The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1896-07-23
Free Coinage Fallacy.


The platform adopted at Chicago de-
mands the free and Unlimited coinage of
silver at the present ratio of lG to while
the market ratio is 30 tol I. This means
that every silver producer and every capt.
talist who goes out and buys silver may
dump it into the mint and the government
shall pay him one dollar for every SO
cents worth. This would be a tiue thing
for the silver miner and for the man of
money but how about the government?
They demand that silver be made a
standard with gold at the ratio of Is to
l though they know that the business
ratio Is 30 10 /. Is there any sense eek
cept non SENSE m making Il hard and
fast ratio like that while the business
ratio is about double: Or could the
government enforce that ratio to an I'M
limited extent:
An ounce of gold is worth substantial
ly its stamped value anywhere while
silver is worth but about one-half its
stamped value. But the friends of silver
say ~ GU admit that the silver dollar is
worth but little more than 80 cents vet
1t passes current for 81 90. Why not
then coin them unlimitedly? | reply
$50 do the smaller silver coins pass for
their face value although they contain
much less metal relatively than the
silver dollar. So the present limited
number of silver dollars pass current for
their face value aud will continue to do
so, but what the government can do on
a limited scale it could not do with an
unlimited amount If the government
should attempt to float an unlimited a.
mount of silver our gold would be drawn
out of the country. 1t could not be
otherwise. 1t would go for the pay
ment of goods bought in foreign
countries and for which the owners
would not receive our silver except at
its market value instead of its stamped
value.
Mexico which is on silver basis, is an
object lesson for us. am told one NAV
go into shop there and buy thirty or
forty cents worth of goods and tender
an American silver dollar in payment
and will receive "A Mexican silver dollar
for change. That is he will receive
forty cents worth of goods aud as much
silver as he gave beside. If this country
was on silver basis would its silver
SOlh w " vi III dHt inOlt. we SHOULD
fluid upon buying goods from foreign
countries that our 53 cent dollar would
pay only 30 100 as much as a gold
dollar would pay. And our working
men, for whom the Democrats always
manifest so much love would be the ones
to suffer. they would be paid in coin
AZ per cent of which is fiat, and the fiat
would be subtracted from its purchasing
power.
just glance at the history of the two
metals. There was a time, long before
the Christian era, when an ounce of
silver was worth as much as an ounce of
gold. then it began to deprecate. The
discovery of silver mines at different
times and the decreased cost of its pro-
duction has deprecated it more and
more. At the time this country was dis
covered one oZ. of gold would buy 10 81
OF. of silver. When this government
was created il had fallen TO ID to =
Now the coin ratio is Is to while the
business ratio is 30 to |. lie one OF. Of
gold will bny 30 OF. of silver in the
markets, and yet these silver men de-
clare, in spite OF the markets and con-
trary to every business principle, that
this country shall alone and unaided
make the present lG to ! ratio perma-
nent. and that it shall receive all silver
offered Was there ever a more foolish
proposition put forth
| well remember the fiat teachings
of the greenbackers in lS7G-S when
they demanded that the govern.
ment should set the printing presses at
work in coming Of | may so use the
word) paper into money. with nothing
behind it to give it value. This seems to
me to be a breaking out of a similar idea,
but | believe the sober sense of the
American people will see its fallacy and
will crush the egg before it matches Into
life. There is much more would like
to say but will not now trespass further
upon your space.
A. &. EMERY.
Boston, July ID. 1896.