The herald., 1896-06-22

1t is selling for in the market. Ex-
changes have to be paid in gold, and it
would seem plain that If we under these
conditions, open our mints to the free
coinage of silver and gold aA ratio Of
comparative value which is largely at
variance with the commercial value of
the two metals. we must take the en-
tire silver surplus ourselves, maintain
its parity with gold or else we shall go
to silver basis
France, in 1876, closed her mints
against silver and abandoned this ex-
pertinent, deeming herself unequal to
the task alone, and at that time it was
much less difficult, for silver was then
at par with gold, at the ratio in use:
and even England's mints in India were
open to the free coinage of silver If
the experiment Of maintaining the par
ity Of the two metals at a coinage stand
ard was difficult then. 1t would seem to
be positively hopeless now without in
ternational agreement. Germany.
France. Belgium. Italy and Austria be-
lieve in a double standard and desire to
establish it. but no one. two or three of
them deem, themselves able to MAIN
bdlu tAc QOuOlC StdLOdlo StCi Will tAC
cooperation Of the United States. If
the result of the measures proposed
would be to carry us to a silver basis, it
is not felt here that such a proposal
would be in line with the principles of
the Democratic party.
It is not the joint standard with the
purchasing power of the dollar at par
ity with each other, but 1t is the chang
ing from one standard to another, and
that change due to a deprecated coin.
And it is also felt, aside from the alb
sence Of any Democratic principle to
sustain, that you cannot have such a
disturbance Of value as would come
from changing from a gold to a silver
basis, without such q shock to conf
dence, the boarding Of gold and contrac-
tion of our available circulating med
ium. as would bring, in the opinion Of
our people. such panic and distress as
we have never seen in this country. The
creditor classes are prepared for it. The
obligations, mortgages, railroad and
otherwise, are quite generally payable in
gold. Debts would still have to be paid
in gold, but wages in silver, the sufferers
as usual being the poorer classes
This movement purporting to be in the
interest Of the joint standard comes
at most inopportune time, in my opin-
ion. There has never been time when
the prospects of international action
favorable to the joint standard were at
all as promising as at the present mo-
ment. But an ill-advised, unsuccess-
full attempt here would discredit the
cause the world over.
From the discussion Of the last twen-
ty years 1t has come to pass that among
the persons in Europe who are trained,
recognized scientists upon monetary
and economic questions, scarcely one is
not at the present moment advocating
the advisability of the joint standard as
the solution of the monetary difficulty
of the world. This includes every pro-
fessor engaged in teaching or lecturing
on these subjects in the universities Of
Great Britain.
"They are agreed upon the desirabilHy
Of 1t, and that 1t is entirely practicable,
if established and maintained by agree
ment with the principal commercial ma
tions. 1t would be expected tSat with
such a general consensus of scientific
opinion as is to be found abroad upon
this subject, it would come rapidly to
be the generally received opinion of the
nations to be effected by wise settle
ment of the problem. OF the conven-
ton Of nations, Germany was the one
that, in 1892, practically broke up the
conference which met at the suggestion