St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-31
REPLY TO THE TRIBUNE.

Gen. Standish Answers in the Af-
firmative the MINNEAPOLIS
Tribune's Question, l.Are We
Able for Free Coinage Alone at
16 to 1:v
To the Editor of the Globe.
l find in the Minneapolis Tribune of
July Is an editorial headed Theory VS.
fracCce l beg the privilege to an
sWer II through your columns.
The Horr-Harvey debate will NOT
reach its maximum interest for
thoughtful people until the dusputants
come TO the fundamental proposition
OF the whole controversy, which is the
possibility and desirability of free
coinage by the United States alone AT
the ratio of Is to 1''-St. Paul Globe.
our contemporary is right As the
Irlpune mas repeatedly stated, the only
practical question as regards silver be-
fore the American people TO-DAY is the
expectancy OF free coinage on the ex-
alone"
I agree with both of you that this is
the real question. No man is a bimat-
a1l1St who does not favor it. If. as is
claimed by Mr.. Horn, that the act of
1873 was necessary to be passed at the
9Ine, and It was knowingly and will
1uliy passed, it is not probable that
the interest that brought about its
passage acted without an object or is
willingly going to consent to the resto-
rauon OF free coinage, if free coinage
VIII bring to US, as Mr.. Horn and all
opponents Of 1t claim, a cheaper dollar;
nor Will 1t be inaugurated by the cred
1tor nations of Europe holding dollar
demands against the people of this and
other countries; hence free coinage. if
1t comes at all, it must be by our act
ing without them, and without ask
ing for any international congress with
them, and those who labor for such
fnT acc - \
standard alone.
1 agree that the effect of the Iegisla-
ton of 1873 is the same, whether it
was done surreptitously or openly,
knowingly and willfully. Was it nee
essary, as is claimed by Mr.. Horr and
some of the people of your school?
If SO, it should not be restored even by
the consent of the nations who aided
in its contamination; and the call for
an international convention by those
who express these sentiments is a,
fraud upon its face. The next question
is, has the legislation of '73 benefited
this country? If not, then the logical
conclusion is that its restoration would
be beneficial to US, whether concurred
in by other nations or not. That the
repeal Of free coinage in '73 has, since
then, lowered prices, and is gradually
lowering them still, is demonstrated by
the English table Of prices made by
English statisticians on all classes of
property, quoted by Mr. Harvey in his
debate with Mr.. Horn. and not met,
and by the knowledge of every intel
Egent man now living <xho was then
old enough to know what prices then
were, and by your own arguments that
free coinage would give US cheep or
cheaper dollar.
give US a dollar that would buy only
what 80 cents of our present money
now buys. If that be- SO, then the re- (
peal Of '73 has given us a dollar which
lr11-
be buying at this time had that repeal
not been made: and by that repeal you
have doubly lowered all prices, without !
the debtors consent, and the creditor |
class have been reaping and are still .
reaping a double tribute from all debt /
ors and producers and all taxpayers, !;
and viii continue to reap this double |
tribute until that law shall be restored; |
and such restoration now would only |
restore equity from now on, still leav- {
ing the creditor class the gamer by the |
profits which have accrued to them by /
the better dollar, or more valuable dol
by the dollar having been made
dearer by the repeal of free coinage
in 1873 which dollar has been used,
or reinvested, in property, or new mort
cages; and when we consider that the
bullion that went into a 10 TO l dollar
was at a premium in 10, and at all
times prior to that, we find that II was
not ratio, but tne question OF working
peal in 1873, and now opposes the res
toration by us of free coinage at the
ratio Of 16 to l.
Your side contends that restoration
of free coinage, by US alone, at the 10
to l ratio would doubly cheaper the
dollar. and drive all gold money to
Europe; and you ask, exultingly, what
we would then do with this cheap sill
yer money?
We answer: First-Every government
bond, or greenback, is pay
able by the stipulation written in it,
and the law under which it was made,
IN silver money dollars, coined, or to
be coined, in the ratio of Is to l. No
state has authorized any other kind of
within 1t; and every city,
county, school, state, or other public
and every official salary, to
be met by public taxation, is payable
in the 16 to / silver dollars.
By reference to Treasury Document
No 1713, Office bureau Of statistics,
printed this year, and Endorsed by Sec
rotary Carlisle, on Dec. g. last, page
5e2, you viii find the sum total of reve-
nue. and taxation last year to run
state, federal and municipal govern
nents, and meet interest on public OBJ
legations, was s., GAG, 437, 613, which sum |
alone aggregates, for one year alone,
tweive-fold more than the total as
sesSment of all property in the state
OF North Dakota, excluding ! portion |
of the railroads not assessed, but pay |
ing on the gross earnings system.
These cheap dollars you talk about
would discharge all these public obi |
cations, according to law and the con-
tract in the obligations, and reduce
the taxation burden on the public to
meet them. ene-half-
Our state, municipal and federal in