The Kosciusko star. (Kosciusko, Miss.) 18??-1898, 1895-05-31


their matured convictions:
/. Believing a uniform and GER
tain standard of value necessary TO
the agricultural, commercial and
industrial development and pros
perity of our common country, we
tavor the maintenance of all our
money, whether gold, silver or
paper, on a parity, to the end that
each dollar, whatever may be its
composition, shall have equal pur-
chasing and debt-paying power
with every other dollar.
2. Profting oy the experience of
Washington. Jefferson and Hamil.
ton, and the teachings of the great
students of monetary science, from
the time that John Locke wrote to
the discussion of the present day,
we accept the truth of the principle
now universally recognized and APP
piled in the commercial world, that
the bimetallic standard cannot be
maintained where the ratio fixed by
law for the free coinage of gold and
silver does not correspond with the
market ratio of the two metals,
and that wherever and whenever
the legal or coinage ratio varies
from the market, or commercial,
ratio, to any appreciable extent,
the dollar, whether of gold or silver,
which thereby becomes more val
liable as bullion than as money,
will 60 to a premium and retire
from circulation. We saw this
principle applied in our own nat
ional experience when, under the
act of 1892, which fixed the coin
age ratio at Is to |, gold retired
from circulation because of slight
decline in the price of silver IN the
open market, whereby the bullion
| III gold dollar became worth a
few cents more than the bullion in
silver dollar, and was therefore
sold as a commodity, because it
was worth more as bullion than as
money; and, again, under the act of
1884, which fixed the ratio at 16 to
/, when the silver coin retired for
like reason. We are therefore
opposed to the free, unlimited and
independent coinage of silver at
the ratio Of 16 to /, when the mar
ket or commercial ratio is more
than 30 to | and the difference be-
tween the bullion value of gold
and silver dollar is about SO cents,
on the ground that such action, in
stead OF restoring the bimetallic
standard, would inevitably result
| in silver monometalism.
Should Retain the Gold Standard.
8. At this time there is no coun-
try in the world which maintains
the bimetallic standard, and neith-
err is there any country where the
free coinage of silver obtains which
is not on silver basis. Each
country, on account Of its inability
to adopt independently sny bime-
tallic standard. must elect for itself
which it prefers-the gold or the
silver standard. We, therefore,
favor, in the absence OF Internal
ional cooperation. the retention
and maintenance of the existing
gold standard, because a change
from the gold to the silver stand
ard would nave the effect to repu.
diate all public and private obliga-
tons to the extent Of the dillcrent e
between the bullion value Of Il e
gold and silver dollar; because
whenever such change should be
seriously threatened, it would
cause an immediate attempt at a
collection and liquidation of all
debts in anticipation of the result
it would produce. Because such
transition from the gold to the
silver basis would destroy public
and private confidence and would
involve the country in such panic,
confusion and distress that the
products of agriculture and the
wages or labor would be unremun.
erative; the business of commerce
would become improbable and our
people engaged in industrial occr-
pations would De thrown on: Of
employment; because there is not
a progressive, an enlightened coun-
try in the world which has not
elected gold as the preferable STAN
dard; because gold standard coun-
tries retain silver in their circula.