Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1895-12-03

10 pei CeuI ulIefonC0 IN coming
ratio, but the expense of ship
ment and loss by abrasion.
amounting to perhaps as much
more. AS the silver coin of
Europe is already worth $1.32 an
ounce right where it is, if we
coin at 81 20 we will be effectually
guarded against s'food' from
that quarter.
Third.-There are three gen.
eral classes of silver in the world.
First. that in the form of iewelry,
and wares o. various kinds;
second, that which is in use as
money; and third. the annual
product OF the mines.
The first class really cuts no
figure in the question of ratio, be-
cause it is worth more in it's pre-
sent form thanit would be as coin.
Ihe second class comprises about
"a, 900, 100000 in money. This
has been coined at ratios ranging
from IA to 164 to /. Roug hly
speaking, it may be said that the
average coming rate is about 151
to1. 4
The amount of gold coin is
about So, 900, 100000, so that the
ratio Of Is to l very nearly agrees
with the aggregates Of the two
metals in the form Of coin.
Lastly, comes the annual pro-
duct of the mines. The relative
production of che two metals has
always fluctuated greatly. In
the early part of the century it
was by value, more than 3 of sill
yer to | Of gold. = Between 1850
and 1865 the proportions we're
completely Ereversed' Oand the
gold product was more than 3
times as great as the silver.
Still the fluctuations in relative
value were very slight. During
the whole 20 years that the
French mint remained open the
ratio of the bullion never fell to
Is, and never as high as Is. while
the coins maintained a parity in
their purchasing and debt-pay-
ing power at all times.
From this it will be seen that
while bi-metallic coinage is in
operation throughout a large and
important country, variations in
the annual production are COM
paratively trivial in their effects
upon the relative value of the
two metals.
This is because the annual pro-
duct is SO small, by comparison
with the accumulated stock Of
coin. At the present rate of
production it would take twenty
tive or thirty years for the out
put OF the mines TO equal the mass
of coined silver, and the same is
true of gold. Three hundred
million of dollars coming from
the mines in a year seems like a
large sum, and standing by itself
it is. But when one-fourth or
one third is used in the arts, the
remainder thrown into an agre-
gate mass of eight thousand
millions has but little effect upon
the general level. It is like
throwing cup water into a buck
ct nearly full.
Therefore it is this enormous
body of coin, the accumulation of
ages, to which we should look, in de-
termining the ratio to be adopted up
on the resumption of bimetallic coin.
age in the United States. This, as
shown, represents very nearly the pro-
portions of Ii to l.
If we should adopt the ratio of say
to l, it would be giving to silver a
value of about So. SO an ounce at our
mint. Gold would be worth twice as
much in European as in American
coinage. Consequently none of il
would be coined in this country and
that already in the form of coin would
be exported. AS result, there would
be nothing but silver used here, and
this would be coined at a rate entirely
out of harmony with the coinage o.
any other country.
Besides, the ratio of to l would be
a grave wrong to the creditor class
| The bi-metallist has no desire tc
cut the dollar of 1873 in two, and make
the creditor take half of it for dollar
He merely wishes to restore the dollar
as it actually was, thus depriving the
creditor class of an unrighteous ad
vantage, and giving the debtor al
equal chance.
On the other hand, it would be boil
unwise and unjust to raise the ratio tt
~, ~ or 30. In the first place, to in
crease the weight of the dollar would
reduce the number of dollars, ant
thus raise the value of each one tina
was coined, increasing the burden o
debtors.
| Next, it would throw our coinag'
out of accord with the money of othe
nations just as completely as would tn
ratio of s to l, or any other low ratio
For us to put %, so, Is or 100 per cen
more silver into our coin thai
does any other nation. would be abou
as sensible as the Chinaman's ex
pedient of hanging a stone at the en-
Of his pole to balance the load of tn
other.
Taken all in all, the ratio of 16 to
comes about as near meeting the re
quirements of the situation in all it
phases as any that<can be suggasted