The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-09-09
PRACTICAL PLAN PROPOSED.
How to Return to the National
Double Standard.
An Earnest Disquisltion on the FL
nancial Problem.
A Way Indiostsd by which to Return
to the Money Basis ss Laid Down
by the Constitution of the
United States.

EDITORS HERALD:-I beg you will per
NIT me to briefly outline in your COL
umns a practical plan for q return to
our constitutional double standard,
which | embodied in a paper for sub
mission to the conference of bimetallists
lately held in Washington under the
auspices of the American Bimetsllic
league.
| 1t is we'll known that several times
there have been majorities in congress
strongly favorable to the free coinage of
oHe OF our constitutional money metals,
silver, on an equality with the other
metal, gold; but those majorities have
heeitated, and not without reason, at
the grave consequences that would
result from bringing about so great q
change at a single bound. We have
now been 81 years in coming to our
present dangerous position, for l hold
that our present monetary position Is
extremely dangerous. We have been
adhering, with strange faulty, during
all these years to gold as the measurer
of all our values, and yet all this while
the value OF gold itself has been steadily
incressing till it has actually doubled,
and, as q consequence, all other prod
ucts OF human labor have been steadily
falling, on q general average, to one
half their former gold value, or to one
half the value they would now
have. if gold and oliver had
been tied together as they were for
70 years prior to 1873 And, unless
there Is change in the worlds none
tary policy, gold must continue to rise.
and of course, other property must ne
cessarily continue to fail.
Now all acknowledging bimatallists
insist that the only way to prevent
further rise of gold, ia to effectively
and automatically tie it to silver But.
how can this be done? This great de-
by either the Bland Allison law or the
Sherman law, for, as all the world
knows, gold kept on rising during all
the time thoes laws we're in full force
and effect; from which we have learned
the Useful but dear lesson, that we
don't want any moro of that kind OF
meretricious legislation.
But how can we ito silver to our stand
ard, or to gold, with the gold market
price of fine oliver at So to &c cents an
ounce, when the legal ratio calls for
S1.2929 per ounceP
/ think that all expert or thorough
political economists will assent to the
proposition that the enactment of a
silver free coinage law. which provided
that the government should retain ae
eeignicrage the difference between the
market price (eay IS cents), and the
legal ratio Isl. 1929 per fine ouncv), and
coin the balance for the depositor with
out further charge for seigniorage, would
bind our standard to She general mass of
both gold and silver at the pres
ent or any given market ratio
as effectively as would free coin
age law, with the two metals at
a legal parity as they wers prior to 1878.
when the seigniorage was only one or
two per cent. In other words, il such a
law were passed, there would be no fur
Their rise of the etsndard. because it
would be steadied, even at the existing
market rate, by the grand mass OF both
the great money metals OF the world,
instead of, az now, by one metal only.
And certainly this would be an achieve
mont which all our financial legislation
during the past twenty odd years has
entirely failed to accomplish, and one
which should commend itself with over
whelming force to all thoughtful men
and patriots. especially in view of the
universal depression which has already
been caused by the rise in the value of
money.
But if the American people are sincere
in their very general, almost universal,
professions of attachment to bimetal-
lism, or to their traditional double
standard. they would not be content to
have the standard merely remain sta
tionary at the present ratio, with the
gold dollar worth intrinsically two dol
lars in silver or in the staple products of
their labor. To be consistent they must
desire to bring back their standard to
the legal status or level that it had be-
fore the attempt WAS made to demone-
tie silver.
With the present gold price of fine
silver at about IS cents per ounce the
standard silver dollar 10 Bqual in value
to Q little more than so cents,
worth of gold. To Jump at q
single bound from our pres
emit fearfully appreciated gold dollars to
q silver dollar having only its normal
value. which is what unrestricted free
coinage would mean, would convulse
prices throughout the country and cause
nnHnclal ehock Cnat would De dppall-
ing. Therefore such method. all hon.
orable men will agree, ia inadmissible
and not to be thought OF. Iuasmuch as
we have reached our present abnormal
monetary condition by gradual steps.
extending over period of more than
20 years, we may logically infer that our
return to normal condition ought also to
be by gradual steps. extending over Sow.
eral years at least.
Keeping the foregoing considerations
in view, and remembering also that the
present market ratio between gold and
silver Ia widely different from their
lega! ratio. venture to suggest the fol-
lowing proposition az the basis of safe
and feasible plan by which we may
return to our constitutional double
standard, or at least as containing prin-
ciples which will have to be recognized
if the aims that intelligent bimetsllists
have at heart are ever realized:
Lst congress enact q law authorizing
any owner Of silver bullion to de-
post the same at the mints, to be
caipad in tn atandar d dollara IN thu fol-