The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1896-09-15

which is the same thing as say
ing that it will cause a further
fall in in the prices of staple
commodities, unless silver is ad-
mitted to bear part Of the bur-
den. This will be accomplished
if the free coinage" party pre-
vail. They may not think of it
in the heat of the struggle, but
the fortunes of producers in gold
standard countries all over the
world are bound up with theirs.
They are fighting the battles of
Australia as well as of the West
ern and Southern States. Those
who condemn them now will
share in the prosperity achieved
by their efforts should they
prove successful
The views of M. Henri Germ
uschi, who predicted the evils
that would follow from 1.-THE
crime of 1873" and who has been
styled the father of bimetallism,
are of melancholy interest at this
juncture. Shortly before his
death he confided to his friend,
M. Edmond Thery, editor of the
Economists Europeen, that his
views as to the wisdom of free
coinage in the United States had
been modified. He regarded Sir
w. V. Harcourt's speech in the
House of Commons in the BIZ
metallic debate of March last, as
an expression of the hopeless
antagonism of the great gold
creditor country to any change
which would diminish the unearn-
ed gains which her money lend
ers at present receive through
the appreciation of gold. From
one of his last utterances on the
subject L quote the following
abridged extracts; no doubt many
of my readers will find in them
the reflection of their own best
thought on the subject. Says
M. Cernuschi
Il have always combated the
uncompromising silver men of
America, who at bottom are real
ly silver monometallists, because
it free coinageJ would not i'm
mediately bring about a true
solution of the problem that in
ternational bimetallism has in
view, namely, the instantaneous
fusion of the two standards in a
single international money by
the establishment of a fixed par
ity of value between gold and
silver. y But if I
were a citizen of the United Stat
es, and were convinced that
Europe, by reason of England
attitude, is fixedly hostile to the
establishment of a stable none
tary parity between gold and
silver, obstinately rejecting all
ideas of international bimetallic
agreement, then l should cease
to be an international bimetallist,
and should go over unhesitatiug-
ly to the camp of the silver men.
1.-The appreciation of gold in
regard to silver that has taken
place since 1873, has had twofold
result for the United States,
namely, Q) 1t has diminished
by half, on American territory,
the value of gold of all the ma
tional products which are sub
ject to the competition of silver
standard or of paper currency
countries; and ~ 1t has doubl-
ed the real burden of the debts
contracted abroad in gold, since
double the quantity of American
products is now required to dis
charge the annual liabilities arts
ing from these debts"
For American" in the above
passage we might with equal
truth read Australian" Mr..
Cernuschi continues
"From a theoretical point of
view, the free coinage of silver
at 16 to established by the
United States, without the con-
currence of Europe, would be a
vicious solution, but it would,
nevertheless, be a step in the
direction of international bimet-
allism for, under the regime of
the new standard, the produc-
tive power of the United States
would receive so enormous an
impulse, and this development
would have disastrous an effect
upon the economic and financial
interests of England and the 9TH
er European nations now govern
ed by the gold stondard, that it
may be confidently predicted in
advance that the course of events
would force the adoption of in
ternational bimetallism as the
only true solution. even upon
those who today deny the pos
sibility and efficacy of it."
The mantle of M. Cernuschi
| has fallen uOOn n number of on