Evening star., 1896-09-30
SIXTEEN TO ONE, FREE and UNLIMITED

assinS py INF great question OF the
fall In the gold Pt1ce of commodities, 80
far as such fall is due to monetary causes,
I find that one a,pf the most serious
dangers danger which conSEonts us is the INSULT
eass ss ep SGs
the commercial w9Tld. and the consequent
disturbances attending its accumulation
and movement. ''e. The struggle for
train of financial disturbances, is we'll un-
der way. II gold is to be the sole
money of the world. not only will the ex-
tension OF business and of foreign invest
mense fabric of credit. already top-heavy.
is liable to totter. Where Is the gold to
come from when the states of Europe now
haVing a paper Standard resume specie
payments? AS l write. Austria-Hungary
has decided to resume specie payments,
and adopt the gold standard, and the nego-
tiation of loan with which to purchase
the gold necessary for resumption pur-
poses and possibly fresh decentralization
of silver, are sure to follow. The truth is,
the supply of the precious metals is not
more than sufficient to keep pace with the
rapid Increase of modern trade. What
Is to be gained by discontinuing the use
OF one of the money metals and throwing
all the work upon the other? Not sta
biity of value; for. as already shown, for
nearly century, when the bimetallic sys-
tenn existed in France, the relative value
of gold and silver did not vary appreciably.
The experience Of the first seventy
years of this century has demonstrated
that both metals can be used as money
with greater stability Of values than one
alone Eventually the embarrass-
ments arising from the attempt to use one
metal alone as the measure of value and
the medium Of exchange will become so in
toleraple that commercial / ations will find
1t to their advantage to join the United
States In the RECOMMENDATION of silver"
In closing these quotations and COM
ments on the the silver question 1 add the
following from Mr.. Howard Holden's 8
pamphlet on that question, from which l
have obtained in condensed form most
Of the facts and figures herein given. On
page IL of that book he says:
I'm 1868 Mr. Sherman made a report to
the United States Senate in favor Of
single standard. to be exclusively of gold.
In 1873. perceiving his mistake, Mr.. Sher-
man, then Secretary of the Treasury, in
letter to Mr.. Groesbeck, who vas ore Of
our delegates to the monetary conference
Of that year. after referring to his action
with the Paris conference of 1867 in favor
Of single gold standard, said: AT that
time the wisest among us did no. artici-
pate the sudden fall Of silver or the Use
of gold that has occurred This uncertain
ty OF the relation between the two metals
is one of the chief arguments in favor Of
monometallic system, but other argu-
ments showing the dangerous effects upon
industry by dropping one Of the precious
metals from the standard Of value out
weigh in my mind all theoretical objections
to the bimetal1ic system
And he urged that the conference adopt
double standard. Proceedings oe the
conference. page 1897 In his speech in the
Senate on June OF this year. he said, re-
garding the act Of 1873: i have no doubt
that If 1t had been known that silver was
going to fall as much as 1t did after that, 1t
might have made a change
1t Is strange that SO astute man should
have failed to realize that the withdrawal
OF the legal money value from silver and
nf 70
commodity would destroy its status and re-
duce Its value as a money metal. HIS re-
grets and changing OF mind came too late.
and after he had been largely Instrumental
in setting in motion train Of evils that
can hardly be measured"
Men of integrity and ability frequently
differ in opinion widely as the poles upon
questions OF governmental policy and such
differences very often only definitely
settled when the crucial tests Of time and
trial have been applied. We are now as a
hatfon more violently agitated and divided
upon the coin money question than ever be-
during the days OF the late unpleasant
ness" caused by the settlement of the
question of human chattels. l have merely
given in the foregoing some Of the opinions
OF persons of different political parties who
we're in position to know something in ref
erence to the questions now submitted for
settlement by the American people.
r, H. PRICE.
Expediency, Not Morality, Rules.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
In the current discussions of the free
coinage of silver too much stress is laid
upon the moral question involved. Men in
large aggregates have never been deferred
flom doing what they believed conducive
to their own immediate benefit, by argu-
ments against the morality of the pro-
posed course. Once satisfy them that they
would be gamers by 1t, and they will
speedily persuade themselves that the pro-
posed action is honest and moral.
In politics expediency, and not morality,
is the consideration that controls. and If
the majority of voters can be made to be-
lieve that they would be personally bene-
fitted by a free coinage law. the election
OF the free coinage candidate will be as
sured.
The great majority in this country, and
IN every country. are dissatisfied with
be united on any question they will sweep
the country. In the present campaign the
democratic party Is endeavoring to bring
about such union. Their stock argument
is that any change must be an improve
ment: 1t Is the faulty argument Of the
single alternative. but it is not without its
effect on the voters. 1t must be answered.
The voters must be made to see that how
ever bad their present condition, the free
coinage Of silver would not improve it.
What would be the effect of a free coin
age law?
This country Is now on a gold basis
There Is little gold in actual circulation,
but gold Is the standard of value. When
we speak of dollar we mean a unit of
value, which may be represented by
coin, silver certificate, an United States
note. or national bank note, but which
Is always capable of purchasing, in the
worlds markets, 1922 grains of gold or the
amount of any commodity which is the
equal in value of 2322 grains of gold-the
amount of uncoined silver which it will
buy being about 700 grains.
II free coinage law should be passed
silver would at once become the standard
of value and dollar would mean 81 IA
grains of silver and would be capable Of
buying in the worlds markets only 1890
grains of gold or such quantity Of any COM
modify as would equal In value in the
worlds markets that amount of gold.
The mere election Of a President and
Congress in favor Of a free coinage law
would put US on silver basis at once.
There would be an immediate scramble for
the gold reserve In the treasury, which
would all be drawn ot1t in few days by
the banks and ether large holders of
United States notes. >. The $10O. 900 of
notes necessary to draw out the gold would
remain in the treasury and the currency
would Immediately contract to that ex-
tent, because the gold drawn out would
become a commodity and disappear from
circulation. Attempts on the parts of de-