Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-05
become silver monometallic nation on

The issue between those who hold chat
Tree and unlimited coinage of silver at the
ratio of 16 to by this country alone would
result in giving us the permanent concur
rent coinage and circulation OF gold and sill
ver-for am not addressing myself to
those who desire silver monometallism-is
thus narrowed down to a consideration of
the question as to whether such coinage
would SO change the relative value of gold
and silver in every market of the world as
to make 16 ounces of silver the equivalent
in value or purchasing power Of one ounce
of gold, when now it requires 81 ounces Of
silver to be such equivalent. Those who
favor such coinage must demonstrate that
this marvellous change would be wrought
by it before they can reasonably ask the
people of this country to take the enormous
risk Of its failure.
Not DfmetnlIism.
I trust, therefore, that in the discussion
which is now opened, those who advocate
the adoption of the policy Of opening the
minis of this country alone TO the free and
unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio OF
16 to 1, will not spend their time in mere
assertions and defamation about the i'm
portance of bimetallism, which the country
understands to mean the permanent con-
current coinage and circulation OF both
gold and silver full legal tender money, and
the disadvantages of monometallism; but
will present to the House and country the
grounds on which they assume that such
coinage would result in giving us such bl-
metall;sm, rather than silver monometal-
liSm.
For myself l never was more confident of
any fact in finance than / am that such
coinage of silver as is proposed would
speedily drive gold from its use as money
in this country and leave Us with nothing
but silver, in other words, silver mono
metallism-precisely as such policy has
resulted in Mexico l shall listen attentive
ly and with a receptive mind to any facts
W Addncen
maintain otherwise-for the reason that L
heartily welcome the use of silver as full
legal tender money in any manner and to
any extent which will preserve the parity
of gold and silver and give us both metals
as our property money. BY the action OF
our government in the past, by the declara-
lions of both the great political parties in
1892, and by the enactment of law with
but few dissenting votes by the last Con-
gress, We have declared our purpose to
steadily seek the concurrence of sufflcient
number of leading commercial nations In
an international agreement for the free
coinage of silver which would make per-
manent full bimetallism possible. Under
that law we are standing today in the att-
tude of asking other countries to cooperate
with us in this movement.
Let it be kept steadily in mind, however,
while We are steadily looking to solution
of this problem by an international agree
ment-the only way in which in my 1udg-
ment full bimetalism can be secured and
maintained-that what We, as well as
France, have-for France and the United
States are maintaining tentatively precise !.
ly the same coinage pol'cy-is not gold
monometa llism, but limited bimetallsm,
under which we carry about 800 millions of
silver, nearly 425 millions Of which is full
legal tender and about 5I5 millions Is gold,
but every dollar, together with every dollar
of our paper, maintained at a parity OF
value.
The Silver Arguments.
While 1 do not intend at this tina to
enter at any length into the discussion of
the real question of issue-that as to
whether 10 to 1 free and unlimited coinage
of this country would, as is claimed, give
us both silver and gold in concurrent cir
culation-yet 1 cannot refrain from briefly
considering the arguments which have been
presented to maintain this claim.
The argument on which the friends of
16 to l free silver seem to more especially
rest, is that the opening of minis to
such coinage will create an unlimited de-
mand for silver at a fixed price of S1.29
per ounce-the price demanded by this
ratio-and this would make :he market
price of silver bullion in every market
of the world.
This would be the case If it were true
that free coinage by this country alone
would create an unlimited demand for sill
yer at the fixed price of S1.29 per ounce.
The fallacy of the whole argument becomes
demand for silver by our minis alone would
not be unlimited, but restricted TO the de-
mand of purchasers of silver dollars and
that the price received by the owner Of
silver for each 81 II grains is not fixed
price, but what a stamped standard silver
dollar will exchange for, in the markets
under free and unlimited coinage. These
who accept this argument unconsciousiy
accept the fiat idea that whatever The
government stamps 81 is thereby given an
exchange value to that amount, regardless
of its intrinsic value or its redeemable
promise to pay such value-a theory which
went down in disgrace under our green
back experience until specie redemption
was established in 1879.
An absurd eXaggeration of the theory
of the bimetallic tie, as held ny the scien-
tific advocates of bimetallsm and in
which | concur, has been adopted by some
of the advocates of Ii to l free silver, to
which l desire to refer. This theory holds
that where the unit is mea Sured in two
metals at their commercial ratio at the
time this ratio is fixed, then wnen one
metal begins TO rise there is an increased
demand for the other metal which tends
to restore the equilibrium SO long he
conditions of production of either metal
remain substantially the same. But no
scientific advocate of bimetallism ever held
that this alternating demand could success
fully operate except within narrow limits
and when the coinage ratio had been eS-
ta5lished at the commercial ratio.
1t must be evident that the bimetallic tie
d
opened its minis, and that its power rapid
ly increases as the number of nations unit
ing in maintaining a common coinage ratio
is enlarged. 1t is for this reason that inter-
rational free coinage of silver becomes
the hope and safety of real bimetallsm
while independent free coinage, especially
at a ratio widely different from the com
IT ercial ratio, must inevitably lead to dis
order and silver monometallism.
The Decline of Silver.
Again it is contended that the sole cause
Of the decline of silver was the closing Of
the minis of Europe and of the United
States to its free coinage, and that if the
minis of the United States shall be re-
opened imm ediately silver will assume it's
old relative value to gold.
But do not those who present this argu-
ment see that even If it be conceded that
the sole cause of the decline of silver was
the closing of the minis of Europe and of
the United States to its free coinage, the
remedy would be not the opening of the
nints of this country alone but the OPEN
ing of the minis of Europe also-in other
words, international free coinage.
1t Is also argued with great confidence
that the open minis of France alone MAIN
tanned the relative value of gold and silver
at the ratio of near 10 to 1 for the first "a
years of this century, and therefore that
the opening of the minis of the United
States alone to the free coinage of silver at