided,
maintain it at l5@ to l for seventy
years, from 1903 to 1873. BIT this
country, with wealth of S64 900, 000,-
600, could easily buy up the product of
the whole world and hold it, making
/ the metal in circulation as scarce as
gold, and in that event, as valuable.
In such an event it would fore the
value of an ounce of silver to that of
an ounce of gold, or parity at to l.
This, some may say, is an extreme
view, but how can it be extreme when
few milionaires with perhaps an ag-
gregate of three or four hundred mil
lion dollars propose to do the same
thng-corner the silver market.
Free coinage is no untried expert
ment; it is not visionary; its advocates
are not crazy, nor cranks, except in
that they propose to turn the world
from corrupt departure from free
coinage during the past 20 years.