The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1895-12-07

far more conclusive, they run counter 10
our own actual experience.
HE QUOTES HISTORY.
Twice in our earlier history our law
makers, in attempting to establish a BIZ
metallic currency, undertook free coinage
upon ratio which accidentally varied
from the actual relative values OF the
two metals not more than per cent. In
both cases, Notwithstanding greater dill
culties and cost of transportation than
now exists the coins whose intrinsic
worth were undervalued in the ratio,
gradually and surely disappeared from
our circulation and went to other coun-
tries where their real value was better
recognized Acts of congress were i'm
potent to create equality where natural
causes decreed even a slight inequality.
Twice in our recent history we nave
signally failed to raise by legislation the
value of silver Under an act OF congress
passed in 1873 the government was requlr-
ed for more than z years to eXpend an
nualIy at least S24,OO0,OOO in the purchase
of silver bullion for coinage.
The act of July IA, 1890. in still holder
effort, increased the amount of silver.
The government was compelled to pur-
chase and forced to become the buyer
annually of 540OO,OOO ounces, or practically
the entire product of our mines. Under
clned in value. The prophecy and the eX-
pressed hope and expectation of those
in congress who led in the passage OF the
last mentioned act, that it would re-es-
tablsh and maintain the former parity
between the two metals, are still fresh in
our memories.
In the light of these experiences which
accord with the experiences of other ma
tons there is certainly no secure ground
for the belief that an act of congress
could now bridge an inequality of 90 per
cent between gold and silver at our pres
ent ratio, nor is there the least POSSIBLE
ity that our country, which has less than
one-seventh of the silver money in the
world could by its action alone raise not
only our own, but all silver to its lost
ratio with gold. Our attempt to accom-
Dlish this by the free coinage Of silver al
a ratio differing widely from actual rela-
tive values would be the signal for the
complete departure of gold from our
circulation, the immediate and large di-
minution of our circulating medium, and
a shrinkage in the real value and none
tary efficiency of all other offers of cur
rency 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 ruth
| lessly scaled down to the point of bitter
| disappointment if not to pinching priva-
| ton. A cnan2e III our SldDQdlu " SilFCi
monometallism would also bring on col
LAPSE of the entire system of credit which,
when based on standard which is rec
ognized and adopted by the world of
business, is many times more potent and
useful than the entire volume of curren-
| cy and is safely capable of almost lndef-
| mite expansion to meet the growth of
trade and enterprise.
In a self-invited struggle through dark
nd
would be increased by the consciousness
that we had parted company with all
| the enlightened and progressive nations
| of the world and were desperately and
| hopelessly striving to meet the stress of
modern commerce and competition with
a debased and unsuitable currency and
| in association with the few weak and
laggard nations which have silver alone
as their standard of value.
DARK DAYS PROPHESIED.
All history warns us against rash eX-
periments which threaten violent changes
| in our monetary standard and the deg
| relation of our currency. The past is
| full of lessons teaching not only the
economic dangers, but the national i'm
morality that follows in the train of such
experiments. 1 Yill not believe that the
American people Fan be persuaded after
sober elaboration to jeOpardize their ma
| TONS prestige and proud standing by en-
| couraging financial nostrums nor that
they will yield to the false allurements
of cheap money when they realize that
il must result in the weakening of that
financial integrity and rectitude which
! thus far in our history has been so de-
votedly cherishH as one of the traits
| of true Americanism.
Our country's Indebtedness, whether ow-
ing by the government or existing be-
tween individuals, has been contracted
/ fn ont cfa 10 r-H
| To decree by act of congress that these
debts shall be payable in less valuable
/ dollars than those within the contempla-
| ton and intention of the parties when
| contracted would operate to transfer by
| the fiat of law and without compensation
an amount of property and a volume Of
rights and interests almost incalculable.
| Those who advocate a blind and head
| long plunge to free coinage in the name
| of bimetallism and processing the belief
| contrary to all experience that we could
| thus establish a double standard and a
| concurrent circulation of both metals in
| our coinage are certainly reckoning from
a cloudy standpoint. Our present stand
ard of value is the standard of the civil
lied world and permits the only bimetal-
| hsm now possible or least that is within
the independent reach of any single ma
| ton. however powerful that nation may
| be- While the value of gold as standard
| is steadied by almost universal CONNER
| cial and business uses it does not despise
silver or seek its Punishment. Wherever
this standard is maintained there is at its
side in free and unquestioned circulation
a volume of silver currency sometimes
| eoualling and sometimes even exceeding
il in amount, both maintained at parity,
| Notwithstanding a depreciation or fiuctua-
ton in the intrinsic value of silver
There is a vast difference between a
| standard of value and a currency for
| monetary use. The standard must nee
essarily be fixed and certain. The cur
| rency may be in diverse forms and of var
ious kinds. No silver standard country
| has a gold currency in circulation, but
an enlightened and wise system of finance
| secures the benefit of both gold and silver
| as currency and circulating medium, the
| standard stable and other currency at par
with it. Such a system and such a stand
ard also give free scope for the use and
| expansion of safe and conservative cred
| it. so indispensable to broad and growing
| commercial transactions and so well sub
| stituted for the actual use of money.
If an affixed and stable standard is
| maintained such as the magnitude and
safety of our commercial transactions ano
business require the use of money ltsen
is conveniently minimized. Every dollar
| of fixed and stable value has through the
| agency of confident credit an astonish-
ing capacity of multiplying Itself in finan-
cial work Every unstable and iuctuatine
dollar fails as a basis of credit and in its
use begets gambling speculation and un-
dermines the foundations of honest enter
prise
I have ventured to express myself o.
this subject with earnestness and plain
ness of speech because I cannot rid my
selfOf the belief that there turks in the
| nrnnncifinT1 ha fraa coinage of silver
so strongly approved and so enthusiast
tically advocated by a multitude of my
countrymen a serious menace to our pros
perity and an insidious temptation to our
people to wander from the allegiance they
owe to public and private integrity. II