The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-05
ASKED OF M'KINLEY.
A Letter Written by a Philadel-
phia Banker.
The Evils of a Single Gold Stand
ard Pointed Out

Inc results or the election or NOV. b,
1894 make clear the fact that the people of
this country know the difference between
an American policy and alien policy.
They have spoken at the ballot box upon
the tariff ISSUE In the next national cleo
ton they will speak upon the money ques-
ton, for they must and will have financial
as we'll as industrial independence. They
begin now to understand that the fall in
the general level of prices of all staple ar
ticles, and of mills, factories landed es-
tates, railroads, etc, is not confined to the
United States, and that it has resulted
from the appreciation of gold, caused by
contraction of the quantity Of money-the
instrument of ssociation-through the de-
monetization Of silver. They want to know
what policy the Republican party proposes
to pursue-whether it will stand by British
gold recommendation, or by the bimetallism
introduced into our political system by the
fathers of the republic; whether the policy
of approaching the standard money by the
degradation of silver, to the great profit of
the money lenders and to the ruin of those
whose means are invested in productive en-
terprises, is to be continued great and
patriotic financier will desire 10 put
the currency of his country upon perma-
nent and stable basis, SO that all monetary
obligations extending over either short or
long periods Shall be governed by a fixed
and stable measure of exchange. Bimetal-
ism does not interfere with stable stand
ara, but monometallism, either gold or sill
Yer, does do in the most aggravated
manner The decentralization of either
metal contracts the volume of money of
maj payment and of course a contraction
of money must cause fall in the general
level OF prices of all kinds of property other
than debts of solvent debtors proportionate
to the withdrawal of money from circula-
ton. If gold had been demonetzed instead
OF silver we should have had apprecia ton
of silver and fall in the general level of
prices would have followed, as it has done
from the decentralization of silver. There
can be no question that the disturbance of
values has been caused by the gold mono
metallic countries advancing the value of
the standard, thereby depreciatng all other
commodities from 80 to so per cent since
1913. Last year, under the lead of Mr.
Cleveland, the money lenders of New York.
Philadelphia and Boston, acting with those
of London and Berlin, dragooned congress
into the repeal of the Sherman act, fasten-
ing letters upon the debtor class and bring
ing great losses, in many cases ruin to all
those whose means were invested in pro-
ductive induStries-farmers, manufacturers,
miners, middle men who carried stocks of
merchandise, Were forced into bankruptcy
and the wage-earning classes into enforced
dleness.
1.-The people, under gold monometallism,
must accept lower and lower prices for
commodities; they must suffer from dimin-
ishing value of property and the conse-
quent serious injury of agriculture, trade.
and industry. No remedy and no relief
from the disastrous position into which
gold money countries have permitted them
selves to drift can be had until this dom
mating fact, the great appreciation of gold
is fully realized. The fall in prices will
go on in all gold money countries until
the appreciation Of gold, now the standard
money in all such, is stopped. The only
possible remedy is in full restora ton of
silver to its place as a money metal.
There must be again unlimited coinage of
both gold and silver and the unrestricted
circulation of both money. The restor-
alton of silver to its place as money must
be brought about if possible in a way that
VIII not cause a suspension of gold pay
mentS, for such suspension would in turn
produce contraction of the volume of
money to an amount equal to the total
supply of gold coin and bullion and credits
based on gold. l desire to restate to you
a plan for the re-estabshment of silver
in our coinage, which / believe the only
safe one for the United States to adopt
without international agreement. This is
set forth in an open letter addressed to
President Cleveland July u, 1899 and is
restated in an open letter addressed to
the senators of the United States dated
Sept. &c. 1893, which letter was indorsed
before presentation to the senate by nearly
200 prominent manufacturers of this city
THE proposal is follows: First that
the United States shall admit silver bull
ion from American mines to coinage in it's
mlnts upon the payment by the owner of
a seigniorage absorbing three-fourths Of
the difference between the market U.ondom
price of the bullion and it's value when
coined. Second, that foreign silver shall
be admitted only for coinage purposes. at
a seignOrage absorbing all Of the difference
between the market Q.ondon) price and it's
value when coined.
This plan would re-establsh at once a
bmetallic monetary system for and by the
United States. 1t recognizes and meets the
dangers that beset independent action by
the United States. and it would soon re-
establish the equality of the legal and COM
mercial value of gold and silver and pro-
vide proper regular addition to the
money of the country. Under this plan
foreigners could not take American gold
to the disadvantage of the United States
nor could producers in the United States
have an undue profit. At the same time
it would give our own producers a moder
ate protection.
eff 1 am right in my belief that the unre-
stricted use of silver money would soon
cause an advance in the price of silver to
parity with gold at the ratio of 16 to |.
then this seigniorage charge would disap-
pear and the question of bmetallsm would
be settled by the Independent action of the
United States. If am wrong in this opin-
ion, and if silver should not advance then
foreigners could not take our gold except
at a premium equal to the difference fixed
by the price of silver in London and the
United States could not be driven to silver
monometallism except by the sale of Amer
lean securities in American markets too
fast for us to pay for them in merchandise
THE re-establishment of bimetallism on
the plan l propose could not fail to support
prices and to encourage commercial and in
dustrial activity. The wage-earninc classes
would find work and have money to spend
for better food and manufactured articles
General interchange of services and COM
modities would be re-eStablished. This
prosperity would attract an investment OF
foreign money and rates for money would
be lower, for we would have an increase in
the supply of money sent here for invest
ment America would free herself from
dependence European money-lenders."
REMEMBER.
That if you sec anything in the
REPRESENTATIVE which appears to
you AS strong argument, in favor Of
Peoples party principles, don't stop