The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-08-10
BIMETALLISM.
IMPOSSIBLE In ANY ONE NATION.
ALL POLITICAL ECONOMISTS,
BUT ONE, AGREE ON
THIS POINT.

possibility of national bimetallisl
gave great joy to the free silver pei
\ pie, who have since been quoting an
referring to him as an Authority.
This appeal to Authority" caused MI
Charles r. Fay, of Portland, to invel
tigate the works and writings of mos
of the prominent political economist
of the world on this subject. He find
that Professor Ross is alone anon
economic professors in his belief tina
it is possible for one nation to estab
lish bimetallism. Many others, how
ever, think that international BIN etal
lism is possible. We give below tn
result of Mr.. Fay research:
Professor @. F. Bastaple, professor
OF political economy in Trinity Col
lege, Dublin, is the author of the ar.
ticle "Money" in the Encyclopedias
Britannica, and he strongly favors the
scheme which he says q6 p. 1856
Cernuschi and DeLaveleye brought
forward. and which "The former
called bimetallism that is to say, the
establishment of universal, or at all
events, a large international currency,
based on the concurrent circulation Of
the two metals, gold and silver, OF a
fixed ratio"
Professor r. E. Thompson, profess
sor of social science in the University
of Pennsylvania, in his elements Of
Political Economy Up. ~ holds the
same position. He writes: "a gen
eral agreement on the part of Europe
and America to restore the free coin
age at the old ratio would retrieve and
maintain its (silver's) price"
President E. B. Andrews, of Brown
University, in his Institutes of
Economics" PIP. 125-127, treats the
topic OF bimetallism. He says: "The
serious question is wheth the two
metals can be made single standard
of value. We pronounce this possible.
Sufficient nations may unite upon
given value ratio to render both
metals current in that nation at that
ratio. This bimetallic scheme, never
yet tried. differs in principle from a
one. Hence, to show,
Is Laughlin, in his History of BIZ
metallism in the United States, does,
The lll-working of bimetallism in one
and in no wise disproves the scien-
life bimetallist argument" Presi-
lent Andrews has been denominated
~ rabid free silverites as "bye-and.
,ye metallist."
President Francis A. Walker. of the
3oston Institute of Technology, agrees
With Professors Bastaple, Thompson
nd Andrews in believing in the
'doption of double standard by inter
lational agreement. In his "Political
Economy, Advanced Course" chapter
A is given to the treatment of ''bi-
netallism," and solely as an inter-
ational question. In section $50, on
What the Bimetalllst Proposes, he
avs: Accepting the existence of
arge group of countries in which gold
aturally circulates as money, and an
Their in which silver is SO used, he
roposes to create league of states
which shall each for it.
elf, but by simultaneous action, estab-
sh the free coinage of the two metals,
taking the money of one metal to be
gal tender indifferently With the
loney of the other metal in the pay
ent of debts, at certain ratio, de,
rmined upon in advance by consent
lg states"
In his volume entitled s.Money,"
'alker gives chapter Is to discus
on OF the "Battle of the Standards"
which he strongly favors interna-
onal bimetallism, and in his "Money,
ade, and industry" he explains in
'tail (pp. 164-195) the way in which
ternational bimetallism would work.
summing up he says (pp. 1911:
This is the modern bimetallic scheme
lvocated by Walowsk1 and Germuschi
France, Malon and de Laveleye in
'lgium, Mees and Vrolek in Holland,
heider in Germany, Haupt in Aus
ia, Seyd and the Liverpool writers in
lgland, Horton and George Walker
the United States IT differs widely
I'm the so-called double standard
itch was pronounced lmpractible by
'cke, Adam Smith and Ricardo.
ere is nothing to show that one of
ose writer's, had he lived in these
rs, might not have advocated an
ernational monetary union, just as
one of the writer's whom ! have
medj as advocates of biinetallism 90
uld propose the union of the two :
tails at fixed ratio in the coinage Ii
a single state by itself alone - and SC
concludes that ''for us to,commence
} free coinage of silver at 16 to 1, o,
lie the market is Is to 1.-THE Iii
10 was that when he wrote,, pl
uld be to hazard the success of re- tb
nption and make it certain that we cl
Iuld lose or1r gold Tn fo,,. -