The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-28

GUUlGAOl6 10 A66U BuOLA Us OONd DIS ROi0-
and. in fact it would be impossible for
it to do so, because the coinage would
be unlimited and the volume of silver
in circulation would become so great
in proportion to the gold the govern
ment could procure that the attempt
would necessarily fail. The most ex-
IRENE advocates of free coinage have
not yet ventured to suggest that the
government would be under any obIl-
gaIIon TO guarantee or maintain the
value OF silver dollars coined without
SAdFge Tor private parties, and without
such guarantee it is clear the dollar
moulo De worth no more than the COM
.1oEcIal value of the bullion contained
T A. JUST as the Mexican dollar is now,
= 1HI! GhaG II the United States could
49, MLCno9I charge to the owners all
Une SILVER In the world available for
coinage purposes, 4124 grains of stand
ara silver, IN bullion, Woul6 he worth
~ mucn IN this country as a silver dol
lar; but the real question ia what
would the silver dollar itself he worth9
That 1t will be equal to our present.
unit n standard Of value is not only
admitted, but openly urged as one of
the chief arguments in favor of its free
coinage. Every where the people are
being told that under free coinage it
will require twice as many dollars to
procure any given quantity of com
mCdlties as are required now, and this
means, of course, that the money will
be only one half as valuable as it is
now. When the public judgment is
finally passed upon this subject I think
it will be found that the people of the
United States are determined not to
have a deprecated dollar, whether it
be gold, silver or paper. They are un-
douOtedly entitled to have for use in
their business just as good money as
any other people IN the world have,
and no political party that attempts to
deprive them of it will ever enjoy their
confidence Or receive their s%uffrages.
These OF US who oppose the free coin
age OF silver at the ratio of Is to l are
proposing no change in the measure or
standard of value now existing, nor are
we proposing to discontinue the use of
silver as money. | have never been.
and am not now, unfriendly to silver
IN the sense of desiring to see it ex-
cluded from the monetary system Of
the United States, or of any other
country, but I know that it cannot be
kept in circulation along with gold by
means of any ratio the law of any one
country may attempt to establish be-
IN V44O wv AlOVOAGg IA UAdU uuO OllAY
way to cur the use of both at the
same time is to make one of them the
standard of value and 80 limit the coin
age of the other that the government
which issues them and receives them
for public dues may be able at all times
to maintain their exchangeability,
either directly or indirectly through
the operation of its fiscal system. I
am, therefore, in favor of the preser-
walton OF the existing standard of value
with such s of full legal tender silver
coins, and paper convertible into coin
on demand, as can be maintained with
out Impairing or endangering the credit
of the government or diminishing the
purcha, ing or debt paying power of
the money in the hands OF the people.
This is what I mean by the terms
sound money" and, in my opinion. it
is what is meant by an overwhelming
majority Of the opponents of free coin
age at the ratio of Is to 1. This is
neither gold monO-metalliem nor silver
mOno-metallism, but it means that one
standard or measure of value shall be
maintained, and that all forms of
standard coins in use shall be kept
equal to that standard IN the purchase
OF commodities and in the payment of
debts. Any policy which would dis
continue the use of silver as money, by
direct legal enactment Or by under
valuing it relatively to gold In the coin
age laws, would certainly result in
practical gold mono metallism, and, on
the other hand, it is equally clear that
any policy which would discontinue
the use of gold as money, by legal en-
actment or by undertaking that
metal relatively to silver in the coin
age laws, would result in practical sill
yer mono metallism. Free and un-
limited coinage at the ratio Of 16 TO 1
would at once establish silver mono
metailism, pure and simple, for, as al
ready shown, the coins of the over
valued metal will ultimately drive the
coins Of the other out Of circulation
and out of the country, even when the
legal ratio varies but a small fraction
from the commercial ratio, but the eX-
pulsI0n Of the undervalued coin from
circulation would be instantaneous
when It's value is really double the value
of the other. How long do you sup
pose the 1926, O00, 900 of gold in this
country would remain here and be FUSED
as money under such a policy? The
banking and oGher great financial in
situations, which own and hold In their
reserves much the greater part of this
gold, would at once sell it at a large
premium for silver-abou5 two dollars
or one dollar-or they would exchange
it for silver bullion in the market at
the ratio of about 80 pouDds of silver
for each 1 pound of gold, have the 80
pounds of silver coined into dollars at
the expense of the people, and with
this cheap money pay the demands Of
their depositoTs and other creditors.
Tho ~NnnDnn ~ TIM ~anDln nn--A Do
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