Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-09-11

tnl Which KIM
In the circulation as fast as the voinm.
Is enlarged. Every gold dollar being
worm more In the market than in Inc
circulation, the whole gold circulation
VIII eventually disappear and silver
become the standard of value. Gold
can never be more valuable in our
,vIcuia,ion imam II Is In the open mar
kst ana still remain In the circule tion.
Ihe same result will follow when silver
becomes the standard All other val
ues VIII then be determined hy the
market value Of 37i IL grains OF pure
silver. The gold In our gold dollar
being twice as valuable as the silver
IN our silver dullar, the price of All
property measured by silver will he
twice as high as when measured by
gold. Being once fixed on the silver
standard, they cannot rise above that
plane by any amount of silver that
may be coined and added to the circu-
lation and into the market Just as gold
uoes when 1t Is the standard of value.
From 1850 to 1860 we took from our
mines sjOO,0OO,O00 of gold; yet In 1860
our circulation only showed sees 900. 900
OF both gold and silver, More than half
the gold went to the markets From
lIs2 to 1895 We took from our mines
S2,0l3,33616S In gold, but we only have
To-Day about S5OO,OOO000 I'M our circula-
y 4
OF II mas left-and left because 1t was
worth more in the markets as metal
than In the circulation as money. The
decreased value at home and Increased
value abroad took 1t away. If we make
silver the standard, precisely the same
result Will follow. II would not even
benefit the mine owners one farthing.
Their silver would then be at its gold
value In the market. Just as II IL now,
and II coined and added to our clrcula-
ton II would flow out as fast as it
would be put in. Its value In the mar
ket would be greater than Its value In
the circulation whenever the increased
volume of circulation raised prices here
In silver higher than prices abroad In
silver
We have twice in our history tried
the experiment of making a compound
standard of gold and silver. and sig
nally failed in both instances In 1882
we made the ratio 10 of silver to / of
gold and opened our minis to the I'M
limited coinage of both gold and silver.
By the ratio adopted,
GOLD WAS UNDERVALUED.
The average value of the gold In the
gold dollar from 1872 to 1884 was more
than four per cent greater than the
| average value OF the silver In our sill
Yer dollar. This was margin enough
and more than enough, to take all of
our gold coins out of our circulation
| and send them to the markets for sale.
| The consequence was that this country
was on a silver standard with silver
| circulation almost exclusively. This
| proved to be great Inconvenience to
| the country and after the war OF 1912
| had passed and the industries OF the
| country began to expand and our pro-
| ducts were multiplying and seeking
| markets everywhere II was seen that
the absence OF gold was a great him
| drance to commercial movement. In
| 1916 the agitation began In earnest for
| the restoration of gold to our currency,
| 1t continued until 1884. when to restore
| II the ratio was changed from 10 to /
to 1902 to /, aud in 1881 from that to
| 1888 TO /, which Is commonly called
| 10 to l.. The mints We're then opened
| to the unlimited coinage of both metals
at that ratio BY this adjustment sill
yer was undervalued. From 1884 to
| 1858 the silver in silver dollar aver
| aged annually two and a half per cent
more in the market than the gold In a
| gold dollar As consequence 1t left
the circulation and we had gold as the
standard, and an almost exclusive gold
metallic circulation, These two con-
| spicuous failures in the efforts of our
| statesmen to make compound stan
dard of value seems to have so dis
couraged them that the experiment
| was abandoned.
| In 1853 Democratic congress, find
Ing the country destitute of silver,
though we had coined up TO that time
| more than elghty-tive millions Of that
metal determined to restore II to our
circulation by coining II as a subsidiary
money, and over valuing IT enough TO
keep the coins In our circulation; and
TO prevent the overvalued silver from
so raising as TO eXpel the gold they
took from private repositories the
right Of coinage, confined II to govern
ment account, and within such limits
as should be prescribed by the seere-
tary of the treasury. The subsidiary
silver was coined at the ratio of l4.s5
to l. -
about three per cent and yet In the
Judgment of the men of that congress
that was a margin OF profit enough
to take all the gold out OF our circu-
lation, what would they have thought
of proposition to keep both gold ana
silver in circulation with unlimited
coinage of silver at so per cent dis
count This was not Republican, but
a Democratic congress. II was pre-
sided over by David II. Atchison OF
Missouri in the senate and Lynn Boyu
of Kentucky In the house. X. NJ. i
Hunter. distinguished Democratic
statesman from Virginia, was chair
| man OF the COmINllttt ou iIGhSV -
the senate. and George $. Houston
one of the greatest statesmen Alabama
ever produced. was chairman of th'
committee on ways and means in ms
house. In that congress was san
Houston, Rusk, Douglass, Cass, Hen
bricks. Bright. Shields, Breckinridg'
and other distinguished Democratic
leaders. ,.u
MIR. Hunter. who introduced the bil
in the senate. and reported II from tn
finance committee. said in his repor
that "the great measure OF readjust
ing the legal ratio between gold an,
silver cannot be safely attempted unti
some permanent relations between IN
market values OF the two metals shal
be established" II 1t could not p'
safely attempted when gold was at
discount OF per cent. can II be saiel'
attempted when silver Is at diseouh
of so per cent? Mr. Hunter ana IN
Democratic statesmen that supported
him determined that 1t was safe u
permit the existing standard OF sol'
10 remain. They determined that IN
proper ratio to establish ana Keep
common standard of both metals Shout
he left for future settlement whcl
conditions were more favorable an
they contented themselves with IN
safer policy that preserved the stano
ARD OF all existing contracts ana pro
sided for a fractional silver eurrenc'
'. ~. 1auond Of every day com