Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-05-25
THE SILVER QUESTION.


A Correspondents Expresses Himself n
the Subject.
ROCK ISLAND, May 20-Editor Ar
GUS: The ratio between gold and
silver at Is to ! means. that for coin
age, one ounce of gold is equal in
value to 16 ounces of silver at the
mint. The first ratio made by the
government of the United States was
Is to /. France having ratio of 154
to obtained the patronage of the
holders of gold. Congress in 1884,
to bring back the gold. made the
present ratio of 16 to l, which had
the effect of sending our silver to
France, and the coinage of our silver
dollar was suspended in 1853, and no
silver dollars were coined for 20
years. the silver dollar being demon
etized in 1873. Until France was
deprived of $3.50, 900, 900 in gold, or
to speak accurately, 5000, 100000 of
francs in gold by Germany after the
war of 1870, as a war tribute, she
had no difficulty in coming both gold
and silver aud maintaining and
equality of value between them as
money. The. reason that our silver
dollar was at premium of 8 or 4 cents
over the gold dollar for 40 years was
because the government of France
said ounce of gold is worth only
,5l ounces of silver. while the gov
eminent of the United States said it
i, worth 16 ounces, difference of J
of lilo, or 1-32-1-32 OF 81 being 1-S
cents. The French mint was the
market and fixed the price of gold
aud silver throughout the world.
The United States having in 1878
dropped the silver dollar from its
list OF coins, and Germany having
demo netized silver and dumped her
silv coins on the market, France,
to re what gold she had left. was
compelled to stop coming silver in
1875. Now the upper house of the
Prussian Diet by vote of ~ to SO
has passed q resolution to take the
lead among nations to secure the
restoration of the coinage of silver.
AS Germany and Austria in 1857 sus-
pended the coinage of gold, being at
the time on q silver basis, it is emil
nently fit that Germany, after trying
silver monometalisnN for 16 years
from 1857 to 1878, and gold mono
metalism from 1873 up to date.
should try bimetalism. When the
mint of India was closed to free sill
yer coinage, and the United States
repealed the Sherman law, the con-
ditions wanted by gold monometal-
lists were obtained, but what is the
result? India is doing its own man.
ufacturing. complain the nanufac-
turers of Manchester; at least they
have stopped buying of England and
are doing without or providing for
themselves, practicing economy per-
haps. As a matter of principle. il
is inconsistent for a government to
make laws against trusts while clos
ing its mint to the competing metal,
whether gold or silver. The discov-
cry of gold in California and Aus
tralia, Notwithstanding the action OF
Germany and Austria, doomed the
business of the world. England.
France and the United States coined
I all the gold that was offered at their
minis; possibly the suspension OF
gold coinage by Germany and Aus.
| tria contributed to the causes of the
panic of 1857. The demonstration
of silver in 1873 by Germany called
home the money of German bond
holders in such railroads as thu
Northern Pacific. The promoter
Jay Cooke was compelled to fail. ant
the panic followed. In 1874 or 1875
the German bond holders of the Rock
ford, Rock Island & St. Louis rail
road, now a branch of The c., b. {
@, sold out their holdings for
cents on the dollar. The discovery
of silver in Nevada. Colorado, Utai
and Montana ought to have been /,
saving providence. but the United
States was on a paper basis. France
had got whipped and lost her money
and the world has been at cross pur
poses ever since. j. l.. II.