Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1895-07-27
THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY!

THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY!
FallacIous Argument of Free silver ADJ
vocates.
The per capita of money to popula-
tion is a phrase that is tossed about by
populists and free silver advocates.
They draw conclusions from statistics
to show that free coinage of silver
would increase the per capita OF
money, and with money more plenti-
full wages would increase, produce
would bring greater prices and times
would be better everywhere.
The argument is challenged by the
Rhodes Journal of Banking" which
proceeds to say that the high per cap.
ita amounts are found in countries
that have the gold standard, and the
highest in those countries that, con-
tanning the gold par, use as large an
amount of legal tender silver as they
can maintain at the gold par.
Now, the condition of France where
the per capita amount of money is
CREATE than that of any other nation
in the world-S36. 70, of which sci. "a is
gold, s12. s5 silver and S2.31 paper-re-
minds one in some respects of the
United States; for she uses both gold
and silver, and her silver legal tender
money, like our own, is coinage of
the past, and her mints are not now
open to silver. The proportion, how
ever, of her gold to her silver is
greater, for of the per capita amount
of money in the United States, S25.07,
SO. 90 is gold, S9.0s silver and Sc. is
paper.
The article in question notes that
China's per capita, only sos, is all sill
yer; that India's S3,33, is S3.21 silver
| and IL cents paper; Russia's IS. 80, of
which S3.67 is gold, 3s cents silver and
S4.27 paper; Mexicos S4.71, of which Al
| cents is gold, S4.l3 in silver and II
| cents is paper; and an examination of
all countries shows that gold and sill
yer together, save perhaps in Great
Britain, form the basis of circulation
in those countries where wealth and
civilization have made most progress;
and the conclusion may be fairly
drawn that 1.-THE single standard of
silver adopted by any country is sure
to lower the per capita amount of
money in circulation, and the very
basis of the claim of the free coinage
|
mipts of the United States to silver
at ratio of l6 to / the volume of
money would be increased, is disproved
by these statistics"
| Reference is had to the cheapness of
labor in China and India, and the as
sertion is made that the adoption of
free coinage by the United States, in
stead of increasing the wages of labor,
would reduce them by the scarcity and
inferiority of the money it would in
troduce."
Unquestionably the worlds produc-
tion OF precious metals, however, is
doing more than anything else to
equalize conditions and dispel the bug
aboo of monometallism, gold or silver.
Last year. S24, 2s2,0 900 more of gold
was mined than in 1893, an increase of
over IL per cent. New gold mines have
been searched for and old ones have
developed their output And, despite
the diminished price of silver, its pro-
duction also has increased: In 1893 the
worlds silver product was S209, los, 900;
and last year it was S214, ,4sI, 100.
Place these two items in juxtaposi-
ton:
Worlds gold product, 1894, sls1,51o,loo
World silver product, 1895, l4,4sl, 100
The one product now nearly balances
the other. The production of gold is
rapidly overtaking the production of
silver. The use of these precious met
ais in the arts leaves quantities of each
nearly equal for coinage purposes, and
the thoughtful bimetallist rises to in
quire how long it will be before the
conditions will adjust themselves in
spite of legislation, conventions, stump
speeches and essays. s.-Albany Journal.