Arizona silver belt., 1895-06-01
cAnL,sLr. MEMPHIS srrrcm.

 Memphis was notable in several re- speots. First, it was the opening gun in what is to bo determined campaign against tho restoration of silver as money of ultimate redemption in our financial systom; second, it is the for mal recognition that tue coinage ques- ton is to be the leading issue in tho next presidential canvass; and third, 1t not only presents the views of the Sec retary of the Treasury and man prom inent in the counsels of his party, but voices the national administration and practically the gold monometalhsts of botb tho Democratic and Republican parties.
 Its importance, therefore, is scknowl- edged, and as the speech was carefully prepared and underwent revision by President Cleveland, it may be ac- cepted as fairly expressing the argu- ments of the gold men.
 Secretary Carlisle starts out with the assertion Cha. the free coinage of silver at tho ratio of l6 to is "a proposition to reyolutionize our monetary system and thus destroy the credit of the gov egnment and the people at home and abroad, violate the obligations of all contracts, unsettle all exchangeable yalues, reduce wages, expell capital from the country and obsTuct trade. [" Many people, and We believe a major ity in the United States, view the re- turn to bimetalism differently--a the rss,0ralioa ofasound and equible systom of finance, which would so enlarge the uss of silver that the relative intrinsic values of gold and silver would quickly adjust themselves to the coinage ratio of16 to1.
 Alr c -iisle used catchy expression (which will doubtless be echoed by the gold standard papers), when he said: "It is the metal that fixes the value of tbe coin, and not the coin that fixes the value ot tie metal !" In this, however, he is opposed by almost every writer of any prominence on political economy since Adam Smith, and hs disproveshis own statelnent when he shows that the United States is able to maintain a silver le.freE D lcGin and certificates issued agaj1st bollionJ of about s635, O0O, 0O0 vAich IS also the amount of gold coin in this country. Hit is the metal that fixes the value of the com, why is it that the Mexican dollar, containing more silver than our's, is worth but 50 cents, while our large volume of silver money is easily maintained at par2 As Mr. Carlisle says, the total volume of money n tho United States is about sl,SOl, 7O7, 763, of which not more thnn one-third is gold, yet all circulate nt their face Yalus, and the credit of tho United States is the best of auy nation on earth The fact is we have the civilization, the progressive spirit, and Inc resources, to maintain our su- premacy, if we will only cut loose from European influences and manage our own affairs, America for Americans.
 Hr. Carlisle (who not many years ago, as the Congressional Record shows, was an ardent advocate of free silver eoinnge> said: T confess my inability to understand what is really meant by double standard of value; the idea is iaeompsebensible to my mind, because I can not conceive how it is possible to have two different legal and authorita- tive measures of the same, thing in use at the same time, and then in almost the next breath he declares: "Wenow have practically bimetallism- the use of both metals No wonder that double standard is incomprohenaiblo to hin. fl this is his idea of bimetalliam. The generally accepted definition of bimetallism is, the free use of two metals as money at fixed ratio and .lnaintained on perfect parity. Prac- tically, the United States now has the gold standard.
 Ths Secretary repeats the thread bare assertion that the effect of adop- tion of free coinage at l6 to 1 would bo 10 drive all our gold coin out of circu- lahon, and leave the country with debased silver currency. To illustrate ihia MT. Carlisle points to the excessive exports of gold during the period when the sherman silver purchase act was in force and which he ascribes to the ap- prehension on the part of foreign bond holders that the United States would not be able to maintain the parity of the two metals under the policy inau- l, gurated by that net. If his reason ing sound, then confidence should have been restored and exports of gold declined sharply upon the repeal of the sherman law, and it was this argument that prevailed and accomplished the repeal of that law. But it is notorious that tho exports of gold increased after the repeal, and tho continued with drawals fron the Treasury almost ex- hausted the gold reserve and tlreatoued 2 financial panic, to avert which the