People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-11-12
70 '-''0~L 7i,;-- GUM

An Int. r, Chicago
Pa. p. .nomist.
Tie lIcIJ,, .t.,.c- a. y.v lister OF
the United States at Brussels reaches
me- from ~ Allard, the distinguished
BeDgln publicist. Coming from a
so;Ice free from political bias, it is
likely to interest equally the supporters
O. III. Mckinley and those Of Mr. Bry-
g. cs'h p2rty being, as we are assured,
equally in earnest to restore silver to
the worlds currency, the methods only
being different:
70 His Excellency the Hon. James Currie,
United htates Minister, Brussels:
feel 1t ny duty to answer without delay
the letter which you kindly addressed to me
J frNay, but beg your forgiveness II here
In tie country, far from my Office and my ref
err ces, ! am less explicit than / should wish
to be.
follow in my answers the same sequence
which you have adopted in your questions.
Ii-st.-TAn ''w e p loiGm gives to every
debtor the unqueshoned right to pay at his
OF. lion, in gold or silver, whether this debtor
, be the bank, the government or private citi-
zen, native or foreign.
Second.-No official estimate exists Of the
quantity Of money actually in circulation in
Belgium, but this much can be affirmed-that
practically no gold is met with, so that the ma
tional bank, which alone issues bank notes in
Belgium, never pays gold when these notes
are presented, but always pays silver.
Third.-At its birth in 1871 Belgium adopted
the French monetary system, based on the two
metals, gold and slver-i. e., bimetallism.
Bat about 1851, wien the gold mines Of Cali.
foInia and Australia produced gold in large
Quantities, Belgium demonetized gold and be-
came silver mcnometallic.
About 1865 however, business became SO de-
pressed in Belgium that the people forced the
minister, N. Frere Orban, to retire and obliged
the government to become again bimetallic.
About 1913 France prevailed upon the Latin
states-France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland
to suspend the coinage of silver, which sus-
pension established here kind Of limping
monometallisIn, for though silver can no lon
ger be coined the then. existing silver coins
continue to circulate within the Latin union,
which Union dates from 1865.
Since 1913 a crisis, consisting in a fall in all
prices, exists continually, nor does it appear
possible to arrest its progress This fall in
prices, reactlng on wages, is now evolving
social and industrial crisis.
You ask me why we returned in 1873 to mon
ometallism, limping though it be. can con
coive no other reason than that it was to
please certain class Of fnanciers which prof
tied thereby-a class supported by theories in
vented and defended at that time by some DO
hticll economists, notably by members of the
institute of France.
Fourth.-YOu ask what influence these mon
etary measures have had in Belgium on indus
try and wages. Money, which was already
scarce in 1873, has become still scarcer, and
that fall in prices which was predicted has
taken place. The average fall in the price Of
all the products Of labor Is 80 per cent since
1873; that of cereals over 6j per cent. Industry
IS no longer remunerative, agriculture is ruin
ed, and everybody is clamoring for protection
by import duties, while our ruined citizens
think Of wars. Such is the sad condition of
Europe.
Fifth.-For the last 20 years no new gold or
silver has been coined in Belgium.
Sixth.-The mint pays for gold 8, 49, francs
per kilo and for silver 22J55 francs per kilo,
without any change since 1865, but since 1874
it no longer buys silver. There is thus mint
price for gold only, but gold is always dearer
in, the open market than the purchase price Of
the mint. Accept, NJ. lie Minister, the assur-
ances, etc, ALPHONsE ALLARD,
Directeur Honoraire de La Monnae de Bel.
gique, Delegue du Commencement Beige aux
Confereux Montaire international, 1892 etc.
Aug. Il, 1896. TRANSLATED from the French.)
At my request, M. Allard has obtained
permission from Mr.. Ewing to publish
the letter. -Moreton Frewen in Chicago
Record.