Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-07-19
THE SILVER QUESTION.
SPEECH OF MR.. EDMUNOs AT PHILAoEl
PHIA REVIEWED.

PHlA REVIEWED.
CONTINUED from last week.
Mr.. Edmunds also refers to the disap-
pearance of the American dollar.
1t is well established law in the econ
omy of money, that poorer money tends
to drive out better money. This princi-
pie was recognized by Greek writers
many centuries ago, and later was OBJ
served by Gresham, master of the Eng
lish mint, from which it derived the name
of Gresham's law.
The article on money" in the British
Encyclopedia, before quoted, says:
"There exists in all mercantile communl-
tets class of dealers in money, who make
profit by selecting the best coins for eX-
portation, or if two metals are in concur
rent use, the coins of that metal which is
undervalued in the proportion fixed. The
mode in which self-interest thus operates
produces an effect which may be briefly
formulated by saying bad NANCY driceS
ont good money. 1t is now often called
'Gresham's Law from a former master
of the English mint, who observed it.
The Illustrations of its working are nu-
merous. Under its action the gold which
was overvalued relative to silver in Eng
land in 1896, became the main English
coinage, as above stated. And in order
to meet the want of silver coins Sir |.
Newton advocated and secured the reduc-
ton Of the guinea from 2ls., Cd. to 2ls.
The expectation of metallic money when
an over.issue of inconvertible paper
money takes place is another case of the
theorem."
In l7Sj a ratio between gold and silver
of to l54 was established by France and
again rc-enacted in 1903. In 1892 the
United States made the ratio ! to 10
This value moderated gold. In 1884 the
ratio was altered to ! to l6. This over
rated gold and consequently silver wa:
driven out of circulation. Mr.. Edmunds
saws it went Unto solid silver for use il
the arts" 1t may have done this or II
may have been reconed in France OF
elsewhere.
Mr.. Edmunds says it left as metal. |
certainly did not leave as paper, but the
ultimate cause of its leaving was the diff
/ ference of ratios established III Europe
/ and the United States. If the UniteC
States in changing the ratio in 1884 haC
made it correspond with the European ra
ito. there could have been no trouble from
the silver leaving. Why they did not i
Is impossible to say. 1t appears to have
been a case of ineXplainable stupidity
On this matter of money thus leaving
Sir Isaac Newton in his Third Representa-
ton on money said:
The demand for expectation arise
from the higher price of silver in Othe
places than England in proportion t
gold,-and may therefore be diminished
by lowering the value of gold in proper
ton to silver. If gold in England, or sill
yer in East India, could be brought dow
so low as to bear the same proportion Il
one another in both places, there woul'
be no greater demand for silver than 70
gold to be exported to India. And If goll
were lowered only so as 10 have the sam
proportion to the silver money i'm Eng
land which it has to silver in the rest O
Europe, there would be no tcHptdttOH 3
crDort S7rer rather th0H god TO any Othe
part Of Europe"
This leads up to the subject of interna
tiOnal bimetallism. For it is eyiden
that il different countries use both gol
and silver as money, and establish be
tween them different ratios, there will b
some disturbance of value caused. Tn
Gresham law will operate and the under
valued metal of any country will tend
migrate to where it is valued higher. W
do not know ,that there is any very ser
Gus evil arising from this, but
would undoubtedly better be avoided
The Article on money" in the Brl
ish Encyclopedia, before quoted, says
"The various European monarchit
had silver as their principal money, gol
where it was used being, as in Greece,
commercial money. The advance of gol
to a position parallel to silver was con
menced in the 18th and continued in Il
nth century, the method of regulatin
the mixed gold and silver currencies b'
ing by proclamation, which fixed Il
varying ratios from time to time.
England this course was followed frol
the first introduction of gold coin (l25i
to 1868.
p "From 1868 to III silver was the stan'
ard, and the gold coins passed at the
t market value. As the silver coins wei
! very much debased, the gold guinea WI
, deemed equivalent to 30s. After the r
coinage of 1896 the guinea passed at 81
! Cd. At this ratio silver was underrateI
J and was accordingly exported to Cont
= mental Europe and to India. The loss
{ the silver coins aroused the public atte
, ton, and the matter was submitted
Sir Isaac Newton, whose answer WI
| given in his Ibid Representation. l
= proposed to reduce the guinea from q
Cd. to 2ls., as an experimental measur
) The DrODer reduction for the object