The morning times., 1896-08-26

Aeav York Speech
THE TIMES has thought best continue the publ
cation of quotations from Mr. Bryans New York speech
to better demonstrate by comparison with facts the
many Inconsistencies and unsubstantiated assumptions
of that illogical The speech has also been
accepted defining the principles of the slvere
party and careful study of from reasoning stand
point clearly dscloses Mr.. Bryans inability to
deal with great public questions. If the argument he
makes fair illustration OF the policy he intends to
enforce President it should emphatcay condemn his
candidacy and defeat his election by overwhelming
commonsense orty. In the above quotation Mr. Bryan
gnorantly admits that gold and silver cannot be legally
linked together money by attempting to argue that
debtors should be authorized to qudate their indebted
ness with the cheaper metal. There has been
time the history of this country when the commercial
and coinage ratios of gold and silver were kept at
parity for great length of time Nor have debtors
been denied the privilege of paying off creditors in
cheaper metal except when contracts made to
the contrary. The fact that slight variation in the
commercial value of gold and silver has always forced
the dearer money ont of circulation proof of this
assertion and it further demonstrates that bimetasm
myth when applied to actual money circulation Let
JUS briefly review the financial history of the United
States for evidence that have really had bmeta
ism although that policy engrossed statutes
The United States established bimetallism, the
double standard in 1856, at coinage ratio of 15 to
but there actual coinage until 1892 when the
ratio changed to IS to l. This then the ''an
cent standard" 1.-The money of fathers The
mercial ratio of gold and silver that time 1517
to l. But silver gradually increased in value and the
commercial ratio became disproportonate that silver
as the dearer metal, practically withdrawn from
general The actual standard of value up to 1884
gold and to eradicate the disparity the
gold and silver and again establish BIZ
metasm Congress changed the coinage ratio to 16
1. At that time the commercial ratio IS 70 to 1.
to that date only 1889 SIT standard silver dollars
had been coined and silver money restricted
almost entirely to subsidiary coinage. Under the new
ratio vigorous effort made to circulate silver but
continued to be exported bullion and could be
Linked to gold legal tender money because it
more valuable bullion. Congress again took the
question up in 1883 with the intention of entirely de-
monetizng silver and substituting gold the sole legal
tender The Monte Crsto reports of gold discoveries
in California and Australia prevented final action the
question but to provide for better circulation of
sidiary silver to replace the snpaster then
use, and prevent the further export of small
silver coins bullion Congress lowered the weight of
subsidiary coinage 81 per cent and limited its legal
der power SIS. Cold however still continued to be
chief metallic legal tender money until it forced
out of circulation by the wartime greenbacks.
" The history of silver since the is familiar to
readers. Although had coined So, OBJ 238 in silver
legal tender up to its decentralization in 1873, but
little of it in actual and gold kadbeen stand
ard of value. Gold in reality up to the time
of the great gold discoveries the cheaper money metal
and while Congress had several times changed the
coinage ratio of gold and silver to maintain their
parity the unwriten law Of supply and demand estab
lshed potent ratio and bimetal1ism then as
it would be delusion, legal falacy, Congress
sonal fraud While our government is powerful and
progressive and while Congress is largely up of
competent and experienced men, bmetaism under pres
emit conditions would be failure than it been
in the past. With all the wisdom of Congress- backed
as would be by the influence of the Intelligent
and potent government in the world could MAIN
tain bimetalsm and keep gold and silver at parity
without resortng commercial methods and the euid
ance of commentators. BY establishing silver corner
and authorizing the purchase for indefinite period of
all the worlds surplus gold and silver Congress could
coinage ratio of 16 to l. En- time we might
also fe1ee other nations to adopt bmeac standard
but what would be- its COST and would policy ben