The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-08-23

vafue Of these metals IN Spain scd Portu-
rai and throughout their vaxt don.lnsors
A ths new world. whenca or principal
supplies Of gold were derived. was AZ thu
rate of Is fort thus making our standard
r,~r cert. below the s.ansars. OF the ccun-
tries which chiefly produced gold Il was
also below the English standard and The
French standard and below rae standard
which prevailed IN these states before the
adoption o: Tire constitution Il Is 20 fnis
fact. he says. that I'VE trace the origin o.
the erroneous valuation OF gold whieh has
sznsshe1 that metal from the country"
Mr.. Beuson attributed the error partly
20 the fact that the paper system. then
ornnipotsnt In England was making IT'S
transit 70 the United States. The paper
money. however. TO which he referred.
vas Bank OF England notes. and not the
zreenbacks Of a later data which differ
very materially from TIE English system
Mr.. Benton thinks that part Of the scheme
OF Hamilton was a plan for the establish
nsent OF the paper system IN America AZ
tine when we had "a gold currency which
vas circulating freely and fully all over
the country"
The consequence o. making any mis-
take In fixing our standard" ne says.
was well-known In the year 1as2. Mr.
Secretary Hamilton IN his proposition for
the establishment OF the mint expressly
declared that the consequence Of mis-
take tn the relative value Of the two met
ais would be the expulsion Of the one that
was undervalued- Mr.. Jefferson. then sec
rotary OF state, In his contemporaneous
report upon foreign coins. declared the
same thing. Mr. Robert Morris. financier
TO the revolutionary government, in his
proposal 10 establish mint IN iIsZ. was
equally explicit 10 the same effect"
In a speech delivered In 1884. while An
drew Jackson was president Senator Ben
ton said that the fact that gold was under
valued BIZ the laws Of the United States
and expelled 0rom circulation everybody
knew. and he declared IL was PROPOSE
ton free from dispute or centestaaon that
the value then set upon gold by the laws
of the United States was unjust and err
roneous.
This was at a time when the country
had free coinage of silver at a ratio OF
only per cent below the commercial
value. What would Senator BeVon say
~ he knew that Notwithstanding this
eeregious failure to keep the two metals
In circulation with only that slight dif-
ference, the American people were asked
10 undertake the impossible task OF keep
ing Them both in circulation at is TO i,
when the market value was about 81 toll!
In that same speech Mr.. Benton made
his acknowledgements ito the great apos-
tic OF American liberty" Thomas Jeffer-
son, fors"the wise. practical idea that the
value of gold was a commercial question
to be settled by its value in other coun-
tries" lie fully concurred with the sem
ator from South Carolina, John c. Cal
houn, that gold In the United States ought
TO be the preferred metal: not that silver
should be expelled. but both retained; the
mistake IL any. 10 be in favor of gold, In
stead OF against it.
We now know that the advice of Jeffer-
son. Calhoun, Hamilton. Morris and Ben
ton was ignored for time, but eventually
the nation was compelled TO recognize the
truth of Benton's aphorism that God
goes where 1t finds its value. and that
value Is what the laws of great nations
give H." This is an argument In favor of
international bi-metalIlsm. but that this
country could not alone bridge over such
a chasm as that which now yawns be-
tween gold and silver by an attempt to
fix values by law was recognized even
then as being beyond controversy. since
even the slight difference between the met
ais OF those days prompted Mr.. Benton
to say:
at is not to be supposed that gold VIII
come from those countries to the United
States II the Importer is to lose one dollar
In every sixteen that he brings; or that
our own gold viii remain with US when
an exporter can gain dollar upon every
fifteen Chat Is, the difference between 10 TO
l and l6 to ID that he carries out. Such
results would be contrary 10 the laws OF
trade and therefore we must place the
same value upon gold that other nations
do If we wish to gain any part OF theirs.
or 10 regain any part OF our own
How far the silver dollar IS from being
the dollar OF our daddies'' IS demon
strated by powerful passage In one Of
Senator Banton's speeches. In which he
adiured The friends OF gold to 10 to work
70 eject THE recovery OF that precious
metal which their fathers once possessed.
Which tae subjects OF European kings now
possess. which the citizens OF the young
republics to the south all possess, which
even the free negroes Of san Domingo
possess. but which the yeomanry OF this
America have been deprived Of for more
than twenty years
one more quotation may well close a
chapter from the history OF our monetary
system, which should be all the warning
needed not TO repeat such q deplorable
| hlunaer. Senator Benton says that a.
| though Hamilton expressed q desire to
retain both metals in circulation and even
70 have a gold dollar. the proportion OF Is
10 was established. This gave silver a
greater legal value than Il was entitled to
or commanded IN the markets os the
world See me result. even with 80
slight variation;
The eleventh section OF the act OF
Apra. i7ea. enacted that every fifteen
| poundsNelght Of pure silver should be
equal IN value In al payments with one
pound OF pure sold. This act was the
death warrant 70 the gold currency
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