The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-15
STRONG POINTS WELL PUT.
E. Gerry Browns Discussion OF
Money at a New England
Town Meeting.
A REMARKABLE LITTLE BOOK.
CONTINUED from last week.1

CONTINUED from last week.1
Cali of which are in circulation, salo
the editor, "for government has furnish
ed paper representative of each dollar,
and the silver dollars are the reserves
with which to redeem each promise TO
pay a silver dollar. 1t represents Sill
yer dollar, and is substitute for silver
dollar"
But free coinage dumps foreign silver
OH our mint" said the banker.
Foreign silver" said the editor, that
is now coined and in circulation Is worth
$1.33 an ounce where it is coined at the
ratio of 1916 to L; and is worth $1.37 an
ounce where it is coined at the rate OF
Is to 1; and it is not coming to the United
States to be coined at $1.29 an ounce"
Hold on! Hold on! shouted the
banker. "Silver is worth $133 an ounce
$1.37 an ounce? Nonsense! The silver
is worth about 60 cents an ounce half
price, as you said while ago."
"Uncoined silver is about 60 cents an
ounce; but coined silver carries the
stamp of the mint-the law of the coun-
| try,-and has the value the law has
| given it. The 600,000O00 coined silver
| francs of France maintain themselves at
| par with gold so with the German mark
and the Spanish peso. For the same rea-
| son our silver dollar is worth 100 cents
in gold"
"a silver dollar is worth SO cents"
| said the banker.
"You have never seen silver dollar
at discount; the BIN grains of silver
coined in our dollar will buy over 700
| grains of uncOined silver, or 100 cents
worth of silver" said the editor.
"It's the only kind of dollars that you
| pay at your bank" said the merchant,
| land you count them 100 cents when you
| redeem your promise to pay a dollar"
"It is an honest dollar when he pays
| it for dollar" said the farmer.
"Well, the gold dollar carries round
with it collateral that is twice as valu-
able as a silver dollar" retorted the
| banker.
What makes the silver dollar dollar
| them" asked one voice. How much
collateral does your promise to pay carry
round with it?' asked another.
Order! order! one at timer raped
| the minister.
There is another grave objection to
free coinage" said the banker. Under
the Gresham Jaw the cheaper money
drives the better money out of circula-
ton, and gold will be driven out"
Accepting your Interpretation Of the
Gresham law, which, however, is not a
correct one," said the editor, cit is evil
dent that gold has already been driven
| out of circulation by your credit; but in
my opinion silver would drive some Of
your credit out of circulation. When the
Bland-Allison Act was under considers
ton in 1878, the gold men said it would
drive gold out of the country. Senators
and members of the House, even now
prominent god men, are on record at
| %l,o% ohN%S <N hot h11t
| gold flowed into the country. There
were great importations of gold, up to
1881 amounting to over $3.50, 1000, end
| for number of years thereafter the ex-
ports of gold did not exceed the imports
of gold In 1883 the national banks
| commenced to retire the national bank
notes, and kept it up at an average of
over $2O,000,0OO year. AS the silver
coined under the Bland-Allison Act came
into circulation, bank-notes were taken
out of the circulation"
| what effect would it have upon bust
| ness if the minis were open to silver, and
silver did come to the country, as the
banker claims?" asked the merchant.
Precisely the same effect which an in
flow of god into the country would
have" replied the editor. with silver
accepted at fixed ratio to gold, it would
| or what serves as gold Adding the sill
yer to the volume of money would raise
| prices"
"Ha! ha" laughed the banker. ut
would raise the price of all commodities
will it? You admit it, do you? That's
right. That's what we say. Imitation,
The workingman and farmer will get
twice as much for his product, and will
have to pay twice as much for the prod
ucts lie buys; and he therefore does not
bett his condition. Ha! ha! and la
Dor organizations and the Farmers ALI
ances favor free silver, which raises sill
yer from half-price to $1.29 an ounce; and
the silver miner gets double the price
for his silver, and the fools don't see it. y
"Here! you are laughing too much
said the editor your suggestion that
| prices of all commodities would double is
ridiculous, and contrary to all expert
ence. Depreciation under demOnetiza-
ton was gradual. Appreciation under
silver would be the same. Let us keep
our feet grounded on some well-estab-
lished principle, and reason out from
that. 1t is the volume of money that
governs prices, and therefore prices
would be regulated by the amount of ST.
yer that entered into the volume through
free coinage. Bear in mind the volume
| OF money tOOlS now III existence, ana Inon
the small percentage that it would be
increased if all the silver bullion now
available was offered for coinage Then
too, you bankers might draw in your
credit-want of confidence, you know, and
that would counteract the effect of the
addition of similar amount of silver II
is probable, however, that the prospect
of prosperity would cause some advance
in prices"
But silver men declare confidently
that wheat and cotton would double in
price; and the South and West believe
it, said the banker.
Wheat and cotton would advance in
price from other causes than the increase
in our money volume" said the editor
THE surplus wheat and cotton of the
United States comes into competition
with the wheat and cotton produced by
silver basis countries, which seek the
same foreign market. These silver-ba
sis countries sell their wheat and cotton
for silver; and the London gold cost OF
silver fixes the god price of American
wheat and cotton. If one ounce of silver
equals one bushel of wheat or a certain
quantity of cotton, then, If the gold cost
of silver is $1.29 an ounce, the American
wheat and cotton would command $1.29
instead of 60 cents, or whatever the pres
ent market price of silver may be per
ounce. But admit for the sake of the
arormant that tho nriceS Of all cOmnOd