St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-06
FROM THE BRINK.

The st. Louis Republic does not
have to have a ten-story building
fall on it in order to have its capa-
city for understanding the situation
increased. In this respect it differs
from the two senator's who unfor-
tunately represent Missouri in the
federal senate. The Republic was
for a long while strenuous advo-
cate of free coinage. 1t stood i'll line
with Vest and Cockrell and Bland
and Hatch. For some time it has
been apparent that the Republic
perceived the logic of the situation,
and is unwilling to go it's whole
length, but reluctant to admit its
error, it shelters itself behind the
claim that it is in favor of bimetal-
lism and the free coinage of gold and
silver under it. The two senators,
however, pursue their logical path
and welcome the inevitable result
of a transfer of all financial opera
tons in this country from gold to
a silver standard. From this the
Republic shrinks back in alarm, and
proceeds to read its two senator's
severe lecture for their attitude.
Were the Republic perfectly frank
and did it not wish to cover it's re-
treat under the advocacy Of that i'm
possible and meaningless thing, BIZ
metallism, it would admit that it
has been in error in thinking that
there could be two standards of
value in operation at the same time,
any more than there can be two diff
ferent lengths of yard sticks used in
buying and selling textiles. There
never has been and never will be
such a condition. We have had sill
yer standards, with gold the subor-
dinate metal as prior to 1884, and we
have had the gold standard, with sill
yer subordinate, as sinct that year;
but there never has been time in
the history of this nation or any
other nation when values were meas
ured Unfortunately by both the
gold standard and the silver stand
ard
Bimetallism in such a sense is an
impossibility. The laws of COM
merce are superior to the laws of
legislatures. When the latter at
tempt to contravene the former,
nothing but mischief ensues. BIZ
metallism in the sense of one metal
as a standard with the other as a
subsidiary coin is perfectly feasible,
and has it's warrant in the laws of
trade. With gold as standard the
use of silver is an absolute necessity,
because it's lesser value, relative to
it's bulk, permits it to be made into
subsidiary coins, for which gold it
unfit. 1t is in this sense that the
GLOBE has urged and still urges
that silver is proper money metal,
and should be used to the fullest eX-
tent in our currency.
In using it we believe that the
metal itself should be used, and not
a paper substitute or a representa-
tive. We are experiencing today
the evil effects of the education that
the greenback has given to the peo
pie of this country, teaching them
a false idea of money, and furnish
ing the foundation for the prevalent
idea that the greenback is money,
and that, being made by the federal
government, it is the function of that
government to make money, and, in
hard times, when money is scarce, the
government should make more of
the same kind of money. For
this reason we deprecate the pro-
vision in Senator Jones bill for the
issuing of silver certificates in place
of silver dollars.
1t is not now a question of con-
venience, but one of education. If,
in place of the silver certificates and
silver notes forming some $500,000,
900 of our currency, the pockets of
the people were burdened with the
carrying of 500 900 900 standard dol
lars, we would not be agitated and
panic-stricken by this imminence of
a descent to a silver basis.