The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-05-09
KEEP JOHN OUT.

The most discouraging thing connect
ed with the rapid movement toward uni
versal bimetallsm is the fact that John
Sherman announces that he favors it,
This is prima facie evidence that there
must be some awful financial fallacy
involved in the matter, for John Sher
man never voluntarily got on the right
side of any currency question in his life.
He is a remarkable instance of a man
who by self-assertion and by doing the
bidding of wall-st, has acquired the
reputation of being financier. and yet
accomplished by him.. or through his in
huence. that has not been based on fall
lacious principles. or that has not been
injurious to the country In silver legis-
country and one of the scourges of
God" to the world. In 1873 he accom-
plished the decentralization of silver and
struck the silver dollar from our list
of coins by following a course that will
forever fasten on him the reputation of
a legislative trickster In 1876 he was
clamoring for the free coinage of the
silver dollar and its use in the redemp-
tion of our legal tender currency. In
1878 he vehemently opposed free coinage
and succeeded in foisting on this coun-
try the absurd purchase policy which
had beer dictated to us by Mr.. Goschen,
chancellor of the exchequer of England.
In 1890 he prepared the bill which ex-
tended this policy until it brought the
country to the verge of bankruptcy.
We should therefore feel certain that
universal bimetallism was mistake
if it We're not for the fact that in an
nouncing his adherence to it this fore
most republican financier shows his
cloven foot by stating the condition on
which he adheres to it. and that condi-
ton would prevent the accomplishment
of universal bimetallism He says:
My own opinion is that it is better to
recognize at once as a fact that is APP
parent that on account of the vast in
crease of the production of silver the
ratio should be based upon the present
relative market value of silver and gold.
No real bimetallist accepts any such
idea, and no country on the face Of the
earth would consent to it. Every BIZ
metallist knows that there is not, and
has not been for several centuries. any
such thing as market value" of either
gold or silver that was not made by the
combined legislation Of the world. Sir
William Henry Houldswerth stated the
commonly accepted doctrine of bimetal-
lists on this subject at the Manchester
meeting of Feb. 6, 1894 as follows:
Mr.. Giffen says that bimetallists con-
slider a ratio of 151a to 1 to be an ordi-
nance of Providence. I never heard any
bimetallist suggest that, If anybody
suggests it, il is some monometallists
who have maintained that the reason
why 1914 to l was for many years sta
BILE ratio was that the relative produc-
ton of silver and gold was in the ratio
of 15h to l. We have said the very OPP
posite. So far from any ratio being
an ordinance Of nature we have always
maintained 1t, is an ordinance Of legisla-
ton. 1t was through legislation that
15h to / was maintained for a period.
and IT is only through legislation that
that ratio, or any other ratio, can be
established or maintained.
By common consent bimetallists have
refrained from discussing the ratio for
universal bimetallism. for the simple
reason that it is a stumbling block to
those who have been stufred with the
common balderdash about market
value" the cost of production "in-
creased production" and other mono
metatlist ideas. But as matter of
fact there is not the slightest room for
doubt that universal bimetallism will
be accomplished at the ratio of 1874 to /.
and the reason is so plain that anyone
can understand sit. When people are
really converted to bimetaliism and I'M