The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-04
ERRORS OF POPULISM.
Free C0.HAsc 1T 10 to 1 by the United
States Alone Means silver
Aonc-Netallism.


:
are $50 grains IN an ounce. hence an ounce
OF silver coined a; that ratio makes si-2s-
Therefore. IL we should coin silver free
at the ratio OF Is to /, silver bullion In
this country would always be worth AIS
per ounce In silver coin 1t could not be
worth more than that or less than that
except in the most incidental and temper
AIRY way.
Neither would a person give more gold.
or wheat. for a certain amount OF coined
silver than he would for the same amount
OF silver uncoined. for he could. with his
gold or wheat. buy the uncoine6' silver and
have II made into coin free OF charge. ms
Is but another statement of the fact that
should always be borne in mind when con-
sidering tho question of coinage. namely.
that with free coinage. in the bullion mar
kets OF the country the value of the IN
coined metal is the same as the value OF
the coined metal-the coin Is worth no
more than the bullion IL contains
In all commercial countries the value or
bullion is practically the same II cannot
be greater in one place than IL is in an
other place by more than the cost OF trans
portation between the two places, and 1t
Is usually very much less %.
There is no dispute between the friends
and the foes OF free coinage that the enect
OF giving free coinage to silver at the
ratio of Is to would be to FIX the value of
silver bullion all over the world at sub
stantially slca per ounce In silver COIN
Senator Jones, OF Nevada SAYS: When
silver becomes us here It becomes
G-s9 everywhere Does the
senator suppose when the govern
ment Of the United States gives N-S
an ounce for silver that any one can get
an ounce OF the metal for any less than
that amount anywhere in the world! CD.
Mr.. Bartine one of the abiest advocates
of freq silver. said in a speech In congress,
"What>we propose by free coinage Il sim
ply to raise the price OF the uncoined and
uncoinable bullion to $i-2s. The
evidence 10 simply conclusive that bullion
Is of substantially the same value In all
the bullion mari1s IS Of the world -.
Senator Teller. OF Colorado. said: II
the government Of the United States
should open its mints. and say. for every
ounce OF silver brought 10 us We will pay
20. who would sell their silver anywhere
In the world for less than thatf" %.
After having thus. by giving silver free
coinage at the ratio of Is to ]. fixed the
value of the worlds silver bullion at si.,s
In our silver coin, what would be its value
In our gold coin?
II there was a parity-an equality OF
value-between gold and silver. silver bull
lion would be worth lis per ounce in gold
coin as we'll as in silver coin.
At present silver bullion - worth only
e. cents per ounce in gold.
Would the establishment OF free coinage
at the ratio OF ls to by this country alone
cause silver bullion in this country. and
practically all over the world, to advance
in price to sl.2s per ounce in gold-an ad-
vance OF nearly 100 per cent? IL II would
not free coinage would inevitably result in
practical silver mono-metallism.
1t is the purpose Of this article to show
that such action on the part OF this coun-
try alone would not thus advance the
price Of silver.
In 1871 silver bullion was selling for $1.S2
per ounce in gold: and an ounce OF gold
bullion would exchange for about 15fz
ounces OF silver bullion %. As has been
stated, silver bullion now sells for 81 cents
per ounce in gold. and an ounce of gold bull
lion exchanges for nearly thirty-two ounces
of silver bullion.
What has caused this tremendous de-
crease in the price Of silver as compared
with gold? II We can determine this cor
rectly, we can then inteliigently decide
whether free coinage. at the ratio OF Is to
by this country alone. would be a cause
sufficiently powerful to raise the value of
silver to $1.29 In gold. and cause an ounce
of gold bullion to exchange for sixteen
ounces OF silver buIlion--without which
advance In value there could be no parity
between the metals.
The greatest cause Of the low price OF
silver Is its rejection as a money metal
by the leading nations OF the world. In
this discussion reference IS made only to
money of full debt paying power, not to
subsidiary silver coins OF limited legal ten
der quality used for change.
The value of silver bullion, like all other
products of human labor. Is governed alb
solutely by the great law OF supply and de-
q bs. mo N
there is a decreased demand for any arti-
Gle II Is bound to become cheaper. II the
supply increases while the demand de-
creases. the cheapening result Is all the
greater. All viii admit that II half the
people who use -four as food should cease
using 1t -four would fall tremendously in
value.
Exactly so 1t is with silver. It's greatest
use is for money. It is this use that
creates the greater part OF the demand for
silver. and II is the demand for silver,
operating against the supply, that gives
silver its value.
One nation after another has rejected
silver as a money metal In 1871 all the
mints OF continental Europe, except those
OF Portugal and Turkey were open to the
free coinage OF silver into full legal ten
der money: and the minis OF at least Hoi-
land Austria and Germany were closed to
gold 90.
Today not a mint in all Europe Ii open
10 the free coinage of silver %.
Let us see the order in which the nations
relocated silver to a secondary place as
money.
lsss-At the formation OF the Latin union
Italy. Switzerland and Belgium insisted
strenuously upon the adoption OF the gold
standard, but were overruled by France
90. his union was an international BIZ
metallic league. The states OF the church
Joined it IN 1856; Greece and RoumanIa in
1861. In 17S France adopted the ratio
Of i5is 10 l. 1t is the ratio OF the Latin
union and Of Europe generally.
ls51-The international monetary confer
ence met at Paris for the purpose OF dis
cuss!ng a uniform system OF coinage
throughout the world. and was attended
by delegates from nineteen countries
With the exception OF the delegates from
Holland. the delegates unanimously rec
commended the establishment OF the single
standard OF gold. with silver as subsidi-
airy minor coin" 90.
lssi-Germany prohibited the coinaRe NJ
silver and established the coinage Of gold.
She did not demonetlze any OF her silver
coins. The future policy OF the govern
ment with reference 10 silver was plainly
indicated by the sixth section of the law
passed at that time-"Until the enactment,
OF law for the redemption of the large
silver coins, the making OF gold coins
shall be conducted at the expense OF the
empire ue).
isI2-The Scandinavian union. composed
OF Norway, Sweden and Denmark, EN-
tered into monetary treaty, adopting
gold as the sole standard OF value ana
making silver subsidiary 10 be coined only
for change purposes %. These STATE.
threw a large part of their silver coins on
the market as bullion.
Hss-The United States dropped the
sfarhArd sil1rar doiIar