The Democratic advocate., 1895-05-04
THE FINANCIAL QUESTION.
Demonstration of Silver Caused tt
Depreciation RECOMMENDATION
VIII Bring Prosperity.

Sovereignty makes money. Gold and silver
metals are not money. they are commodities;
gold and silver coin, money. is NOT com
modify. il i a standard Of values: i has no
price, but regulates the price Of all eommodi-
lies.
By law our gold dollar weighs 25.s grains
and contains q. % grains Of pure gold; by law
this has been twice changed. By law our sil-
yer dollar weighs 4123 grains, and contains
37l5 grains of pure silver; this has never been
changed.
Gold and silver metals have always been
used for money, and If gold should cease to
be used for money, it. AS a commodity would
materially depreciate IN value; SO IL silver
should be remonetized, II would materially
appreciate IN value. The goldbugs say that
overprodaefiOn Of silver Is the cause of its de-
preeiation in value; do not think so, but be-
heve that silver has deprecated because 1t
has been demonetized. One would imagine
from the yaporings Of the goldbugs. that silver
was as abundant as rocks. whereas il Is a fact
that cubic foot Of silver weighs 10, 4I4 ounces;
the worlds production Of silver Is 2e2, Oe5
cubic feet, thus a room So feet square and 66
feet high viii hold all the silver in the world.
England went to mOnOmetailism. single
gold standard, in 1916; Germany went from
bimetallisn, gold and silver, to single gold
standard in 1872 The United States. which
has always been bimetallie country. the con-
stitution requiring both silver and gold coin,
went TO n gold basis, when in 1873 Congress
illegally demOnetized silver. France closed
her mints TO the free coinage of silver in 1874.
The ratio or parity between gold and silver
coin is l59 to in Europe and l6 to IN the
United States.
Since 1873. when silver was demonetized,
il has not deprecated, but gold has doubly
sraI1 ba1
cited il would have deprecated in price to
far greater extent than silver did. The de-
monetization Of silver is responsible for our
troubles, our broadcast, wholesale depression;
for our prosperity the reconciliation OF silver
Is absolutely essential.
Hanson. an approved authority, says that
the English standard ounce is 1926 fine and
contains 444 grains of pure silver; the Ameri-
can standard ounce is 800 fine and contains
4S2 grains Of pure silver; fine ounce is 1000
fine and contains 4s0 grains OF pure silver;
hence TO make the bullion value of our silver
dollar equal to the par value, silver would
have to sell at 80 pence per ounce, English
standard; fine ounce would be worth 81 %;
an American standard ounce, Sl.16, and our
dollar, 81 90.
In 1878. when it was demonetized, silver
was selling at 59i pence per ounce in London.
which would make our silver dollar then worth
S1.03; Notwithstanding this, the goldbugs de-
monetized silver, and having thus outlawed
and deprecated silver when it was at pre-
MUM: now when an honest effort is being
made to remonetize it, these same goldbugs
ooolly say that bimetallists are in favor of
cheap money, a fifty cent dollar, &c. If re-
monetized, silver in less than a month would
be again selling for more than 50 pence per
ounce
From 1910 to 1878 the price of silver varied
from 59i to 81 pence per ounce; during this
entire period our silver dollar was at a pre-
MUM: from 1878, when silver was demone
tized, it fell in price; the next year it sold for
SO pence per ounce, and has declined to the
present, except when a few days ago there
was a slight rise caused by the belief that China
would have to pay Japan a silver indemnity.
From 1910 to 1873 we might take any given
years with similar results, the average ratio