The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-04

ldu III HnlIlu the IdCl that many Ol iAy
 countrymen, whose sincerity l do not
 doubt, insist that the cure for the ills
 now threatening us may be found m
 the single and simple remedy of the
 free coinage of silver. They cdntend
 that our hints shall be at once thrown
 open to the free, unlimited, and inde-
 pendent coinage of both gold and silver
 dollars of full legal tender quality re-
 gardless of the action of any other gov
 ernment and in full view of the fact
 that the ratio between the metals which
 they suggest calls for one hundred cents
 worth of gold in the gold dollar at the
 present standard. and only fifty cents
 in intrinsic worth of silver in the sil-
 yer dollar. Were there infinitely strong
 CT reasons than can be adduced for hop
 ing that such action would secure for
 us a bimetallic currency moving on lines
 of parity an experiment so novel and
 hazardous as that proposed might we'll
 stagger those who believe that stabili-
 ty is an imperative condition of sound
 money. No government, no human
 contrivance or act of legislation, has
 ever been able to hold the two metals
 together in free coinage at ratio ap-
 preciably different from that which is
 established In the markets of the world. Those who believe that our independent free coinage of silver at an artificial
 ratio with gold of 16 to would restore the parity between the metals, and con- ; sequently 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 of the world, both in the past and present, and, what is far more conclusive, they
 run counter to our own actual experi-
 ences.
 Twice in our earlier history our law makers in attempting to establish bi-
 metallic currency undertook free coin age upon ratio which accidentally varied from the actual relative values of the two metals not more than three per cent In both cases, notwithstand , ing greater difficulties and cost of transportation than now exists, the : coins whose intrinsic worth was under valued in the ratio gradually and sure ly disappeared from our circulation and went to other countries where their real : value was better recognized. Acts of } congress were impotent to create equal
 ity where natural causes decreed even a slight inequality. Twice in our re- cent history we have signally failed to
 raise by legislation the value of silver Under an act of congress passed In 1873 the government was required for more than twelve years to expend annually , at least 24,O00, 900 in the purchase of sil- :, h, J{Ax. eA,~ vln A+ %F July 14, 1S90 in still bolder effort in creased the amount of silver the gov ernment was compelled to purchase, and forced 1t to become the buyer an- nually of 54,0o0000 ounces or practical } ly the entire product of our mines. Un- der both laws silver rapidly and stead . fly declined in value. The prophecy and the expressed hope and expectation
 of those in the congress who led in the
 passage of the last mentioned act, that f it would reestablish and maintain the , former parity between the two metals, 7 are still fresh in our memory.
 In the light of these experiences, } which accord with the experiences of ' other nations, there is certainly no se- : secure ground for the belief that an act l of congress could now bridge an in 2 equality of fifty per cent. between gold and silver at our present ratio nor is there the least possibility that our country, which has less than one-sev- enth of the silver money in the world, could by it's action alone raise not only l our own but all silver to it's lost ratio [ with gold. Our attempt to accomplish } this by the free coinage of silver at a ratio differing widely from actual rela- . tive values would be the signal for the 5 complete departure of gold from our : circulation, the immediate and large ' contraction of our circulating medium, and shrinkage in the real value and monetary efficiency of all other forms of currency as they settled to the level . of silver monometallism. Every one ! who receives a fixed salary and every worker for wages would find the dollar in his hand ruth1essly scaled down to = the point of bitter disappointment if : not to pinching privation.
 A change in our standard to silver monometallism would also bring on a f collapse of the entire system of credit I which, when based on 8 standard which q is recognized and adopted by the world & of business, is many times more potent f and useful than the entire volume of S currency and is safely capable of al- v most indefinite expansion to meet the e growth of trade and enterprise. In a : self-invited struggle through darkness = and uncertainty our humiliation would = be increased by the consciousness that f we had parted company with all the en- f frightened and progressive nations of . the world and were desperately and y hopelessly striving to meet the stress of q modern commerce and competition with r a debased and unsuitable currency and e in association with the few weak and e laggard nations which have silver alone = as their standard of value.
 All history warns us against rash ex-
 periments which threaten violent chang. r. es in our monetary standard and the r. degradation of our currency. The past # is full of lessons teaching not only the @ economic dangers, but the national i'm. L. morality that follows in the train oi n such experiments. I will not believe l. that the American people can be per. n suaded after sober deliberation to jeop. IS ardize their nations prestige and proud e standing by encouraging financial nos "a trI1rns n0r that theyr will viA16 tr fhe