The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1895-05-17
TELLER ON SILVER.
PLAIN FACTS FROM THE COLO
RADIO SENATOR.
He Who Is Not I'm Favor of the Free
and Unlimited Coinage OF Silver If
He Is Wage Earner) Is His Own
Enemy.

I like to do all the writing and talk
ing possible on the silver issue, for
feel more than ever that 1t is a most
momentous question, but l cannot al
ways spare the time. l do more of this
work than l should. The subject is so
vast; 1t ramifies in so many directions
and the arguments are so numerous
that 1t requires care and thought to
give in single article single phase Of
the subject.
ramifies in so many directions and the
arguments are so numerous that it re-
quires care and thought to give in
single article a single phase of the sub
ject.
The presidents recent letter to Chi
cago was an appeal to the supporters
of the gold standard to defend that sys-
tenn by proclaiming for it the merit of
soundness and to declare all other sys-
TENS unsound and the supporters of all
others advocates of debased currency.
In his opinion suppose we are advocates
of unsound currency. Nis to be regret
ted that the president did not point
out to us some of the advantages of
the gold standard as we'll as the posi-
BILE danger to the country If we return
to the use of both gold and silver as
such use existed in the United States
prior to 1873.
Up to that time practically the whole
world had the benefit of the use of
both silver and gold as money of ulti-
mate redemption. England was on a
gold basis and Germany on a silver
basis. it is true, but the minis of France
were open to both gold and silver, and
England had the benefits of an open
mint for silver in France but short
distance from England's commercial
center, while Germany had the French
mint for its gold The Englishman de-
string to put his silver into money could
do so by either sendingit over to the free
coinage mint in France or sending 1t
to Germany and exchanging it there
upon a ratio of 151s ounces of silver for
an ounce of gold. The German having
gold which he wished changed into
money had but to send it to England
to be coined or to France for exchange
into French money. This was freely
done, and all the gold and silver not
required for export from Europe was
coined into money at some European
mint. The United States minis were
open to the coinage of both silver and
gold at a ratio of little less than 10
ounces of silver to one Of gold, which
ratio we speak of as 16 to l.
While all the world was not on a
! bimetallic basis, all the world had the
advantages and benefits conferred by
that system. for England, France, the
| United States and other countries were
ready to coin all the gold offered, and
Germany, France, the United States
and other countries were ready to coin
all the silver offered, and this gave
| gold and silver bullion a money value
! equal at all times to the coin that could
be made out of it. Then all countries
! by the system OF commercial exchange
had the full advantage Of the bimetal
! lie coinage.
Read history and tell me where there
is anything to justify the president in
supposing that a return to the condi-
lions of finance existing prior to 1873
would be fraught with disaster. The
| countries that have abandoned the use
of silver have not benefited their finan-
cial condition, and the financial con-
dition of the world today is much less
satisfactory than it was for many years
preceding 1873. Exchange has luc-
tuated to a greater degree since that
year between silver-using and gold
using countries and now seriously
threatens to transfer the manufacturers
of Europe and America TO Asiatic coun-
! tries.
I will state this as a proposition: II
the gold price of silver falls in the
gold-standard countries the price of ex-
ports from gold-standard countries
must either fall in the country where
produced or rise in the country to which
the exports are sent. Silver-using coun-
tries must pay more silver for imports
from gold-standard countries or the
manufacturers in gold-standard coun-
tries must reduce the selling price Of
| their wares to meet the decline in the
relative value of silver to gold. That is
the situation presented the manufac-
turers today. Prior to 1873 fifteen and
one-half ounces of silver were equiva-
lent to one ounce of gold. Then the
English exporter to Asia received that
amount of silver, knowing that he GER
tainly could convert it into gold without
loss upon the stable ratio. 1t did not
change by daily market fluctuations.
Now, mark the change. Today, ac-
cording to the present price Of silver,
it takes something like thirty-one
ounces of silver to secure by exchange
an ounce of gold, instead of fifteen and
one-half ounces, as was the case be-
fore 1873. If the exporter should at
tempt to maintain his old price after
silver was demonetized, he must re-
quire of the silver-using purchaser
more than the amount If silver hereto
fore paid for his product, subject to
the fluctuation based upon gold meas
ure, which is now, as you know, re-
duced to one-half its former exchange
value. What is the result? The silver