Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-08-13
FREELAND, Pa, AUGUST 13, 1896.



Ex-Judgc Rhonc in wiIkesbarre Leader.
The Mckinley currency plank reads
as follows: I'VE are, therefore, opposed
to the free coinage of silver except by
international agreement with the lead
ing commercial nations of the world
which we pledge ourselves to promote
and until such agreement can be obtain
ed the existing gold standard must be
preserved"
The Bryan Democratic platform says:
We demand the free and unlimited coin
age OF both gold and silver at the present
legal ratio of Ii to l without waiting for
the aid or consent of any other nation. :"
The act of congress of February, 1878,
reads as follows: Section .. That imme-
diatcly after the passage Of this act, the
president shall invite the governments of
the countries composing the Latin
Union, So-callcd, and of such other
European nations as he may deem advis-
able, to Join the United States in Il con-
ference to adopt common ratio between
establishing. internationally the use Of
bimctallic money, and securing iiXity of
relative value between those metals,
such conference to be held at such
place, in Europe or in the United States
at such time within six months, as may
mutually agreed upon by the executives
Of the governments joining in the same:
whenever the governments so invited,
or any three of them, shall have Signi-
lied their willingness to unite in the
same" Shcrman'S Biography, page G22
In 1857 Il monetary conference was
held in Paris for the purpose of securing
international bimCtalliSm. In letter
written by John sherman, May S, 1867,
TO Samuel Il. Ruggles, United States
commissioner to the Paris conference.
he says. IF the commercial nations can
agree that an American dollar shall
equal five francs and five francs shall
equal the English pound, he is much in
favor Of it and he thinks our congress
will adopt it," and then he adds, page
los. IF this is done France will sure
Iy abandon the impossible effort of max
ing two standards of value" MIR. Rug
giles, our representative at the Paris
conference, reported, That several gov
crnmcnts had already assented' to the
proposed change in the unit of value
as before stated. Mr., Rugglcs, on page
4lO Of Shcrman's biography, says: at
is strange indeed to see American
newspapers eagerly maintaining the in
volatility OF the pound sterling when it
great monetary struggle of the future
must lie between the British pound and
the American dollar"
John Sherman says, page 4lO, "therc
was no dissent from the plan except that
Senator Morgan, of New York, thought
it would interfere with the profit OF New
York bankers in changing dollars into
pounds" SO much for the difficulties in
arriving at the unit Of values.
First, to get universal standard of
values, Mr. sherman says, page 412,
THAT is determined by the higher law
more potent than acts of congress.
lie further says, same page, "We can
coin silver into silver dollars, but we
can keep these dollars at par with gold
only by receiving them as the equal OF
gold when offered"
sherman says, page G93: "It appears
from the recent conference at Paris, in
yited by us, that other nations will not
join us in fixing an international ratio
and each country must adapt its laws to
its own policy"
An international bimctallc conference
was held at the Mansion House, London
May and 3, 1894 resulting in three re-
ports upon the subject. The chief diff
Guilty being that Great Britain would
consent to no change from that of gold
basis.
Bmctallsm to each country would
mean, first a change in unit of value,
which cannot be done because people buy
and sell and make contracts and think
Of values only in their own kind oi
money. In America it is dollars, in Eng
land 1t Is pound sterling, and in Franco
it is francs, and SO on. Another difficulty
in the way is that no one bank can be
agreed upon as clearing house for the
world, and another objection is that nc
congress, parliament or assembly could
make a legal tender law extending be-
yond its own country. The conclusion
at which | arrived is that international
bimetaIism is IL mere ideal, on a par
with II universal church as a substitute
for all religions, a universal congress to
make all the laws and one mundane
supreme court to construe all the laws,
all of which belong to the millennium,
The ST. Louis platform declares in
favor of the international agreements,
but no Republican states what is to be