The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-06-27
BiMETALLISM DEFINED.
It Means to Open tho a1ints7 Of the country

! It Means to Open the Mints OF the Country
to Both Metals. I'D
An editorial writer in the New York
Sun has bumped a very thick head
against an argument made by Hon.
Charles F. Crisp in Georgia in favor Of
the free coinage Of silver. Judge Crisp
had referred to the disappearance of
gold from our circulation under the
act Of 1892 and Of silver under the act
Of 1884 by reference to acknowledging
ratios in this country and France. The
ratio of She French mint kept the com
mercial values Of the two metals prac-
teal y4steady att LIBERALIZATION fxed
by law But when tWo nations coin
freely Of different ratios both ratios,
of course, cannot control, and each
metal will seek the country whose law
gives it the higher valuation. This
was the substance Of. Judge Crisp's
argument and the following is the
Suns reply: .,.:is ~
Here were two instances in which
the mighty fat of the United States
congress, signed by the president,
couldn't keep gold and silver on*a
parity in value at fixed ratio, or
keep them both in circulation. It was
monometallism every time. Yet the
free silverites, joined by Judge Crisp
hinaself in the close of this identical
speech, plead that the United States
can main attain what they call 'bimetal-
lism' by starting alone on free silver
coinage at sixteen to one. We are liv-
ing, we are moving, in a grand and aw-
fnl time" *?@&.*:, : -: ;::: ii
1t is plain that the writer of the fore
going did not even dimly perceive the
meaning of Judge Crisp's argument,
and that he does not understand the
position Of the bimetallists or know
what bimetallism means. Bimetallism
exists in any country when it's 1nints
are freely open to the coinage of both
metals, when it gets the full benefit of
both in sustaining and replenishing
the volume of it's standard money and
When a stable ratio Of value is main
tanned between them. = Leading: and
candid !: monometallists y agree y that
France by its mint ratio of 1511 to
substantially controlled the relative
market values of gold and silver up to
1878. = When the United States set up a
law, first in|1792 and then in 1884, in
conflict with the French law, it simply
resulted in this" country's exchanging
first it's gold for silver and next it's sill
YER FOR gold. & But it got the benefit of
both. metals. So long as it could ex-
change a gold for a silver dollar or a
silver for gold dollar both metals
were available to the full extent for
increasing the supply of standard
money. When, for any reason, one
metal left the : country, the other
promptly flowed in and filled the gap
in our circulation without causing the
slightes disturbance. .. That was BIZ
What are the conditions
now? There has been for several
years steady outflow Of gold. flour
minis were open to the coinage of
both metals as:before 1878 we could
make this good by receiving silver in
it's place; but being denied this privi-
lege we must buy back, the gold with
bonds, and weS have already issued
$3.50, 900, coo of bonds for that purpose.
This is recommendation. Monometal-
lism restricts a country to the use of
one metal only. -
Il it loses that or any considerable
proportion of it it must go without or
buy it back at sacrifice. Bimetallisn
gives it the use Of both and enables it
when one metal. goes abroad to fill it's
place with the other without loss to
the circulation Memphis Commercial
Appeal, =: :.