The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1896-08-29


parity.
They Could Not Be Kept at Par.
These dollars, in the particulars have
named, are not the same as the dollars
which would be issued under free coinage.
They would be the same in form, but diff
ferent in value. The government would
have no part in the transaction, except to
coin the silver bullion into dollars. 1t
would not share into part of the profit. 1t
would take upon itself no obligation. 1t
would not put the dollars into circulation
1t could only get them as any citizen
would get them, by giving something for
them. 1t would deliver them to those who
deposited the silver, and its connection
with the transaction thereof end. such
are the silver dollars which would be is
sued under free coinage of silver at the RAJ
ito of l6 to /. Who Kould then maintain
the parityY What would keep them at
par with gold? There would be no obliga.
ton resting upon the government to do it,
and If there were, 1t would be powerless to
do it The simple truth is, we would be
driven to q silver basis-to silver mono
metalism. These dollars, therefore, would
stand upon their real value. If the FREQ
and unlimited coinage of silver, at a ratio
or 16 ounces of silver to one ounce of gold
would, as some of its advocates assert,
make SO cents in silver worth 100 cents,
and the silver dollar equal the gold dol
lar, then we would have no cheaper money
than now, and IL would be no easier to
get. But that such would be the result Is
against reason and contradicted by expe-
rience in all times and in all lands. 1t
means the debasement of our currency to
the amount of the difference between the
commercial and coin value of the silver
dollar which is ever changing and the eff
feet would be to reduce property values,
entail untold financial loss and destroy
confidence, impair the obligations of ex-
.zAs.. tt
laborers and producers of the country,
create n panic of unparalleled severity and
inflict upon trade and commerce deadly
blow. Against any such policy, am I'M
alterably opposed.
Bimetallism.
Bimetallism can not be secured by indie
pendent action on our part. 1t can not be
obtained by opening our minis to the I'M
limited coinage of the silver of the world
at ratio of 10 ounces of silver to one of
gold, when the commercial ratio Is more
than 30 ounces of silver TO one of gold
Mexico and China have tried the expert
ment. Mexico has free coinage of silver
and gold at ratio slightly in excess of
1612 ounces of silver to one ounce of gold
and, while her minis are freely opened to
both metals at that ratio, not single dol
lar in gold bullion is coined and circulated
as money. Gold has been driven out of
circulation in these countries, and they
are on silver basis alone. Until interna-
tional agreement Is had, it is the plain
duty of the United States to maintain the
gold standard. 1t is the recognized and
sole standard of the great nations of the
world, with which we trade more largely
than any other. Eighty-four per cent of
our foreign trade for the fiscal year 1895
was with gold standard countries, and
our trade with other countries was settled
on IA gold basis.
We Now Have More Silver Than Gold.
Chiefly by means of legislation during
and since 1878 there has been put in circu-
lation more than 1924 000 900 of silver or
its representative This has been done in
the honest effort to give silver, if possible,
The same bullion and coinage value and
encourage the concurrent use of both gold
and silver az money. Prior to that time
there had been less than 100000 of silver
dollars coined in the entire history of the
United States, period of 50 years. This
legislation secures the largest use of silver
consistent with financial safety and the
pledge to maintain its parity with gold.
We have today more silver than gold.
This has been accomplished at times with
grave peril to the public credit The So
called Sherman law sought to use all the
silver product of the United States for
money at it's market value. From 1890 TO
1898 the government purchased 100000
ounces of silver month, or "a, 000, 900 ounces
a year. This was one.third of the product
of the world and practically all of this
country's product. 1t was believed by
those who then and now favor free coinage
that such use of silver would advance its
bullion value TO its coinage value but this
expectation was not realized. In few
months, Notwithstanding the unprece-
dented market for the silver produced in
the United States, the pricr of silver went
down very rapidly, reaching lower point
than hafnrp Then. lnOn The recon-
mendation President Cleveland, both po-
litical parties united in the repeal of the
purchasing clause of the Sherman law.
We can not with safety engage in further
experiments in this direction.
The Double Standard.
On the 22d of August, 1891, in public
address, said: IF we could have an in
ternational ratio which all the leading
nations of the world would adopt and the
true relation be fixed between the two
metals, and all agree upon the quantity
of silver which should constitute dollar,
then silver would be as free and unlimited
in its privileges of coinage as gold Is to-
day But that we have not been able to
secure, and with the free and unlimited
coinage of silver adopted in the United
States, at the present ratio, we would be
still further removed from Vny further In
ternational agreement We may never be
able to secure 1t II we enter upon the
isolated coinage of silver. The double
standard implies equality at ratio, and
that equality can only be established by
the concurrent law Of nations. 1t was the
concurrent law of nations that made the
double standard; it will require the con,
current law of nations to reinstate and
sustain It,"
1t Favors the Use of Silver Money.
The Republican party has not been, and
is not now, opposed TO the use OF silver
money, as It's record abundantly shows. 1t
has done all that could be done for its in
creased use, with safety and honor by the
United States acting apart from other gov
ernments. There are those who think that
1t has already gone beyond the limit OF
financial prudence Surely, we can go no
further and we must not permit false