The daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1892-1897, 1895-07-04

$50 Ia subsidiary silver coin, making in
ell 81. Sol, T0s. 553, exclusive Of the minor
coins, and every dollar of this vast volume
Of currency is kept equal IN value to the
standard established b. law, so that every
MAJ who receives a silver dollar OF paper
dollar In exchange Tor his products, or in
satisfaction Of n debt, gets Just as good .
dollar a. The man who receives gold.
This Is the monetary system and this IS
the financial condition which the advocates
OF free eainace at the ratio Of 10 to l now
propose 10 revciuticnize at once by % change
IL the standard Of value, so that the whole
mass of circulation left for the use Of the
people would be reduced TO about one-half
the purchasing power Il 4as now, or, in
ether wOIis, 50 that il would require about
double the amount Of Currency that is re-
ouired now % perform the same service in
the exchanged OF commodities. But The con-
summation OF such a policy would produce
results more faryeaching and disastrous
than the mere reduction OF the standard Of
value because, for a long time at least,
credit, which constitutes 10y FAR the most
important factor IN our financial and COM
mcrical transactions, would be subStan-
italy destroyed by the confusion and un-
certainty necessarily following such a great
and sudden change in our monetary sys-
TEN.
But it is contended by 4 large number
of the advocates of free coinaee-pcrhaps
q majority Of them-that the effect OF their
policy would be not to abolish the present
standard of valueand substitute the single
silver standard IN its place, but that it
would establish what they call ~bilnctallism
and a double STANDARD. l confess my ina
bility to understand what is really meant
by q double standard or measure of value.
The idea IS incolnprehensihlc to my mind
because I cannot conceive how it is posi-
BE TO have two different legal and author
itative measures OF the same thing In use
at the same timers, for instance, a pOund
weighing l6 ounces and a pound weighing
5 ounces, or only half rs much, and both
declared by law to be illegal pounds. ! agree
entirely with General Jacbson's secretary
of the treasury, who said, 1.-The PROPOSE
tion that there can be but one standard, in
fact, is self evident - The proposition TO
establish and maintain two different meas
uges of value to be in use at tho same time,
and 10 be applied to the same things at the
same time. eInbodies Z physical and meta
physical ~absurdity. and this is so evident
that the ablest thinkers and writers upon
the subject have been at last forced to aban-
don it.
Values viii always he measured by the
kind of money in actual circulation, 10
matter what the law may declare. and
therefore if the free and unlimited coinage
of silver ut the ratioof 1910 l should drive
ont gold and substitute silver and paper
redeemablo N silver in its place we
should have a single silver standard and
actual silver ;aonometailisln Instead Cf
using both gold and silver, rs we do now,
in larger amounts than ever before iI orr
history, we should instantly czrcl The
more valuable metal from the country all
make tie other the sole basis of Cur cur
reucy We have row practical timcsallism
the use al both metals az money. We
should have then practical I~CuoMctGllism
the use q only ono metal Is money.
This Is Neither speculation nor prophecy.
bet acnnclusion based on facts established
BIZ the experience of al nations IL al ages.
In order to eliminate all Irrelevant mat
ter and simplify the argument, allow me
10 state exactly what the proposition now
pending before thcpcoplo Is: tits proposed
that the United States. without the co on
Grafton or assistance cf any other govern
mcnt, shall provide by law ulatal thcsilgcr
bullion, Or foreign silver coins, That may lie
presented az the minis By Individuals or
corporations, foreign or domestic. shall he
coined, ct the public expense, into silver
dollars, oJ the ratio If IS TO l with gold
that is, that Is pounds q silver shall he
considered equal in valCe TO IL pound "
gold. and Tie weights Ct the Coins shall Toe
adjusted aecocdiuGir-cnd that the coins
So made % The public expense sh;li he de-
Fr-.--n ~-aH. tHr FAass.s. g- go
oign silver coins, as the case may be, and
ail tic PEOPLE 81 the United States, but no.
bodv elsc. shall be compelled hy law TO re-
ccivc them as dollars of fun value, in the
payment OF debts due To them from their
own fellow citizens and from tie citizens
G. subjects OF ether countries. It j. not
proposed that the citizens or subjects Of
OJhcr countries. with whom cur people
trade. shall be compelled to receive these
silver dolla in their transactions with
rs. because nj can be lone only 10y inter
national agreement, and our impatient
free coinage friends declare their dctermi-
nation to proceed At once independently Of
al other governments. All who are in
Geblcd ia US are, therefore, to have the
privilege OF paying in silver. while all to
whom We snail become indebted are 20
have the privileges Of requiring Us TO pay
i COLA
Re!ative Values o. Gold and Silver.
Measured bg their purchasing power in
the markets Of the world. which : the only
real test, the relative value OF silver bull
lion to gold bullion IS about 81 to THAT
Is, it requires in all countries, silver stand
ard countries rs well as gold standard
countries. about 81 pounds Of silver bull
Lon 10 procure the same quantity Of com
modities that one pound of gold 5uliion
Will procure. and therefore the proposition
to authorize the free ard unlimited coin
age Of silver into full legal tender money
at the ratio Of is to l means, under exist
ing conditions, that the intrinsic value Of
the silver dollar shall only be half, or about
half. the intrinsic y%aiue.of the gold dollar.
Ny own opinion Is that, after we had paas-
ed 4 certain limit, the more silver dollars
We coined the less they would be worth.
because tho imitation itself would still fur
Their diminish their purchasing power.
Such legislation by tho United States alone
would not reduce the value of the gold dol
lar to any extent whatever, because. rs al
ready stated, the value Of that metal in
commercial transactions all over the world
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