St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-10

add a cubft to his stature?"
Can any legislature by a BE it en-
acted make a buShel of timothy seed
worth sixteen bushels of wheat?
Can any congress or any number of
congresses or the whole world make
sixteen ounces of silver worth one
ounce of gold and cause them to be al
ways worth exactly the same?
F. D. WILLIS.
ST. Paul.
Stated as a syllogism our CORE
spondent's questions would read: No
man can add a cubit to his stature
by taking thought. No legislature
can make a bushel of timothy seed
the equivalent in value of sixteen
bushels Of wheat. Therefore, no con-
gress or body of congresses can make
sixteen ounces of silver the equiva-
lent in value of one ounce of gold,
or permanently maintain it. AS to
the first proposition, there is no
question. AS to the second one, no
one would care to attempt it's mega
ton and prove it. AS to the conclu-
sion, who knows? The congress of
the United States tried it and failed
1t might or it might not follow that
the congresses Of the world would
also fail. It has never been tried; it
would be purely experimental.
The question underlies the PROPOSE
ton of international bimetallism. So
far in the discussion Of that question
there has been no sugges ton of "a
ratio. Many politicians have made
use OF it as a convenient retreat
from a question they preferred not
to answer. Many believe it feasible;
others think, as our correspondent
does, that it is impossible. After all
it is merely a question of credit. Me-
tallic money, conforming to the COM
mercial ratio, requires no use of
tallic reserve, is all credit Metallic
money, beyond the commercial value
of the metal in it, is credit. Fifty
per cent of the 100000, Geo of money
resting on silver, issued by this coun-
try, rests on the credit of the gov
eminent; that is, on general conf
dence in our ability to redeem it in
the money recognized as the best.
The third question involves the
proposition Of all the governments
to take all the silver that may be
produced and coin it at a ratio to
gold of sixteen to one, and to keep
the silver coinage constantly con-
vertible into gold. This means that
they will put under all existing and
all future production of silver the
support of their combined credits.
Credit has its limits no less for gov
eminent and for all governments
than for an individual and for all
individuals. When it's limit is
reached, depreciation follows in one
case as in the other The question
then is: Could the credit of
all the governments sustain
free coinage of silver at a
ratio of sixteen to one, with the pres
ent commercial ratio over thirty to
one? Here one enters the region of
conjecture. No such experiment has
ever been tried. Individual nations
have tried it and failed. Their credit
had not sufficient sustaining power
There are too many factors in the
problem to permit any ready con-
clusion, affirmative or negative. Pub
lie confidence, the effect on produce
ton, are some Of them. While there
can be no doubt that "any number
of congresses or the whole world,
could maintain effectually the BIZ
metallic system at some ratio, wheth-
er they could do so at a ratio of 16 to
1 is question that no one can an
swer except by a guess.