The sun., 1896-10-05
Bimetallism In Europe.

Senator GEORGE f. HoAR has come back
from Europe deeply impressed with the
strength of bimetaliism in that quarter Of
the globe. France and Germany, he says.
are ready to adopt it. and so is the present
Administration in Great Britain. The Op-
position, however, in Great Britain, is
against it, and the banking and investing
classes in London are against it likewise.
In spite of this obstacle the Senator thinks
that Mr. MCKINLEY can, if his Administra-
tion be wise, effect an international agree
ment on the subject, which will remove it
from our politics.
Senator HoAR, in our opinion, has, like
5 Mr.. WILLIAM C. WHITNEY. been deceived
eby the oversanSuine representations of the
English bimetallists. France and Ger
many as nations, are no more ready than
Great Britain is, to restore silver to free
coinage on any terms whatever. The sup
port of silver in all three countries comes,
as it does in ours, from among those who
expect to be benefited By reducing the
standard Of value. and thus making the pay
ment of debts easier. They are, in Great
Britain, the Tory landowners, whose prop
erty is burdened with taxes, mortgages,
and other charges, and who are backed by
the Manchester cotton spnners, who want
wages paid on silver basis in order to en-
able them to compete with the cheap
labor of India, China, and Japan. II
-6et nseny they are also the proprietors of
landed estates who owe a great deal OF bor
fowed money, and who desire to have the
prices of their grain and potatoes raised, 80
3, that they can more easily pay it back. In
France. the small peasant farmers, who
lave already secured Il tariff protecting their
gricultural products against those of for
ign countries, would like to get even higher
+. prices for them than they are getting now.
But nowhere is the demand for bimetallism
: strong enough to compel Government action
, on the subject. Resolutions in favor of bi-
metallism have been passed by the German
and the French national legislatures, and
that Is all. In the British Parlia-
ment resolution was adopted, more
than six months ago, urging upon
the Government 1.-the advisability of doing
all in their power to secure by international
agreement stable monetary par of ex-
change between gold and silver" and the
bimetallsts claimed it as great victory,
but it has led to nothing, as yet. and never
will lead to anything The supporters of
the resolution took pains to declare that it
did not mean an Abandonment by Great
Britain of the gold standard, and the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer expressly announced
that he and his colleagues would not pro-
pose or accept any departure from that
standard. Upon this assurance only was
the resolution suffered to pass.
The insurmountable obstacle to any de-
basement of the standard Of value whether
by means of international bimetallsm. or
by that of free silver coinage, is, that it will
make the price of food. fuel. and clothing
dearer, and thus practically reduce the
wages of labor. The British workman, fifty
years ago, by the repeal Of the old Corn
laws, secured cheap food, and no political
party will now dare to take away the boon
from him. The German and the French
workmen likewise perceive that the resto-
ration of the silver standard means to them
an increased cost of living without a cor
responding increase of wages. 1t remains
!, TO be seen whether the American workman
Is to be more easily beguiled than are his
European brethren We think he is not