The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-06-08
METAL MONEY HISTORY
Worlds Creditors Make I'm
ceasing War on Silver.
KILLED THE GOLDEN EGG LAYER.

KILLED THE GOLDEN EGG LAYER.
Made England Il Present of &4,OOO,OOO,-
OOO-Business Checked and Enterprise
Ruined-silver stu Stable.
Conspiracy is hateful word. We
naturally hesitate to charge such action
upon honorable men, bankers and law
makers. Nor is the matter much helped
by speaking of it as preconcerted
movement, as has lately been SO much
the fashion in congress. It is not neces-
sary, however, to charge an actual con-
spiracy against silver, for the whole
history Of the world shows that q class
widely diffused, but all interested il one
movement, will work as effectually to
aid it as If sitting il continuous con-
ventiOn. What do charge il that for
over % years the world S creditors have
worked without 'Coasiug, and all their
efforts have been IL one direction; chat
the facts, IS now submitted by them
selves, show results which, though they
may not have been minutely planned i'll
| advance, have yet been forescen by the
shrewd ones, and while the movement
has been as uniform and persistent the
results have been as complete, as wrong
ful to debtors and as profitable to credit
ors as it designed by the most artful
conspiracy of which man is capable. In
| proof of this let facts be submitted to q
candid world,
War Begun Against Silver.
In 1867 the worlds creditors met ia
convention at Paris under the name OF
the international monetary conference.
The assigned reason for this convention
was that, as international commerce was
rapidly increasing the diversities Of
coinage were becoming great annoy
ance, and the alleged design was to as
simulate the coins so that they would
pass from nation to nation just like tons
of wheat Or pounds of cotton. But no
sooner did the convention get to work
than deeper design was revealed.
Nineteen nations were represented, for
the great exposition was in progress,
the financiers of the world embraced the
opportunity to see it, and the French
committee Oh coinage had made a thor.
ough study of the worlds metallic
money and invited the nations to hear
it's conclusion. That committee made a
lengthy and minute report, the chief
point of interest in this connection be-
ing that the Latin union, then consist
ing of France. Italy, Belgium and Swift
zerland, was coming freely of both
metals at the ratio Of 1515 to l and
could continue to do SO because the
worlds stocks of silver and gold were
almost exactly equal, and the greater
value production of gold then, and for
many years preceding, was certain to
be absorbed in the arts. The American
commissioner proposed a 25 franc gold
S. piece and the English sovereign or
pound sterling could by degrees be as
simulated, but this was combated
chiefly On the ground that it would dis
turb the whole decimal system of the
Latin union, and our commissioner
came away somewhat out of humor.
Quite suddenly, as it would seem, the
ground Of the discussion was shifted,
and the war on silver began. The unex-
planned puzzle about this convention
was that the Latin union, which had
called it, was a binetallic union and
declared free coinage success, and yet
with only one dissenting nation, so far
as can be determined and with surpris.
ingly little discussion. the convention
resolved that international money sis
attainable on the basis and condition OF
adopting the exclusive gold standard,
leaving each state the liberty of keeping
its silver standard temporarily. "Hol.
land alone combated the proposition.
All the silver standard countries pres.
ent, the United States included, voted
for it, and only one man in the conven-
tion blurted out the plain truth. Presi.
dent Mees of the Bank of the Neither.
lands predicted worldwide trouble and
declared that ''to adopt the gold stand.
ard everywhere would reduce silver tc
change money, and consequently gold
would rise i'll value"
Gold Standard Adopted.
SLreTe as they were, they made one
mistake. They seem to have believed
that tie national debts Of the world had
! reached their maximum and the cor.
porate debts nearly so, and that many
years of peace We're to follow. Only
four years later France had to agree tc
pay Germany the great war indemnity,
amounting to nearly 81, 900, 900. 600. II
was then that the war on silver became
active. Germany announced that she
would seize the opportunity offered bel