Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-10-04
HE TALKS OF PARITY.
A WIDE DIFFERENCE or OPINION
ON THE PARAMOUNT CUES
TIoN BEFORE THE NATION.
Judge Reagan stands Firm for Ills
Convictions In Favor of
the white Metal.

Austin, Tex, oct. 2. 1857. NJ.
Mason, Washington, ID. C.: My Dear
sir-on my return from my summer
outing I find your letter OF August 20
inclosing your printed article headed
'Bi-Metallism." I regret to see that
we are so far apart on the question OF
silver coinage that 1t would seem use
less for me to write. But my conf
dence in your integrity of purpose. and
my respect for you. will be my excuse
for brief answer to your letter.
You fear that the free coinage of
silver at the ratio OF 16 of silver to
of gold would reduce us to a single sill
yer standard. It did not do so before
the passage of the act of 1873 demone-
tizlng silver You also say that Wall
street insists that there is no way Of
maintaining the parity" 1 suppose II
the sentence were finished you would
add "between gold and silver"
When silver had an equal chance
with gold. before 1873. there was no
trouble about maintaining the parity
between the two coins OF the Two
metals. Your reference TO Wall street
must be taken to mean the friends of
the single gold standard. interested as
they are In using the powers of gov
eminent to give increased value to Sc
curities for money, and increased value
to their money, by reducing the Nol-
ume of standard money, and by max
ing money scarce and dear, while by
their policy they make property and
labor cheap. Such men of course, blind
ed by selfish interest. cannot see how
the parity between gold and silver
can be preserved under laws and a pol
icy equally friendly to both.
II j understand your position. II Is
that the difficulty can be solved by
coming the two metals at their COM
mercial value. Under this plan you
would make one ounce OF gold equal 81
or 32 ounces of silver. Suppose the
price of silver bullion should decrease
| or Increase how would You meet the
change in It's value2 Would you change
the ratio with every change of value?
| II so We would have a strange and In
| convenient. not to say absurd, none
tary system. If you should not change
| the ratio with changes OF value. you
/ would fall into, the same trouble you
| propose. by your plan. TO remedy. and
1 besides this. n we should adopt the
| plan you suggest, while the ratio In
! Europe IS about Is l-2 to l, would we
not 30 undervalue silver as to drive
! all the silver out of the country and
/ be forced TO gold or paper cur
/ rency?
II you will pardon rue. the vice In
/ your theory on this question Is that
/ you accept the theory OF the gold
/ standard people that we must forget
] the past with its wrongs; that we
] must forget the passage of the act
! Of 1873; that We must forget the
| hostile legislation against silver; that
/ we must forget the hostility OF the
banks towards silver, based in the
selfish desire TO get the profits ON the
bank paper which they might issue Il
/ circulate as It's substitute: that we
must forget the billions OF Indebted
ness of. governments, municipalities
corporations. etc, created while gold
and silver as standard money meas.
ured values. which debts are still sub
slstlng; that We must forget that II