Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-04-26
Washlnatun 5 taudaad
OiNNPIt. .>.u.
FRIDAY EEE,iiG. irEL ii. lNei
Not Quite SO Absurd as Stated

Not Quite so Absurd as Stated.
The Ofe5.tt7H !, to- - .o'w.,,l iur
ITS bold and candid cNpt,s,:ou-,:.iIu
ION on all public mca~ui,>. lat there
Is AZ time. manifest a ra1icali-m that
somewhat detracts from the fairness
which should character "a irlrnal Of
Its standing and influence. In late
paragraph criticising the new hook,
" Com Financial school, il declares
that nothing is 50 shallow a. the
reasoning therein employed to show
that thu characterization OF silver j. the
cause o! much OF our financial depre-.
sion. While many OF the readers OF
that treatise would agree with the
Oreg"ajnH that it dixie that journaD,
views the question from an ultra
standpoint, there are many statistical
facts and figures given wh.rh entitle if
to anything but the stigmr II shallow
ness.
The Oreg0hidn. for insane takes
exception to the statement that, a. the
United States produces & large pro
portion of the world silver that coun-
try would exert mighty influence in
regulating its value. and declares that
nothing can be more absurd than this
Let us see If conditions bear out this
idea. The value Of the white metal, if
remonetized, would lie in proportion
as it could be used as medium Of cx-
change. This proposition, it Will be
admitted, is not absurd What factors
would aid it in attaining the position
it held up to 1873 of a parity with
gold? Precisely the same causes
which impelled European bond-hold-
ers to dominate American politics in
the interest Of the gold standard-the
seltishness Of the human heart. 1t
may be broadly affirmed that the laws
of trade regulate themselves, and they,
under present conditions, would doubt
less result in a great object lesson,
were the powerful arm OF statutory
legislation exerted just enough to re-
instate silver upon the throne from
which it has been deposed.
Our foreign commerce, while very
generally overrated when compared
with the aggregate volume Of trade Of
the country, is OF too much import
ance for any nation to array itself
against a currency that would divert it
to silver-using countries. The rivalry
that exists between nations, as between
individuals, would impel the countries
in which silver is a medium OF ex-
change to reap the great advantages
that they would enjoy when dealing
with country that was controlled by
the same monetary policy.
Our business with our ans-oceanic
neighbors is about four per cent. of
the volume of trade of the country
and this is too small, even were Great
Britain or any other nation to estab-
lish systematic boycott, to counter
balance the benefits 10 be derived from
doubling the amount of life-blood
flowing into the arteries of trade, nor
would it be materially diminished by
the increased business of other coun-
tries resulting therefrom.
The Oregonian's parallel of cotton,
of which the United States produces
the largest proportion, to carry out the
idea expressed must be clothed with
the power of money, the same az silver
would be if remonetized, and if this
were done, would there be anything
"absurd" in the assumption that the
United States could fix the price of
cotton for the world? Certainly not
nor would there be in the corallary of
the proposition, that the power OF sill
yer would be restored by making its
primary coin the unit OF value.
The reconciliation of silver would
at once double the amount of redemp-
ton money of the United States, by
increasing its present volume OF six
hundred to twelve hundred million,
and this amount of redemption money
would warrant a like amount of credit
money, increasing the per.capita from
less than $40 to about $50. What a
boon this would be to those whose
debts have doubled while their prop
erty has correspondingly shrunk in
value by the adoption OF the present
monOmetalic standard!
The absurdity which the Oregonia,
discovers in Coins belief that re-
monetization of silver by the United
States would lead to an appreciation o.
its value.as money, ia not apparen,
when confronted by facts. The depre
citation cannot be due to over produc
ton for. beginning with a comparison
of the relative quantity of the two
metals at the beginning Of the present
century, 80 tons of silver to one O
gold, we find that in 1913 the ratio hat
not materially changed and was 81 tt
one, and in 1880 had fallen to Is t.
one and four years ago, in 1890 main
tanned the same ratio, Is to one. Sill
yer in 1873, when it was shorne OF it.
power as money, was at premium o.
102 in gold, and statistics show tina,
for nineteen years prior to that act the
relative value of the two metals die
not vary more than two per cent, ant
the average shows premium on sill
yer over gold. When silver was th,
unit of value, gold enjoyed, however
free coinage and was legal tender fol
debt to any amount, but when golt
became the unit, silver was by thu
same act derived of free coinage ant
its legal tender value was restricted tC
five dollars. Is there any surprise
that, under these conditions, it failet
to fulfill its mission, when its demand
became limited by the abridgement O
it's use "a redemptiOn money? Eng