The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-03-09

Two Money Metals, or Two STAN
dardS---Which?

Two Money Metals, or Two STAN
dards---Which?
mo. Picayune.l
Many people, i'll this day Of self
appointed finance doctors, talk about
"bimetalism" without having any
clear idea of what is meant by the
term.
If they mean by it the unrestrlct-
ed use of both gold and silver as
money, they should attempt to
work out the financial problem o..
two-metal basis. If they mean
that there shall be two standards
of money, namely, a gold standard
and silver standard, and that these
shall be in use at the same time,
it will be necessary for those who
advocate such doctrine to endeav-
or to work out their problem on
the two standard basis.
A correspondent, whose commun-
ication embodies an interesting pa
per on the subject, has endeavored
to explain bimetalism on the two
metal plan. He starts out with a
statement of the fact that gold and
silver are not constant and unchang-
ing in the relation of their CON-
mercial values each to the other.
It makes no difference what is the
cause of this fact. The fact simply
remains. It is a common thing for
men to go into the markets of the
world to purchase gold and silver
bullion. It is done every day.
But the fact is plain that the rela-
tions of the prices do not remain
the same from day to day, or from
week to week, or from month to
month. If it be held that gold is
Is times as valuable as silver, and
that is the ratio allowed in the laws
creating United States money, it
ought at any time to be possible to
purchase in the markets of London
or New York one ounce of gold for
sixteen ounces of silver. IF there
were such steadiness of relative
values, it would be so possible, and
there would be no difficulty in ex-
changing the one metal for the
other to any person wishing to
purchase.
But the exchange of the two
metals at the rate stated is wholly
impossible. In no money market
would a holder of gold bullion give
an ounce of gold for sixteen ounces
of silver. It must be understood
that these observations do not refer
to coined money, but exclusively
to uncoined bullion. Then this
state of things shows that there is
something wrong about gold being
only sixteen times as valuable as
silver, weight for weight, and the
only place in the entire financial
system of the world where the ratio
Of 16 to / is held and operated on
is the treasury of the United States.
A law which pledges that the
United States will preserve the
parity of gold and silver on a basis
of Is to / is the only warrant for
this ratio, and as the law has no
binding force in any other country,
there is no power that will or can
force foreign creditors to accept
sixteen ounces of silver in payment
for one of gold. What has been
said is necessary to a proper up.
Outstanding of the relations of the
two money metals.
It has been claimed by some
that the widening difference be-
tween the prices of the two metals
is wholly due to the rise in the val
ne of gold, while others hold that
it is gold whose price has remained
stationary, and that silver has been
declining in value. The reader
may take either view of the matter
which seems good to him. In
either case there is a widening DIFF
ference in the values of the two
metals. AS the people of the
United States are heavy exporters
of their own products to foreign
countries, not even the most ardent
advocate of silver would be willing
to accept sixteen ounces of foreign
silver in payment for the value for
one ounce of gold, when he could
get in the markets of London OF
New York about 20 IL ounces oil
silver for his ounce of gold.
Think,what profit the Ameri.
can exporter would make who
ebo,11 raoa,xo for ooob ouroo -,