Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1895-08-20
Honest BimetaIIisn.

is about Il, 500 pounds of gold, and
q 500 900 pounds of silver. This
cold Yields S35, 900, 900; this silver,
at sixteen to one, would yield SlO,-
600, 900. This silver, if coined at
to one, would yield $780,
600, 900.
The fatal objection to the sixteen
to one theory is that if the silver
output exc eeds sixteen times the
gold output, then there will be more
Silver dollars than gold dollars, and
exchaDgeability could not be main
NAMED.
(The writer is well aware of the
objections to the following proposal,
but claims that it is less objection
able than adjusting property to al
gold Standard without adjusting
debts to the same standard.
1t will meet the situation to fix the
ratio by dividing the number of
pounds of silver, received at the
mint during each 365 days, by the
number of pounds of gold received
during the same period. The sug-
gestion is to coin the supply of sill
ver'into as many dollars as the supply
of gold. The mint shall receive sill
yer any day in the year, but not coin
it for twelve months: then coin it at
the ratio fixed by the proportion of
the two metals received during the
year. For example, the silver de-
livered on August goth, 1895, will.
after twelve months, be coined at
the ratio fixed by the relative a.
mounts which have been received dur
ing the year ending August goth.
1896; the silver delivered August
.21, 1895, will be coined at the ratio
fixed by the amounts received during
the year ending August 21st, 1896.
There will be margin of only one
day between the ratios of each days
delivery. If some silver is delivered
every day there will be 365 different
ratios which will vary so little that
an average may be made and the
difference, above or below it, settled
liz subsidiary coin. This average
would soon adjust itself to the rela-
tive output of the mines. 1t would
adjust itself, because the silver mines
will be less active when the ratio is
high than when it is low
As the government would Of
fer to coin all of the silver that came,
but at ratio fixed by the output of
gold, the profit of silver mining would
depend on the amount of gold pro-
duced. If the production of silver
outstripped gold. the silver dollar
would be larger.
The gold mines add about $685.
600, 900 annually to the volume of
our redemption money. I" If this
automatic ratio be adopted, silver
mines will add another $50, 900, 900.
The quantity of, our redemption
money will then increase as the an
nual outputs of both silver and gold
mines are added to the supply of
precious metals. But the gold mon
omet allists do not propose to coin any
more silver; they propose to limit
the increase of redemption money to
the gold output only.
To decrease the volume of redemp-
ton money is to increase the pur-
chasing power of stdollar."
The phrase IS redemption money"
must not be COMPOUNDED with the
word "exchangeability." Prior to
1875 both metals were redemption
money, viz: all credits were payable
in either silver or gold. If we had,
never had any paper money, the
phrase redemption money" would
never have been heard of. " Ex-
changeabiIity' means that the gov
eminent will always be ready to ex-
change one sort of dollar for the
other sort. Exchangeable dollars
are of equal value.
The automatic ratio, here proposed,
if adopted, will undoubtedly coin all
of both metals, and keep the bullion
value of the silver dollar equal to the
gold dollar. As there will always be
a gold dollar to offset every silver
dollar, the government may main
tain exchangeability and yet under
take to coin an unlimited amount of
both metals.
1t is objected that it is costly to
promptly coin dollars varying slight
Iy in size. Reply. A paper certifi-
cate can be issued, exchangeable for
a dollar of the sixe fixed by the ratio
at it's date: or, the capacity of the
mint may be increased. Where
there is will, there is way.
1t will he objected that gold will
leave US to pay interest on foreign
held bonds. Reply. 1t will leave as
quickly without bimeltaliism as with
it. The gold monometallists do not
attempt to explain how or why hoy
cotting silver will check the outflow
of gold. 1t has not checked it
Belmont sale of government bonds.
supplemented by Morgan's sale of
railroad securities, created tempo
rary balance in our favor, but it is
temporary only. Our foreign debt
was increased 500, 100000 without
our ability to pay. Not
a penny of this money was used to
make one blade of grass grow where
none grew before. 1t makes sensi-
BILE men sea-sick to hear the prattle
about gold leaving because bimetal-
lism is eatened. No scheme of f.
nance will keep gold home so long
as we owe more interest than is paid
by the excess of our exports over