The Caucasian., 1895-11-28
.BANKERST. JOHNS
OPINIONS,
On the Free and Unlimited Coin
ago ofSilver Before the Bank
ers' Convention.
BE WAS ONCE A GOLDBUG,

HE WAS ONCE A GOLDBUG,
And Sought to Fi.d fsess 90 Prove the
Beauty and Honesty Of the Gold ss..d-
ard-Bus study Of the Qussssos Cos.
vsrtsd .Him-Oas Of The Few Banker
Who study.
During the recent convention of
Bankers held in Atlanta, Mr.. Vim.
st. John, president Of the Mercantile
National bank of New York, gave
in interview and made q speech
strongly favo1ing free coinage of
silver.
mr.. St. John is one Of the few
bankers who have given the ques-
ion thorough study. When Banker
st. John began his researches he
started out with q view toward get
ting up data and facts which would
show that single standard is to be
the only standard desirable and the
only one that could be properly
maintained. Mr.. st. John told the
Atlanta Constitution Of his conver-
sion. He is an exceedingly pleasant
man, and speaks with ease and with
wonderful fuency. He has facts
and figures literally at his tongues
end.
HE BEGAN AN ARDENT GOLDBUG.
The story is very plain one and
q very logical one," said Mr.. St.
John. ut was in 1854 that l was
elected to membership on the finance
committee of the New York cham
Der of commerce. The chairman of
this committee sent for me and
urged. as l was the junior member.
the Importance of the question. He
told me that | was expected to pro-
cure and marshal the historic facts
with which to overcome the plausi-
BILE sophistries and alleged facts of
the silver men.
Il devoted six years of my re-
search to seeking every historic fact
adverse to the free coinage of silver.
l stunned everything that looked
favorable to silver coinage, believ-
ing that it was appearance only.
CONFRONTED WITH FACTS.
lone day l stumbled upon the fact
that France opened her mints in 1908
to the unlimited coinage of gold and
silver, and kept them open without
break for seventy years, until the
Franco-Prusslan war and the subse-
quent sales of Germany's silver.
Il found that Isl TO l was the
coinage ratio of France without a
change for these seventy years. Our
ratio of 1888, or say 16 to l. values
silver at 3 cents on a dollar less; sc
that dollars worth of French sll
yer coin coming to our mints would
coin only 81 cents.
! ~ found that in ten years ending
| with 1910 the production of silver
averaged, in a year. 5Of times the
weight of the gold produced in the
year. Nevertheless, the marke'
price of silver was 15.6, equaling
of gold-the mint price being 15.;
to l.
SEARCHED FOR A GOLDBUG CAUSE.
II looked anxiously, exhaustively
for the cause. l could find no caus,
for the market price and the min
price that controlled and dictated
the market price.
II found in the ten years endinf
with 1855, a complete reversal of the
relative production of gold and sill
yer. Whereas silver had been pro
duced to the weight of so times th'
weight of gold in a year, it had come
down to four and half times tn,
weight of the gold year in thos'
ten years.
"Looking up the prices l foun'
that the market price of silver wa
15,4, as against the French min
price 15.5.
FOUGHT AGAINST CONVERSION.
Il fought the conclusion with al
my pride of opinion and with eve
> persistency of research, but l coul'
not resist finally the fact that tn
volume of business in France an
her trade relations combined to ere
ate such a demand for money il
France as enabled the French min
to control and dictate the marke
price of silver and gold still.
"Determined to pursue the strug
gle in behalf of my prejudices,
> found to my CONSERVATION the trad
movement of gold and silver int
and out of France to be governed b.
some force superior to that Of rela
tive production. When gold wa
! produced the more abundantly tn
tendency was for gold to come int
t France in greater quantity than si
yer. When silver was the NOR
e abundantly produced, the tendenc
7 for more silver than gold to com
in was evident l found much gol
!. and little silver at one time, an
!. much silver and little gold at al
e other.
: "But I did not find it the rule, a
a my preiudices desired, to find on
e metal going out and the other met.
e coming into France. The so-calle
!. Gresham law seemed to meet q 8,
!. perior principle. found furths
that the coinage of gold and silvt
in France, which was by the volul
| L6Iy ISQ uSSt VI OWu01S VI SAC WCS0A
was seemingly governed by the san
= superior monetary principle.
II "For instance, In 1906, when Il
), silver was fifty times the productio
}. y of the gold in year, the coinae
u was about half and half gold and 81
n yer. In 1918, while the preductie
d of silver was forty-seven times Il
l. production of gold, the coinage
e gold was seven times the coinage
e silver, seven times As much v.iu
e tary coinage of the scarcer met
:, that year.
SAW HE HAD BEEN In GROSS ERROR
If "Well," continued Mr.. st. job
'f slowly, 81 need not pursue furth
le the line Of my tuition out Of pref
~ dice into. fairness and finally in
selt-conviction of previous gross (
rOr.
A.