The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-02
GoLDITE soPHIsTRY.

The stir made in eastern financial cir
cles by Coins little pamphlet is
amusing on the one hand and gratify-
ing on THE other. 1t is being attacked
both seriously and by the weapons of
ridicule. But it is doing excellent SER
vice in spite of few weak spots in its
armor. which are vigorously punched
at by the goldite warriors.
There is also a great deal OF mis-
representation used by the monometal-
lists concerning it. The Chicago Times
Herald. which has been transformed
into a Republican sheet. has taken up
the fight in union with papers further
east. Here is a sample from the Chi
cago paper which processes to be
turning the tables on Coin" and
giving it "a dose of it's own medicine"
We'll. Coin. you are a small boy and
may learn sense and many other things
as You grow older. but didn't you know
you were fbbing when you said we
were on a silver basis in fact after
1884"
well. yes: but 1 changed the sense
little TO suit what the silver-mlne own
ers told me to preach. They tell all
their speakers to make confusing state
ments. and then by the time they are
exposed to go on to something else
Then you knew. did you. that the
market ratio of gold to silver after 1884
was so far different from the legal
ratio of 16 to l. that gold was the
cheaper metal and drove out silver,
and that no silver dollars were IN cir
culation from that time until 1882
Yes. but I did not think 1t obnga-
fn Tl1t in 6VQrVf hing. GS
pecially if it did not agree with my
orders from my employers
That is confused mass of mingled
fact and fiction. misauotation and
false statement and inference. which
indicates deliberate dishonesty in ar
gument. Coins statement is not that
silver dollars were ''in circulation"
but that the silver dollar was the
unit of values. and that when the ratio
with the gold dollar was changed from
10 to to 16 to l. the size of the silver
dollar was not changed and it contin-
ued to be the unit UP to 1873.
Thus a different statement to Coins
is made the basis of an alleged argu-
ment against it. and that is followed
by an assertion which is not true. Sill
yer dollars were in circulation. though
that circulation became limited be-
tween 1878 and 1878. because the legis-
lation of the former year necessarily
made it so.
The assertion that "silver-mine own
ers tell all their speakers to make con-
fusing statements. and then by the
time they are exposed to go on TO some
thing else" is a double-barreled but
empty falsehood. Silver-mine owners
are no more interested and eager in the
PRONUNCIATION of bimetallism than are
thousands upon thousands of people
who have no connection with the silver
mining interest. And there is no de-
sire or attempt to make confusing
statements on the part of the silver
advocates. Their arguments are clear
cut and bring no Confusion except
to their adversaries, who are compelled
to resort to just such subterfuges as
those of the Times-Herald.
Now as to the 'silver basis" What
is meant by that is. simply, that tho
silver dollar of 371A grains of pure sill
yer, having been made by law the
unit of values. that was the monetary
standard or the monetary basis. But,
as gold was coined just as freely as
silver at the ratio fixed by Congress,
bimetallism was the policy and prac-
tice of the United States up to 1873,
when the coinage of the silver dollar
was arrested by the deceptive act then
passed.
Is not that precisely true? Is there
anything confusing about it? Are not
the statutes of the country the proof
of this? What the circulation" of
silver was, however great or however
small, does not affect these potent
facts. They can not be impeached al
though they may be Confused by
sophistry.
1t is by just such catchy subterfuges
that the goldite papers are endeavoring
to meet the facts and reasonings of the
silver champions. 1t is pleasing to see
that they have nothing better to set
UP. But it is notifying to think that
the ability and force of so large a por-
ton of the press, are being prostituted
to support the financial heresy which
it is the purpose of the money power to
promote.