The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-04
He Says the Belief in BimetalIism is
England should Consider 1t.
UNSAVORY LONDON SCANDAL
MARQUIS OF QUEENsBERRY ON TRI-
AL FOR LIBELING OSCAR WILDE.
Writer of Questionable Fiction ON
the Witness stand All Day.

LONDON, April 3.-The annual meeting
of the Bimetallic League was held to-day
at the Mansion House. the official residence
Of the Lord Mayor Of London. Sir Joseph
Dimsdale presided. Among those prese mt
were Lord George Hamilton, the Duke of
Fife, and Sir Donald H. MacFarlane and Mr..
Charles E. H. Vincent, members of the
House of Commons
The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, Conservative
leader of the House of Commons, made
strong speech>in favor of the double stand
ard. He said that the belief in bimetal-
lism was growing. not only in London and
elsewhere in Great Britain, but throughout
the civilized wirld. One great change was
noticeable. 1t was seldom now asserted
bimetallism was intrinsically impossible
Formerly bimetallist was regarded as
dangerous faddist. Economists who placed
value on the lessons of experience had be-
fore them the irrefutable fact that while
the Latin nations maintained the bimetallic
system the par of exchange of gold and
silver was preserved for the whole world
despite wars, industrial revolutions and dis
coveries of the precious metals. Some per-
sons admitted that monometallism in a
large portion of the world had deprecated
prices and put bound on imports. Thus.
for instance, Great Britain brought from
India and other countries wheat at a price
below its legitimate value, and these per
sons declared that this was an advantage
to the consumers, and therefore benefited
the mass of the community. Mr. Balfour
declared, however, that he was convinced
that nobody in the city was so foolish as
TO suppose that the interests of Great Brit
ain were benefited generally by an unlimited
ran IN prices nor that any large body of
city men was so INSCRIPTIONS IS to desire
that the debts owed them by foreign ma
lions should be artifcially augmented by a
change in the value of the currency in
which they were paid (CheersD
Another argument, Mr.. BaIfour said was
that the banking supremacy of london
would be threatened by currency change.
but no nc nometallist was. ever able to ex-
plain hcw. He contended that London. as
the financial center of the world. would
sain rather than lose by anything placing
the currency of the world on a sounder
De SIS. The, third argument was very abb
surd; This was that change would de,
preciate gold and therefore persons hav.
ing deposits in banks payable In gold would
withdraw them instantly rhe ci.ange
threatened thus to carse such commercial
Crisis as the world had never seen. This ar
gument was supported by Mr.. Gladstone
and Sir William Vernon Harcourt. Though
a panic was probably unreasonable, there
the people would do anything So inor.
dinately silly as to withdraw their de-
posts because the. world currency was
except in particular International rransacs
tons they have never, discovered, ana
which. except for its slow effect on the
great movements of commerce, would have
no effect on private individual convenience.
i. The fourth and strongest arg msnt was
lists asked was it well enough People
talked of the excellence of the British
system. but they find in although the gold
silver is the currency of Hong Kong and
the Straits settlements while in India debts
are paid in something which is neither sill
yer nor gold, but the strangest product OF
monometallic ingenuity he world has ever
seen and as arbitrary as any forced paper
currency and as expensive any metallic,
currency the world has ever heard Of.
standard varying according to the arbitrary
triple system was manifestly ridiculous.
Sorre alterati IN of this system was lmpera>
lively required. If Britons turned to the
world at large they would find the case
To consider home interests alone in franz
ing a currency while Great Britain 'ss con-
,ected with foreign countries by every
commercial tie, was a violation OF the com
mon sense of every practical business
very bread on foreign nations, and if It
were cut off could rot live day ana would
have ruin staring il IN the face. = Was Was the
speeding the currency medium. he die no.
believe that the common sense of the ma
things and in view of what was proceed
ing in America, Germany ana france, ana
even in Great Britain, ne was convlh h;s,a
to end the reproach of our civilization.
The rnee ting adopted a report of progress.
The league has fscided TO 20 ra eset I'd tie the
nrora CATION of the bimetalhc movement
Fifty thousand pounds mas ALREADY peeii
privately subscribed