Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-07-04
GOLD AND SILVER.
To the Editor of the LEDGER.

specie of which sum go millions was
gold and 262 millions was silver. In
1878, only six years prior to 1884, DR..
Linderman, Director of the United
States Mint, reports the amount of
gold in our country to be pa millions
of dollars. In six years, from June
80, 1878, to June 80, 1884, gold in
creased 366 millions of dollars. During
this period silver coinage was actively
carried on at all the United States
minis. If silver coinage will drive the
gold out of the country how does it
happen that we had al increase OF gold
to the amount of 366 millions of dol
lars in six years? An annual average
of 81 millions of dollars is certainly no
mean item, and as facts are stubborn
things they set the seal of condemna-
ton on the declarations of the advo-
Gates of the single gold standard. In
1S47, just the year before gold was dis
covered inCalifornia, we had, according
to official statements, 120 millions III
gold and silver. But little silver was
coined up to 1860, because it was the
dearer metal. In 1860 we had increas-
ed the volume of specie 1877 millions of
dollars, making the sum total of 257
millions of dollars in thirteen years.
Remember, this increase was made
when scarcely any silver was coined.
Now, it is very well established by the
highest authority that from 1847 to
1860 this country alone produced the
enormous sum of 1 1876 millions of dol
lars in gold. Yet, We only had in 1860
257 millions left. What became of the
years? Was it driven out by silver
coinage? Certainly not. This proves
that a nation can get rid of its gold
without excessive coinage of silver.
According to Burchard, in 1884 the
total sum of all the gold in use in the
world was 1924 millions of dollars and
2,755 millions of dollars in silver and
this makes the proportion of gold 81
cents to As cents in silver and this
demonstrates the utter folly of saying
that gold is the only money of the
world. Because your right hand can
perform 81 per cent. of all the work
you have to do would any man be fool
enough to chop off his left hand be-
cause it only does 46 per cent. of labor?
He then who would destroy silver as
money would be as idiotic as he who
would chop off the left hand because
the right can do more work. In order
to prove that bimetallism can be main
tanned we need only refer to France.
For nearly a century France has main
tanned the double standard. Official
reports show that she had IN 1884 537
million dollars in full legal tender sill
yer coin in circulation and at the same
time she had S4S millions dollars in
gold. England then only had 5S9 mil
lions in gold and Germany 1876 millions
dollars in gold, making the total
amount of gold in England and Ger
many 924 millions and yet France with
her 537 millions in silver has within rs
millions of dollars in gold as much as
both England and Germany. Why
don't the silver drive the gold out OF
France?
Before a monetary French conven-
ton in 1869 M. Wolowsky said: "If,
by a stroke of the pen, they suppress
one of these metals in the (61) none
tary service they double the demand
for the other metal to the ruin of all
Debtors"
NJ. Ronland, Governor of the Bank
| of France, said: "'The two moneys
, have actually coexisted since the orr
, gin of human society. They coexist
r because the two together are neces-
sary by their quantity to meet the
( needs of circulation. Has the neces-
sity for the two metals ceased to ex-
list? Is it established that the quantity
of actual and prospective gold is such
, that we can renounce the use of silver
without Disaster"
, Baron RothschiId said: '"The stimuli
taneous employment of the two prec-
ious metals is satisfactory and gives
rise to no complaint. The suppression
of silver would amount to a veritable
destruction of values without any
compensation"
| Alexander Hamilton said in his re-
port in 1871: $40 annul the use OF
either of the metals as money is to
8 abridge the quantity of circulating
medium and is liable to all the objec-
tons which arise from the evils Of
; scanty circulation"
Il Thomas jefferson, in a letter tC
Hamilton February, 1892, said: 81
concur with you that the unit must
: stand on both metals"
In 1920 VIM. H. Crawford, Secretary
of the Treasury, in his report to Con
|, gress, says: "All intelligent writer:
on currency agree hat when it is de-
creasing in amount poverty and mis-
cry must prevail"
Hon. r. NJ. I. Hunter, of Virginia
in a report to the United States Sen
ate in 1852, says: 'The mischief would
be great, indeed, if all the world were
to adopt but one of the precious met
ais as the standard of value. To adopt
!, gold alone would diminish the specie
, currency more than one-half; and the
reduction the other way, should silver
be taken as the only standard, would
be large enough to prove highly dis
. astrous to the human race"
+, In the light then of such men as here
quoted it would be the extreme of al
, folly for any man to attempt to carry
, out any sort of single standard, either
of gold or silver. Both have beer
used as money from the beginning O
=, time. Bimetallism is what we want
England has had the gold STANDARD
. since 1916 and here is what an Englisf
= economist said in London Statistical
Society, Vol. 81, page 352 in 1871
!. England is the peculiar seat of none
i, tary crises just as Egypt is of thu
plague and India of the cholera. The
monetary plaques are the bone ant
o%pprobrium of Dur country
The production of gold is too irregu.
lar and the quantity too small to give
q it that degree of steadiness essentia
\ to make it the only medium of value