Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-05-11
SATURDAY. MAY II.
CORNeRING A GOLDITE.

C0RNERIAC A G0LDITE.
For some little time a very interesting
discussion has been going on between
two Chicago celebrities, Mr.. W. FL. Har-
vey, the author of "Coln," on the one
side, and Prof. j. Laurence Laughlin, of
the Chicago university, on tho other, in
regard to the coinage and the Coinage
laws of the United States. The latter
gentleman is what. might be termed a
single standard gold monometaIlist, and
is no doubt honest in his belief that all
values should be measured by that stand
ard. The former gentleman holds that
silver, being a money metal, is entitled
to and should receive the same privileges
of the mint, and be given it's proper place
as money of redemption, the same as
gold. So far, Prof. Laughlin seems to
have received the worst of the contro-
versy. He set out to prove that the faith
ers of the republic made the gold dollar
the unit of value, but as yet he has been
unable to do so. Such, perhaps, might
possibly have been the intention of Alex
ander Hamilton; but when it Is taken
into consideration that all other coun-
tries were upon what was termed silver
basis at that time, it is difficult to under
stand how different system could then
be established. In discussing the ques-
tion the professor, instead of going back
and tracing the coinage of the colonies
prior to the revolution, up to the adop-
ton of the constitution and then to the
present time, starts in with the adoption
of the first coinage law, and in order to
strengthen his side of the case, attempts
to prove that it was never the intention
of those who framed our first mint and
coinage laws to make silver money of
redemption at all, and assumes that
those who disagree with him are not
only ignorant, but dishonest. This sort
of argument from an alleged bi-metallist,
is only sample of that which is in
duged in by all goldites. curious fact
which might be noted in this connection
is that all single standard gold men
claim to be bi-metalists, but all bi-met
allists are not gold monometallists
Neither are the friends and advocates OF
the free coinage of both metals upon the
ratio of 16 to / silver monometallsts, as
writers like Prof. Laughlin would have
their readers believe. At certain periods
or epochs in all civilizations, attempts
have been made by certain rulers or
classes-usually the money changers-to
''unify" the money. Augustus tried to
unity the money of his empire. The
same thing was attempted by Charlie
magne. The first Napoleon, when look.
ing down upon the ocean from St. Helena
said "what Europe most needed was a
common law, common measure and q
common money" Later, our own John
lnn xuba ba ~
state 182l) at the time he submitted to
the congress of the United States his re.
port, had the same idea. He called at
tention to the "ncalculable advantages
of common measure, and common
money to overspread the globe-from
the equator to the poles" The next
proposition looking to this end was
made by former secretary of the United
States treasury, who was afterward chief
justice of the United States. His annual
report for 1862 contained a proposition
to "unify" the coinage Of the English
races, by reducing the half eagle of the
United States to that of the British
sovereign-the difference between these
two coins being only 1917 cents. Some
how it has never occurred to the English
race on the western shores of the Atlantic
that the British pound or sovereign
ought to conform to the American half
eagle. Up to the year 1861, no general
assembly of nations by delegates duly &C.
credited, had ever been held in which the
question of monetary "unifcation" was
openly discussed, or if there was, history
is silent upon the sub ect. The Il rst record
ed gathering of this sort was held in Berlin,
1S63-the year following the suggestion of
the secretary of the Uuited States treas
ury in question. That gathering has
since been known as the International
Statistical congress. 1t convened in Sep
TENDER in 1868, in the city of Berlin, and
was composed largely of representatives
from the governments of France, England
Germany, the United States and several
other governments. An elaborate report
was presented by committee of fourteen
nations, mainly prepared by Samuel
The report, strange as it may seem, rec.
commended the decentralization of the
pound sterling, but proposed to retain
the pound itself as the monetary unit. II
also proposed that Sin respect to silver
coins, the dollar reduced in value to Eve
francs, the form made equal in value tc
two and one.half francs, and the franc it.
self should also be retained as units; and
that all of them should be decimally
divided" When this report came up fol
discussion it was objected to by the ac
credited American delegate, Mr.. Samue
B. Ruggles, on the ground that lit would
tend to preserve the double standard oil
gold and silver and thus prolong the vain
attempt to fix by legislative enactment
the values of two different metals, in thei
nature necessarily mutable, and governed
only by the fundamental laws of supply
and demand" Strange as it may seem
the proceedings of that body have yet tc
be printed by the United States govern
ment. About all the information to b,
had upon its deliberations are to be found
on pages 96, 81 and 80 of the report o.
the Paris monetary conference in 1867
That statistical Congress-" as it wat
called, was composed almost, if not quite
exclusively, of bankers, or men controlled
by them, who from that day to this have
been hostile to silver. Their sole aim has
been to control the money volume, nj
matter at what cost. The legislation oil
1873 was the next step in that direction
II is the old story of Shylock that the
civilization of every age has had to con.
tend with. For man like Prof. Laur
anna Tonrbl;,, l., tho I;,,bA ~ hist 49,, :, :, i