The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-01-24
Bimeta.lism the Only Remedy.

From the Atlanta Constitutional
We are not in favor of the gold
standard, or of the silver standard,
but, as between the two. infinitely
prefer the silver standard, which
would represent stationary and
rising prices, whereas, under the ex-
isting gold standard we are con-
fronted with not only low. but con-
stantly declining prices, the latter
being characterized by Professor
Andrews as the "accursed thing
We believe in the double standard
of gold and silver, under which all
the gold and silver in the world
would be used as money of final pay
ment and as the basis of all credit
money, public or private, issued by
the government or national banks
or state banks.
Our correspondent, who is the
president of state bark, asks if we
would favor a standard Tor the
United States that would require So
of our money to make 81 of other
civilized nations" Our government
does not con money for the purpose
of changing it into the money of
other nations, nor could it be made
so changeable at any ratio. by our
law. All the United States can do is
to give to its coined money full legal
tender power inside this country.
When our money goes abroad, it is,
on account OF it's legal power, worth
as much as it is at home, less the
cost of shipment back to US. A silver
dollar in London is worth one hun
dred cents in gold, less a small frac-
ton OF ! per cent exchange, though
the same silver dollar, if reduced to
bullion, would not fetch half as much,
free coinage being denied to it. And
all this government has done to the
bullion is to make legal tender dol
lar out of it. Neither by law nor
custom is our silver dollar exchange-
able into a gold dollar. No secre-
tary of the treasury would dare do
such thing in practice to an extent
sufficient to establish a precedent.
Our silver dollar stands for itself,
with nothing in it but it's own bullion
and nothing behind it but the law of
legal tender.
How, then, can we have silver dol
lars worth only half as much as gold
dollars? Ii our silver dollars coined
only on government account are
worth abroad as much as gold dol
lars, silver dollars freely coined at
our mints would certainly he worth
as much. Every ounce of silver
bullion in the world would be worth
the coming price. There would not
be so much of an addition to the
coined silver of the world, as there is
not SO, 00O,0 worth of free silver
bullion anywhere, but all the silver
now coined would beprimary money.
The effect of free coinage by SO in
fuential a nation as the United
States would be to substitute every
where the double standard of gold,
or silver, as the case may now be,
just as France with open mints for
seventy years, with gold standard
England on one side and silver
standard Germany on the other,
made the double standard operative
in all.
The double standard is the only
remedy for existing conditions, be.
cause an increase in the amount of
primary money is the one thing
necessary to maintain and restore
prices. There is much to choose be
tween the different kinds of paper
money proposed by all sorts of peo-
pie representing divers financial
schemes, but SO long as paper issues
are to be based on gold only, any of |
them will afford only temporary
relief.