The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-05-24
ARGUMENT FOR SOUND MONEY
ICONTINUED FRoM 2ND PAGE |

our people trade, shall be- compelled
to receive these silver dollars
In their transactions with US, because
that can be done only by international
agreement, and our inpatient free coin.
sge friends declare their determin q tion
to procsed st once, Independently of all
other governmentJ. All who are In.
debted TO US are. therefore, TO have the
privilege OF paying in silver, while all
to whom we shall become indebted are
to have the privilege Of requiring US to
pay in gold.
"Measured by their purchasing power
In the markets OF the world, which Ia
the oaly real test, the relative yaluo of
silver bullion 10 gold bullion 10 about
ss 70 i; that is, II sQRirss In all soua-
tries, silver-standard couat.ies as we'll
as gold-stAndard countries, about %
pounds OF silver bullion to procure the
same quantity OF commodities that one
pound OF gold bullion will procure. and,
therefore, the proposition to AUTHORIZE
the free and Unlimited coinage of silver
into full legal tender money at the
ratio OF l6 to means, under existing
conditions, that the instrinsic value of
she silver dollar shall only be helf, or
about half, the intrinsic value Of the
gold dollar.
1.-THE attempt to coin the two metals
without limit as to amount into full
legal tender money and keep both in
circulation at the same time has been
made by nearly every civilized nation in
the world and has failed in every one of
them. 1t has failed because in every
instance 1t has been found impossible
to establish and maintain legal ratio
corresponding at all timss with the in,
trinsic or commercial ratio between the
two metals contained in the coins, and
because whenever either of tho metals
was undervalued relatively TO the
other In the coinage laws 1t was exv
PEELED from the country. England per-
sisted In the attempt for nearly five
hundred years and was at last forced to
abandon the effort and adopt the single
standard.
France. in her efforts to keep the
two me ais in circulation at the same
time, changed tAe legal ratio between
them more than one hundred and fifty
ttmes In single century. and finally,
in 1875, finding that gold was leaving
her and that in ten yeara hex net inn
ports OF silver had amounted to $3.50, =
600. 900, stopped coming of legal tender
silver, and for nineteen years the at
tempt has been abandoned in that
country.
"Our own country is not without ex-
perience upon this subject, and tho
results here were just the Same as shey
have been everywhere else. By the
act Of 1902, which was our fret coinage
law, the legal ratio between gold and
silver was fixed at Is to l, when in fact
the true commercial ratio was or soon
became about 15K to /, and the reault
Of this very small generalization
silver In the coinage was that gold went
ont Of CiYcu1 q tfOD md hod
| cally silver monometallism until after
the passage of the act of 1888.
"For the purpose Of restoring gold to
the circulation, Congress in 1894
changed the ratio from Is to l, to Is to
| /, and rs this was an generalization OF
| gold In the coinage, silver left the
country, and from that time on until
1878 we had practically gold monomet-
allism, whenever we had any metallic
basis at all for our currency by the Is
| sue Of nearly S156. 600, 600 of new notes
was about ftty-two and half million
dollars during period of moro than
three years. The mere apprehension
that the government would not be able
to maintain the parity OF tho two metals
under the policy inaugurated by that
act not only discredite6 the new Treas
ury notes Themselves, but the whole
OF our currency, and gold went out
about IS fast az the new notes came in
II presume, also, that our free coin
age friends will admit that II the
change in prices has been caused en-
tirely by the appreciation of god, the
reduction would have affected all things
alike, because 1t Cannot be denied that,
In the absence OF ether influences, gold
must bear the same relation to the price
OF one article that 1t bears to the price
OF another. But we do not find that the
prices OF all things have been reduced
that the prices OF all things have in fact
been reduced
"In 1891, 1902 and part Of 1893 1 had
the honor to Gerve on subcommittee
| charged by the Senate of the United
States with the duty of asoortsiniHg the
| course of prices and wages Of labor for
| as long q period as authentic records
would enable us to EN- brace in our in.
vesugatioR, and. after most thorough
and impartial examination OF the SUBJ
1sct. report was made.
We have an abundance of money in
| this country for all the purposes of
trade, and tho disturbances and hard
| times OF 1893 and 1894 were not caus ed
by scarcity or contraction Of the
| currency, but by contraction of credit
resulting from loss OF confidence in
the stability and value of our currency.
"a great governme mt should dc moth
ing to discreditits own obligations or
diminish the value of the money in the
hands OF its citizens. We are all Amer.
leans. all citizens of the same great re-
public, and while 1t endures the for.
| tunes OF the North, South. East and
| West will be bound indissolubly to-
gether. There can be no antsgonistic
interest, no prosperity in one section at
i tha nHnQn of anAthnr hut ,uo rr,,at oil