The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-09-14
THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE ON
JUDGE HUGHES,


We take from the New York Journal
Of Commerce the following article upon
Judge Robert W. Hughes recent letter
or the free coinage of silver. Though
the Journal of Commerce pretonds to fear
1t might incur the penalties of "con-
tempt of court" if it expressed itself free
" in regard to the lotterit has made some
very telling points. The suggestion that
it would have been well for the recent
Medicc-Legal Congress to have discussed
the question Ct how FAR a man can be
thorCu ghly irrational in a single diroc-
ton without impairing his nationality In
all directions, sCes a long way TO prov
ing that the best thought Of the world
is rapidly settling down TO the conclu-
sion that a man who can believe In Two
varying stardards of value is IN mea-
sure q nan of unbalanced mind. We DO
not say that this is SO. but it is Just as
incomprehonsible to us as the statement
that there can be two yard sticks. one
Of which is thirty inches and the otner
thirty-six inches long. The Journal of
Commences article is as follows:
Judge Huges, of tho Federal Judiciary,
has written TO the Richmond Dispatch
that he does not believe in awaiting the
cooperation of Europe on the SILVER
question. Congress is an international
conference Of 10 nations whose co-opeia-
ton is all that We need; the only ser
vice of q conference with Europe would
be TO help the benighted countries OF
the old World TO get out of a hole from
which we can lift ourselves easily. ii
is q mere waste of time in the opinion OF
the learned Judge to talk about the "a
ito Of silver TO gold; that Is estaonsh-
co already by nature. Give the two met
ais the equal privilege of the mints ana
the ratio takes care of itself. What the
law OF nature is he does not tell us as ne
is an American We suppose he tmnks IL
is l6 TO /. but in Europe he says that
will have been practically determined
beforehand at Is y to l. II would dis
credit the whole work of tie confer
encc and entail failure upon II at the
very threshold TO subvert the established
and. for Europe the only conservative
ratio" TO give the two metals the
equal privilege Of the mints' is OF course
10 coin the same number Of dollars from
q pound of silver or a pound OF gold'
anything else than this IS a discrimina-
ton against one metal or the other. The
really serious task of an international
conference, says Judge Hughes. would
be to agree on an international coin.
That one pound should exactly equal
twenty marks. or twenty-five francs, or
that some universal coin should be pro-
vided. seems TO the Judge Of the utmost
importance, but so difficult that It's
achievement is improbable; but If Eu-
ropean conference should fail to pro-
vide one our American coins may be-
come by tacit acceptance the convention
al currency of the European popuia-
lions" As 10 the thing that every body
is talking about the Judge says: Al
though the ratio is really not matter
In controversy, is a thing settled almost
as definitely as the specific gravity OF
water vet II has become a momentous
theme with the class politicians and pig
my partisans of the American husungs
The Disratch says truly that there
is nothing in the Judges letter which
calls for extended comment Consider
ing the very broad construction given by
some Judges TO the phrase contempt OF
court" il would probably be best not 10
make even the brief comment that this
letter suggests But we would have liked
the Medico-Legal Congress that was
lately I'm session TO discuss the question
of the degree 70 which a man can nc
thoroughly irrational in single direc-
ton without impairng his nationality in
all directions
AS the Dispatch says, the Judge is
bimetalist "sui generis." We have
seen many varieties OF bmetallists. but
none that the Judge could be classed
with. The Dispatch says II Is sur
prised to find him INDUCING In the hope
that the monetary system which exist
ed In this country UP to 1873 can be re-