The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-10-08

augmentation. Replying to the
question: How about the fifty-three-
cent dollars?'' he said; They did not
call the silver dollar a fifty -three-cent
dollar when the silver was treated
like gold. Prior to 1878 the silver dol
lar was dollar and three cents mea-
sured by gold. They told us that
they wanted to get rid of the silver
dollar because it was too good; and
now they do want to bring it back
because it is not good enough" The
last clause Of this answer is perfectly
correct. The friends of sound money
| do not want to bring the silver dollar
back because it is mot good enough"
But Mr.. Bryan knows full well that
when the silver dollar was too good"
no silver bullion was taken to the
mint by private owners to be coined
| into money. During a period of
eighty years, from 1892 TO 1873, while
free coinage lasted, the total number
of silver dollars produced by the I'm
before 1873 nearly the whole OF this
number had been exported or melted
up because the money was too valu-
able to circulate alongside Of money
of less value. No one was so stupid
as to take his silver bullion to the
mint to be coined into 103-cent dol
lars, and thus lose 3 per cent. on the
entire coinage.
Such being the case when the silver
dollar was treated like gold,'' would
not a similar result follow if gold
should be treated like silver? If the
owners of silver bullion did not take
it to the mint to be coined into dollars
when thus slightly undervalued in the
legal ratio, is it not certain that no
one would take gold bullion to the
mint to be coined into dollars when
far more greatly undervalued in the
legal ratio? Is it not just as certain
that no possessor of gold money would
pay it out when he could make pay
ment in coinage of much less value?
When no gold should be taken to the
mint to be coined, and when none
should longer circulate, the country
would be on silver basis, and all
values would be measured by the me-
tallic value of the standard silver dol
lar.
In MS speeches for free silver Mr..
Bryan makes great parade of what
he calls the lessons of experience, and
coolly sneers at the friends of sound
money for disdaining these lessons.
If there be anything to which the OPP
ponents of free coinage appeal it is to
the universal experience of mankind
that gold and silver cannot be kept in
circulation as co-equal measures of
value at any arbitrary ratio. The
| English long tried the experiment,
and they found that the metal which
was undervalued in the legal ratio
was sure to be exported, while the
cheaper metal was imported. At last
the English solved the problem for
themselves by making gold the stand
ard and by largely employing silver
for subsidiary coinage. The nations
of the Latin Union-France, Italy,
Belgium and one or two others-tried
the experiment, and they were obliged
to close their minis to the free coin
age of silver at 154 to 1 with gold,
when there was very little disparity
between the legal and the market
ratios of the two metals. Yet the
cheap money mongers of this country,
with Mr.. Bryan at their head, pre-
tend to believe that the Government
of the United States can make silver
the equivalent of gold simply by or
dering its free coinage ON individual
account at the ratio of 16 to 1, not
withstanding the vast disparity that
has arisen between the two metals in
their market values.
Through the centuries long line
of illustrious thinkers have blaZed a
luminous track through the thick
| SiCOil vi poPuldl WHICH,
has enveloped this subject. From
Nicholas Oresme, the venerable tutor,
of Charles V, of France; Copernicus,
who reconstructed the science of the
solar system; Thomas Gresham, the
quaint merchant, who laid down the
universal rule that the bad money
drives out the good; Isaac Newton,
who discovered the laws of gravita-
ton; John Locke, the moral philoso-
pher, and Adam Smith, who estab-
lished the principles of political econ
omy, down to John Stuart Mills and
Thorold Rogers, it has been demon
strated by reason and experience that
| bimetallism is utterly impracticable
as a national policy. From these
great authorities the appeal is to
William j. Bryan himself, who I'M
Willingly bears testimony to the truth
of their doctrine in his assertion that
prior to 1873 the silver dollar was
| dollar and three cents measured by