St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-05-18
"COIN" IND PROF. LAUGHLIN THLK FINHNCE
Which Chicago Perhaps Other City in the Country
Has Witnessed the Douglass

again. We have certainly not forgot
ten the history giving the reasons why
our forefathers established this gov
ernment-and that was the reason.
Now, if financial legislation is one of
the classes of class legislation by which
the many are robbed and the few en-
riched, by which the lemon is squeezed,
then it is one of the institutions OF
the European governments that we,
as a nation of people republican IN
form, should declare our independence
Of That is the first reason why lnde-
pendent financial action should be
taken by the United States. If they
say eve must have the same money
that they have in order to carry on
business with them," my reply is, 1.-The
biggest business we ever did carry on
with the balance of the world, and par
ticularly Europe, was the time when
they had gold and silver as money
and we hal neither" 1t is one of those
peculiar arguments that wears its way
into a mans brain when reiterated
and monotonously given out by the
daily press that we must have the
same money that the other great COM
mercial nations have. We never stop
to investigate. 1t belongs to that cata-
logue of arguments that existed prior
to 1892, when majority of the peo-
pie of the world said that the world
was fiat, and few men, including
Ct11 oI1,1c, 6od hot
Those interested in purposely culti-
waiting through ages an international
!! money on lines marked out by them
have the same possession of the pub
lie mind as the critics Of Columbus
had, and those who contend for
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
from Europe can be classed with the
followers Of that great navigator
whose minds were in advance of the
ages in which they lived. This ma
tion can have an independent finan-
cial system without any reference
whatever to the balance of the world,
and can carry on its own commerce
by ocean and by land with the other
standing. We do not now settle our
balances With Europe in coin except
on its commercial value and by
weight. Our coinage has nothing
to do with it. Primarily balances of
trade are settled with trade We
give them our wheat and we take
their silks, and the balance that we
; may owe them or they may owe us
will be settled just as the merchants
between the importing points may
agree to settle it. They can settle it
in gold for so much pennyweight
as measured in the money of their
country or our country, or in so
much silver or in SO much copper, or
so much of any other merchandise as
may be agreed upon between them
in their trade relations. There is
no such thing as an international
money. What we are conltending for
is the opening of the mints to the
free coinage of silver (they are now
open to the free and
UNLIMITED COINAGE
| Of gold, and have never been closed
! to that metaD, and the establishment
| of bimetallism on those simple and
fixed principles that were adopted
! by those statesmen who had in view
the interest of no class, but of all
people. What we want is bimetallism
| And scientific bimetallism is this:
| First-Free and unlimited coinage Of
both gold and silver, these two metals
| to constitute the primary or redemp-
| tion money of the government.
| Second-The silver dollar of 3711z
! grains of pure silver to be the unit OF
! value and gold to be coined into money
| at a ratio to be changed if necessary
! from time to time, if the commercial
| parity to the legal ratio shall be af.
| fected by the action of foreign coun
| tries.
Third-The money coined from botf
| metals to be legal tender in the pay.
| ment of all debts.
Fourth-The option as to which of the
| two moneys is to be paid in the liquida
! ton of debt to rest with the debtor
/ and the government also to exercise
| that option when desirable when pay.
/
The mints are now open to the un
limited coinage of gold. Such portion
| of the product of that metal as does
/ not find an immediate demand to be
! used in the arts and manufactures Is
| taken to the mints and coined into
money-into mqpey-and becomes a
! once the object for which all Other
| products seek the market. 1t thus has
| an unlimited market, as the rnints are
| open to all of it that comes. This wa:
true also as to silver prior to 1S73 bu
| by operation of section q of the ac
! of that year the mintS were closed tC
! the unlimited coinage of that metal
! Hence, when silver now seeks the
| market and exhauStS the demand sup
piled by the arts and manufactures
and the small purchases of the govern
ment to coin it into token money, the
demand for it ceases. Gold has al
unlimited demand. Silver has a linn
| tied demand. Silver is now a com
modify to be measured in gold. 1t /.
an object to be gored and kicked by
bulls and bears. 1t is shut out from
the United States mint 1t is toker
money 1t has been deprived of tina
unlimited demand it enjoyed prior t.
1873. We would restore to it that un
limited demand. We would
OPEN THE MINTS
| to it again. We would leave the
mints open to gold as they are now
We would give silver the same privi
leges as gold. Restoring to it thi'
unlimited demand would cause tn,
value of silver to rise as compared
with gold. This is what we want. Thi
is what we would do.
We would again make the STANDARD
silver dollar the unit of value as j
was before 1873. 1t would thus be ;
dollar, and the bullion in it would b.
worth a dollar, as the number o
grains of bullion in a dollar woult
have the right to walk into the min
and be coined into a dollar. No mai
would take less for it when he coult
have it coined at pleasure into dol
lar We would make gold coins of tn
value of SO many silver units or dollar
as the law existed prior to 1873. Silve
is the peoples money. 1t was so re
: lgarded by our forefathers and was tn