The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-08-20
Bimetallism, or the So-Called Double
Standard is Impossible, He Says.
JUDGE HUGHES OSE-SIDED SCHEME.
He Would Evidently Like TO SELL by on o
Measure and Buy by AnothcT-the Sill
Yer Craze One of ThOse Periodical
Epidemics That Have visited U.s.

Mr.. A. p. Rowe. Jro Manager OK tAs
Free Lance:
Dear s.r.-l have received your letter
asking my views On tie political silua-
uon. and / irier that you wish 20 know
my position IN regard to ths oresiden-
TIA. candidates ana my opinion as 20
the policies they are supposed 10 repre-
sent. In 1 had million votes, Wo1a
lhc them 10 Mt.Llcy- 14i "pP1ar-
TO the Popuilst ticket nominated at Ch4-
CdgO.
INC United States was placed on the
god staudald Dy Andrew jackson over
sixty years age, ana we have been
there ever since. am upposeu 10 S-D-
shutting for 10 now deprecated cur
Iency, and descending to commercial
level with Siam. 1 was opposed 10 the
Island silver Oh inNs'S because l regard
ed 10 a. reputation ln disguise anu the
mist financial step in tho descent 10
AyernLs. where COXey and Bryan are
trylu. % land us. Experience mas CON
nfmoI tho opinions formed tnen- Dur
lng residence OF several years in emma,
and ia freu4tuL FI-iL TO Mexico, that
las free cOiuacc, l never saw piece OF
gol. in circulation. by natural law
as universal as that OF grav!tauOn, the
cheaper always drives out the dtarer
currency.
BBIETALLISM IMPOSSIBLE.
Locke. who was an assistant IN the
which ls now accepted as an axiom IN
finance that II b. Impossible TO have
Two stand.srd metals circulating SIDE
ly side AT the same time. Tor the PLAIN
reason taat d j. Impossible TO make
.hstr legal correspond with their mar
ket ratiQ FOR any length OF time. ne
commercial ratio OF gOld ana silver, Nhe
al other commodities, must vary ac-
cOrdng 10 supply ana demand ana lHe
cost o. production, and cannot ID uNtd
bv legislation. \ constant ratio be-
tween the price OF gold and silver can
10 more DO maintained by law than be-
tween wheat and corn. Locke stated
eflf-eVilent truth when be said. mere
being 10 two things ia nature whose
proportion and use does NOT vary, IL ~
impossible TO set standing price De
tween them. which is equivalent 10
saving that bimefsllism or the 80 called
double standard is impossible. hmeial-
iiem-by which is meant the coinage and
circulation OF two metals on private ac-
count with fun lega-tender N4!pc-Is 4
dream that can never 90 realized. ~
course. {he Government can coin both
metals, but only the inferior viii circu-
late. on the recognition of this principle
the English monetary system ls iound1i
But says the CoAty platform, tAdt is
British policy. and we ought not 20
follow 81" And SO. ] answer IS the
habcas corpus ana our inheritance OF Tree
Institutions To discard policy mere
ly because great collmeIcla. Hauon
was tho first 20 adopt d.. MOdid ne as
absurd as to accept the Reverend Jolh
Iasp.rs theory OF The solar system IN
preference 30 Newton S. ~
The question OF the So-calle9 uouole
standard is not new one DC FeNcu
T.uro.a for two hundred years. ana was
fnalv condemned as Improbable by
the greatest statesmen and economists.
Bimctallsm. or the marriage OF the Two
metals has never existed and never can
exist anywhere. The laws OF nature
f.rf.fF INNS NqugIeOufg attempt
u establish il In France was as great
g. failure as the expedition 10 MOSCOW,
For eighty years the United states haa
free-coinage law. plt away ln al al
then gold. Experience demonstrated
that the scheme 10 have free coinage anu
comet rent casua'Ion ~ the Two
metals vas impracticADle. ana as uclueife
as the mirage that thirsty travellers
pursue on the desert. You may ask il
/ am opposed 20 that ideal thing tlat
is called bimcfallism. answer, no.
neither am i opposed 10 t.e discovery
OF perpetual motion. hnl Don thihN
autolv WIN ever discover a..
DANIEL. SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
"But." says Major Daniel in his
speech at tue lOyuhst convention, we
have gold and silver dollars clfculallns
together az gar TO-DAY. 10y WI 'Do ~, . t'e
Government stamp. which Us a reiita tion
az th. theory of the economists. 1T
commemorative of tile Territory OF ked
cloud and Sitting Bull had SAID go: i
wound have ItII uO surprise, hut % ~
rruia senator should know better The
reason why silver dollars pass as li'
equal Of gold dollars is the pledge OF lne
Government t0 maintain their eqIahly
with gold, just as the note on .'i,-liIiP
m-at u- ur .allAiri .n bank win Astoi
or EanderbUfs endorsement upon IL.
when ereenhacks were deprecated ~ per
cent. they had the same stamp ON them
tna+ they have now. II there ls any
such magic in stamp. u. uy IH.c .l ,Dl' E
/ on an Inferior metal - piuunus unuin.
and the American eagle. Such % trans TOT
nation OF value can be effected. tntn
why not Try 30 on copper. ana turn the
I great Anaconda mine into COM
10 YOU ask il ] believe Do monoWe'al-
/ lism? 1 answer. ! do. just as l heIrFe
IN any other law OF nature-the refolu.
| rou of the earth and the mou"h vl
TN planets. MOlieres country Benue-
| man had been speaking prose an MS
lffa without knowing 30. we have been
ON "A mono1zctailIc base ever since me
/ foundation or the Government. put the
! Chicago convention seems never 10 nave
] discovered i The vain effort 10 mann
/ tain the concurrent circulation 81 CONS
/ Of different metallic values iS descfiprh
Ip one OF his most instructive chapters
] l- tlaraulav. Tic says. , ,
! "a elm c6 crown. on English ground.
| went as far in The payment or q LAX OF
/ o debt as a millel crown. But the ullled
/ crown. as soon as ~ had been flung into
I tire rrucihie or carried across inc chah-
mel became much more valuable than the
/ cifnped crown II might. therefore, have
/ been predicted. as confidently as any
/ thing can be predicted which depends on
/ the human will. that the inferior pieces
/ would remain in the only market in which
/ they could fetch the same price as tne
/ superior pieces. and that the superior
I pieces would take some form or fly 10
/ some place IN which somn advantage
/ could be derived from their superiority
/ The politicians Of that age, however,
/ generally overlooked these very obvious
/ Considerations. They marvelled exceed
/ ingIv that everybody should be so per-
/ verse as TO use light money in prefer
! ence to good money In other words. they
| maryelled that nobody chose 10 pay twelve
ounces OF silver when ten would serve
/ the turn"
/ For the same reason that deprecated
| grcenbacEs drove specie out OF circula-
| ton deprecated silver with free coinage
would drive gold out o. circulation. with
free coinage there is no guaranty OF the
I equality or the coins but each metal
I stands on its merits The sO-called dou-
/ ble standard is an idvi that mlg- nave
| deceived a simple hucoiic age, II ls OUT
/ OF date ia the nineteenth century. ! nave
/ said that the United States was placed
1 on the gold standard (yOu can't have TWO
: standards) bv Andrew Jackson. 10 would
, be more accurate 10 say that during MS
! administration the mint ratio OF 10 10
. was adopted. This slightly underValued
/ silver. g the bullion In the silver dol
/ lar was worth more In the market tnln
/ the bullion in the gold dollar. TO make
I this small profit the holders or silver
no longer took it 10 the. mint but sold IL