The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-12-28
FOR SOUND MONEY.
cLEVEtAND'S STRONG ARGUMENT
FOR 100 CENT DOLLARS.

Each Other In Yalue-Attempt at Free
Coinage Now Would Result In Silve,
Moaonetallism and In Great Finarcia
Distress.
President Cleveland, in his message
to congress, reviews at considerable
length the history of our greenbacks
tie great need Of retiring them and tbs
urgent need of changes in cur bankin.
and currency laws to give rs a suffi
Gent, safe and elastic currency. His
recommendations agree substantially
not only with those of Secretary Carlisle
and Comptroller Eckles, but with those
Of many eminent authorities Gil this
subject. They should be. and we hopa
have been, read by all coed and patri.
otto citizens. We, however, propose now
to call renewed attention to his excel
lent discussion Of the free coinage CUES
ton. 1t is one Of the most convincing
arguments ever made against cheap sill
yer dollars. We reproduce below the
greater part Of this discussion:
While 7 have endeavored to make 4
plain statement Of the disordered condi-
ton Of our currency and the present
dangers menacing u prosperity, and
to suggest Il way which leads TO a safer
financial system, 1 have constantly had
in mind the fact that many Of my coun-
trymen, whose sincerity 1 do not doubt,
insist that the cure fer the ills row
threatening us may be found in the sin
gle and simple remedy Of the free coin
age of silver.
We're there infinitely stronger reasons
than can be adduced for hoping that
such action would secure for US Il BIZ
metallic currency moving on lines of
parity, an experiment so novel and haz-
ardous as that proposed might well stag
ger those who believe that stability is
an imperative condition Of sound money.
No government. no human contri-
vance or act of legislation, has yer been
able to hold the two metals together in
free coinage at a ratio appreciably diff
ferent from that which is established in
the markets of the world.
4HOso WIN DCltONC lIldb IA 1IlNt pChh
ent free coinage of silver at al artiti-
cial ratio with gold Of 16 to l would re-
store the parity between the metals, and
consequently between the coins, oppose
an unsupported and improbable theory
to the general belief and practice OF
other nations, and to the teaching of the
wiseSt statesmen and economists CT the
world, both in the past and present,
and, what is far more conclusive, they
run counter to our own actual expert
ences.
Twice il our earlier history U law
makers in attempting to establish a BIZ
metallic currency undertook free coin
age upon = ratio which accidentally va
ried from the actual relative values Of
the two metals not more than ) per
cent. In both cases, Notwithstanding
greater difficulties and cost of transpOr-
tation than now exist. the coins, whose
intrinsic worth was undervalued i'll the
ratio, gradually and surely disappeared
from our circulation and went to other
countries where their real value was
better recognized.
Acts of congress were impotent to
create equality where natural causes de-
creed even a slight inequality.
Twice i'll our recent history we have
signally failed to raise by legislation
the value of silver. Under an act Of con
gress passed i'll 1878 the government
was required fer more than Il years TO
expend annually at least $24. 000, 900 i'll
the purchase of silver bullion for coin
age. The act of July II, 1890, i'll q still
holder effort increased the amount Of
silver the government was compelled to
purchase, and forced it to become the
buyer annually of 81, ZOO, 600 ounces, or
practically the entire product of u
mines. Under both laws silver rapidly
and steadily declined in value. The
prophecy and the expressed hope and ex-
pectation of those i'll the congress who
led i'll the passage of the last mentioned
act, that it would re-establish and main
tain the former parity between the two
metals, are still fresh in our memory.
In the light of these experiences,
which accord with the experiences of
other nations, there is certainly no Sc
cure ground Cor the belief hat an act of
congress could now bridge an inequality
of 80 per cent between gold and silver
at our present ratio, nor is there the
least possibility that III country, which
has less than O~ne-seventh of the silver
money in the world, could by its action
alone raise not only our OWL but all sill
yer to its lost ratio with gold. Our at
tempt tt accomplish this by the free
coinage of silver at a ratio differing
widely from actual relative values
would be the signal for the complete de-
parture of gold from u circulation, the
Immediate and large contraction of our
circulating medium, and a shrinkage i'll
the real valne and monetary efficiency
of all other forms of currency as they
settled to the level of silver monOmetal-
ism. Every one who receives a fixed
salary and every worker for wages would
find the dollar in his hand ruthlessly
scaled down to the point Of bitter disap-
pointment if not TO pinching %privation.
A change III our standard 10 silver
recommendation would also bring on 4
collapse Of the entire system of credit
which, when based on a standard which
is recognized and adopted by the world
of business, is many times more potent
and useful than the entire volume of
currency ard is safely capable of almost
indefinite expansion to meet the growth