The Portland daily press., 1895-12-04

ter process and not the former that by
substituting in the Treasury U. S. Notes
and Treasury Notes for gold increased by
that amount the money which was in
the first instance subject to ordinary gov
ernmeMt expenditures.
Although the law compelling an in
creased purchase of silver by the govern
ment was passed on the 18th day of July,
1890, Withdrawals of gold from the Treas
ury upon the notes given in payment
on such purchases did not begin until
: October. 1891. Immediately following
that date the Withdrawals upon both
these notes and u. S. Notes increased
very largely and have continued to such
| an extent that since the passage Of that
law there has been more than thir-
| teen times as much gold taken out of
! the Treasury of upon q. S. Notes and
t Treasury notes issued for silver pur-
chases as was thus drawn during the
eleven and half years Immediately
prior thereto and after the first day of
! January, 1879, when specie payments
were resumed.
! 1t is neither unfair nor unjust to
chat ge large share of our present finan-
cial perplexiGies and dangers to the
! operation of the laws of 1878 and 1890
! compelling the purchase Of silver by the
government, which not only furnished
q new Treasury obligation upon which
its gold could be withdrawn, but so in
creased the fear of an overwhelming flood
+, of silver and d forced descent to silver
payments that even the repeal of these
laws did not entirely cure the evils OF
( their existence.
FREE COINAGE OF SILVER.
While / have endeavored to make 8
plain statement of the disoldered condi
ton of our currency and the present
! dangers menacing our prosperity, anC
! to suggest a way which leads to a safel
! financial system, | have constantly hat
in mind the fact that many of my
cOuntrymen, whose sincerity ! do mo-
doubt. insist that the cure for the ill,
now threatening us now may be found il
the single and simple remedy of the ire,
coinage Of silver. They contend that oul
mint shall be at once thrown open to thu
free unlimited and independent coinage
of both gold and silver dollars of ful
legal tender quality, regardless of tn,
action of any other government, and il
full view of the fact that the ratio be
tween the metals which they suggest
calls for ons hundred cents worth o
gold in the gold dollar at the present
standard, and only fifty cents in intrinsic
; worth of silver in the silver dollar.
/ We're there infinitely stronger reason.
! than can be adduced for hoping that such
! action would secure for us a bimetalli(
StAASAOJ AiicfiliS oit ILLUS Va pdElby, dI
experiment so novel and hazardous as thai
proposed might we'll stagger those who
still believe that stability is an imperative
condition of sound money. No govern
ment, no human continuance or act Of
1 legislation has ever been able to hold thu
two metals together IN free coinage at {
ratio appreciabiy different from thai
which is established in the markets of thu
world. Those who believe that our in
dependent free coinage of silver at al
artificial ratio with gold of Is to l would
restore the parity between the metals
and consequently between the COINS op
pose an unsupported and improbable
theory to the general belief and practice
of other nations and to tho teaching OF
the wisest statesmen and economists Of
the world both in the past and present
and what is far more conclusive they run
counter TO our own actual experiences
] Twice in our earlier history our law max
ers in attempting to establish a bi-metal
lie currency undertook free coinage upor
a ratio which accidentally varied from
the actual relative values of the two met
ais not more than three per cent. In both
cases Notwithstanding greater diffioultis!
and cost of transportation than now exist
the coins whose intrinsic worth was ,ln
darvaiued in the ratio, gradually and
surely disappeared from our circulation
and went TO other countries where thei1
real value was better recognized.