The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-05-30
A NATURAL. RATIO.


and Gold?-If So, In 1t I6 to ~
Mr.. ]. j. Mott, chairman Of the ma
tional committee of the free silver party,
recently organized at Washington, in
flicts on a much-abused public long
appeal for votes for free coinage. This
latest official utterance of the silyerites
is not much worse than their former
walls over the terrible suffering =aused
by an imaginary scarcity of cart wheel
dollars, and is only notable in that it
boldly asserts that gold and silver exist
in the earth in almost certain fixed pro-
portions, and that the natural ratio be-
tween the two metals is therefore six
teen to one. "This ratio" says Mr..
Mott, ''has continued as arranged by man
under the natural order as he found
it," 1t was ACCEPTED by mankind as n
part of the gra,ss plan upon which
the world was to more, and approved by
the philosophy and common sense of
all ages.
If it were true that when the earth
was created the amount of silver found
in it was 16 times greater than tn gold,
this would be TO reason why ons metal
should be worth 16 times as mich as
the other. The labor cost of producing
anything and the demand for it is what
regulates it's value. There is no natural
measure of values, and no fixed ratio
between two metals on any other prod
ucts, so that there is no ground FIR the
claim that the value of an oufce Of
gold was designed by nature to be the
same as that of 16 ounces of silver.
Mr.. Mott must have been using the
newly discovered ray to peer into the
innermost depths of the earth, if he
really knows that gold and silver cx-
ist in almost certain proportions" 1t
is a pity that he does not inform the
public jlst where all those hidden met
ais arc ind how many tons there are Of
each. Perhaps he is waiting until con-
gress passes free coinage law, when
he viii uncover the mass of silver which
he knows so much about. And per
| haps, great and wise as q chairman
of a silver party must be, be doesn't
know anything more about the metals
in the earth than he does of the cur
rency question.
'eThe GRAND plan upon which the
world was to move" seems to have got
badly ont of joint in these days. If a
natural law can be set aside by worldly.
| minded business men, who say that as
the commercial value of silver is 30
times less than that of gold they will
| give no more for it. nature must feel
| sighted. But there is o bare POSSIBLE.
ity that even Mr.. Mott hasn't been
| told all of the worlds plans for NOV
\ ing.
| As for the philosophy and common
sense of all ages" il is little curious
that in some of the ages silver was
valued at eight to one of gold. II the
Weld of the South African. Australian
and American gold mines should prove
to be as large as is confidently predicted
by eminent biologists and mining en-.
| gineers, the ratio might again drop to
those figures. Would the ''philoso-
piers" of whom Mr.. Mott is evidently
one, stick to the magic sixteen to one
or would they adopt the commercial
ratio, whatever it might be?
The silver party may get few votes
in November, but its following vii
certainly not be increased because o.
the practical wisdom 0nd argument!
Of its national chairman.