The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-08-23
Ing mon and causing them to draw n

nmo,,rts AZ one 10 n million OF those
effected by tran sferrng creIits. and u
uotE.ng * done by government To impair
mems confidence In the standard Oh value.
a very small au.rtity OF actual coiso1
money will servs as the basis Tor an m
limited quantity OF those credit snbstt
tutes for money that transact businese
jLsf as well as actual money could.
60 10 any bank ard you Will ma they
keep little or no money or currency On
hand as compared TO the business they
do. | have In iniDd a bank which has al
ways some two millions OF dollars lent
our. and has der osits amounting 10 more
than million and "A half OF dollars. and
yet II never has In its vaults over SlSO,.
I'M or currency. and does not use more
than a small fraction OF that any day.
II ~ only kept for the use OF depositop
who want "A little money In their pockets
for the street cars. boot blacks. and mar
krting. and TO hand out to the employees
OF labor Saturday evenings. But all these
pay the money all out 10 the shop-keep-
ers at once, and II all comes back 70
the hank the next week, and Is paid cut
again for the same purposes. Ask any
bank N this IL not the case with II.
Whoever will get these IDEAS into HE
mind will understand finance. But he
will always grope I'm the dark while he
thinks our business affairs are transact
ell with coin and circulating notes
I am aware, fellow-cItizen, that i have
gone over this idea In several forms.
But my apology is that IL is the key 10
tho whole business. IL l make You un-
drrstsad this. you will get all the de-
lusions OF free silver out OF your minds.
And YOU must rid your minds, too, OF
the idea that the legal-tender quality OF
money contributes 10 its value. IL has
nothing to DO with that value. II Is only
TO force settsments between parties who
cannot sgree about their rights. But. for
bryirsS, a creditor must be as willing 10
accept money offered by debtor as the
debtor Is TO pay H. When creditors nave
to he forced 10 receive money, then bdsi-
ness comes TO stop.
FREE COINAGE WOULD PRODUCE
SILVER MONOMErALLISM
Having gone over these elementary
propositions involved In this case VIII
now come TO some OF the specific quos-
lion, involved In IL. and my iirst remark
IL that | csrIot agree TO tho free coinage
OF silver at the present ratio, for the
reason that IL would necessarily result
Immediately. in silver monome'silsm-
silver money end no other
Tho prcpcsitior OF the frcosilver men
Is that our government shall throw It's
minis open TO the coinage OF all ths ST.
yer that may be brought to them at the
ounce OF gold. That IL, that sixteen
ounces OF silver shall he coined into the
same number of silver dollars as one
ounce OF gold is coined into gold dollars.
This makes tte ounce of gold cot up
into s2o67 gold dollars and sixteen
ounces OF silver cut up into the same
number OF silver dollars. II makes the
gold dollar contain 23.22 grains or pure
gold and the silver dollar contain al IL
srulns OF pure silver.
But an ounce OF gold Is really worth
in tbs markets OF the world about thirty
one ounces OF silver and 23.Z2 grains OF
gold arc worth In those markets nearly
twice az much as 81 IA grains Of silver.
Now, there Is a natural law as nxed 40
that which carries the earth around the
sun that when there are two run KINDS
OF money circulating. side by side, ana
both legal tender for debt, 'snd one OF
these moneys 10 cheaper than the other,
the cheaper moEey will drive thu dearer
money out OF circulation Tbs world has
had many occasions 10 test this law, ana
IL has never yet failed TO work IN mat
WY. and II never Will OF can ia4i III III"
future.
Our own c1perepcs In this country
proves IL as oonclusively a. anything can.
when we commenced governmenl under
our present Constitution In 1888. DIT.
Jefferson AID Alexander Hamilton. both
members OF President Washingtons cabi-
net, though leaders OF opposing pol,i-
"a, raIties yet knew that tho rauo upon
which gold and silver were to be ooinsd
was n commercial question. and that the
coins OF each, IL they were both 10 cir
culate. nrst bear the same relation 10
each other that the metals In them pore
TO each other in the msrksts Ihey ae-
cordingly co-cperated sincerely IN en-
deayofing to ascertain their true rhto,
and they determined that u was 10 10 l.
and our first coinage law. passed III i,'-,
established that as the ratio upon wulCu
they vera 10 he coined. They either got
The ratio vrcrg. or one OF the metals
soon became more abundant than IL hau
been, SO that IL was very soon dlscoVereu
that our gold dollars wers worth more
than our silver dollars. In other WORDS
one ounce of gold was worth more than
ffteen ounces OF silver. The result was
that although tho gold dollar was only
worth about Is OF a cent more thah tho
silver dollar. the silver doilsr drove ,no
gold dollar out OF circulation, and from
mat time until 1s34-'3. wa had silver
Observation-Disclosures whole money was
silver This is an historical iact whhcn
no Intelligent fee conner Will oeny ~
difference Of only Is OF cent between
n and gold drove all the gold out OF CIR
cnlation What will a difference or nfty
cents do2 x. ...,,<,,,
PRESIDENT JEFFERSQNS STRETCH
or AUTHORITY.
yar,, we'll we had coined about 5000
600 OF silver dollars when IL was dls-
covered that certain foreign silver uol-
lar, which Congress had made legal ten,
der for debt. being worn py use anu
abrasion. SO that they had become less
valuable than our new silver dollars,
were driving them out OF circulation, SO
President Jefferson. In 1sb ny Il great
stretch OF authority. forbade the nihts 10
coin any more silver dollars. aud only
three millions more OF them were coined
thereafter until 1873. when the act de-
mon.tizing silver, az IL IS oallep' 80, mas
passed. SO that in all or our history
prior 10 the demonetzng act IN 100
we had never had but Ss.0OOOoo or sl-
YER dollars. In 1884. and In 1881 Congress
resolved TO bring back gold into circula
lion and consequently. by acts passed
i'm those years they LETT the SILVER uo,la.
as il had been, but they providen INA,
the gold dollar should have diminishsh
ouantity Of gold in IT, establishing the
ratio between them as II now Is. al 10
10 |. This did silver an injustice. making
the silver dollar Worth about a cent , and
A half more than the gold noiat' II,
consequence was gold drove all the sllVer
ont OF circulation. and we went upon
a cold basis in 1887. and remained on II
until the war. when there was no com Oh
any sort used. and in 1913, when re-
vision OF all the mint laws. was hlduo
Congress concluded that as We weIe on
the gold basis and had never used mo
silver dollar. IL would drop the law au
,horizing its coinage But the point
want TO max. Is that we slightly unuer
valued the silver dollar in 1877, but snsht
az that differentiation was, IL was
enough TO drive silver out or clrcula,son'
What would happen II we fnanc ILL.,, ILL.,
erce Of 20 cents in the dollar Inc cne@p
dollar would necessarily drive the desi
ona out. and we should nave nothing Jul
the fifty-cent silver dollar.
IL would commence In this way = nan nan
owing go 81 OF debt and having an OUNCE
Of gold. would swap MS goa LOT oi tn'. siy.
two ounces OF silver. He would com sis
Ten onnces OF his silver into NObi ana
nav his debt and be would have sixteen
ounces over 10 coin INTO tha' many ihoio
dollars The thing would not DE zone IN
that bald way. but ttat Is the e,en'n.Aly,
nrincinla that would be- AZ the bottom ot
What took place. IL would actually 90
,'.n,L "a on, bv brokers and spectators