The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-06-21
WHAT is Blr1ETALLlSM.

ID ALLiSN.
The Chicago Inter Ocean few days
ago published an article of several
columns in length, under the above
caption, by writer signing himself
"Justice, treating the question in a
very conservative manner, and with
the evident purpose of being fair on
the subject, though the fact crops out
occasionally that he is somewhat
i partial to the silver side of the Ques
tion, and allows himself to be misled
by their assertions, as for instance in
abiding to the law of 1873, he declares
that the dropping of the silver dollar
was secured by stealth. He further
attributes every panic in this country
since 1873 to the gold standard, though
gold has virtually been the standard
/ since 1884, and the panics which have
taken place since 1873 can no more be
traced to gold than they can before
that time. and no silverite has as yet
attributed any of the business depres-
sions which happened previous to
1873 to gold. Another error which he
falls into is that the fall in the prices
of wheat and cotton is due to the fall
in the price of silver rather than to
the supply and demand of those two
commodities.
In defining a bimetallic standard
the writer gives two definitions, one
that it is ian attempt to keep the
two precious metals in circulation
within a single country" and the
other ''the tying of the two precious
metals together SO that for monetary
purposes they are throughout the
world practically one measure or
standard of exchange value" In fol-
lowing out these definitions he gives
the experiences Of two countries
France and the United States-his ac-
count being practically the same as
that given by Congressman McCleary
city few weeks ago, and reproduced
in these columns. In no instance did
the two metals circulate freely to-
gether. There was always a slight
difference in the mint and market
value of the two, land the cheapest one
) went to the mint and the dearer one
to the market as matter of course,
SO that as a means of getting the two
metals into circulation side by side,
at the same time in anything like
equal quantities, bimetallism has SO
far proved failure.
There is one point, however, which
the Inter Ocean writer makes which is
quite important, and that is that I'M
der the-bimetallic system as it existed
previous to 1873, the value of the two
metals was kept very close together,
and that their fuctuation in value
was very Slight, though the difference
was at all times sufficient to drive the
most valuable metal out of circula-
. tion, and it would again.
! But by far the strongest point to be
drawn from the article is, that the ac-
tion of any one country alone, for or
against free coinage, would have very
little influence either way in the
market value of the two metals. The
action of England in 1916 had nothing
further than a temporary effect on
their value. The action of the United
States likewise produced very little
effect in the price. 1t was not until
Germany and the members of the
Latin union discontinued the free
coinage of silver that its market value
was disturbed to any extent, and it
commenced to decline. If one nation
alone, in discarding the use of silver,
had nothing further than temporary
effect ON the value of the metal, it is
simply wild to assert that one nation,
Isingle-handed and alone, can restore
j silver to its old position by opening
its minis to its free coinage. No
stronger proof is needed than that af
fOrded by the Inter Ocean writer in his
tracing of the history of the two
metals under the action of bimetallic
laws, that to restore silver to its old
time place, and secure its usage to
any extent in the money volume
of the progressive nations of the
world, an international agreement
must be obtained, fixing universal
ratio therefor, and that any attempt
at free coinage by the United States
alone means simply the going to a
silver standard, with all its attendant
evils in the matter of depreciation of
values.
The FREE PRESS is the medium
through which the advertiser can