Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-09-17
AVEYOU COUNTED THE COST?

SSU IL.
A torrent of tobacco juice and volley
of profanity brought his remarks to an
abrupt conclusion.
There are large number of equally
precocious pupils in this mans class.
What does sixteen to one mean?
1t means that this government shall
coin all the silver brought to it's minis,
at the ratio Of 16 ounces of pure silver
TO one ounce of pure gold.
In other words, it means that while
the worlds commercial ratio is 80
ounces of silver to one ounce of gold, or
thereabouts, this nation shall fix it at
sixteen to one, and make it's silver dol
lars legal tender for all debts of both
public and private nature.
TO make it still palmer, it means that
the United States government shall
pledge itself to purchase the product of
the worlds silver mines, and turn over
dollars that we have stipulated shall
pass for 100 cents in return for every
80 cents worth of the white metal de-
posted at our mints.
This, then, is the proposition, and The
question is: can this nation do it without
the aid or consent of any other nation
on earth and maintain it's dollars at
a parity.
We answer no; it cannot be done.
1t is as true to-day as when in the old
Continental congress Patrick Henry
spoke: The only lamp to guide the feet
Of mankind is the lamp of experience"
This is the true light of statesman
ship and government.
Nowhere is this fundamental princi-
pie more applicable than in the field of
finance.
No one country has ever been able to
establish the free coinage of both gold
and silver, giving to each full legal
tender quality, and keep both in circu.
lation at parity.
For 500 years England tried to do it;
she had ironclad laws against the eX-
portation of coin.
What was the result?
In the end she lost all her gold and
was actually driven to adopt the single
standard in 1906.
1t is automatic, that wherever and
whenever in the currency of a country
one lhtlSil Is III
with another, the undervalued metal is
driven from the country.
Let us challenge your attention to five
propositions from the pen of the pres
cnt secretary of the treasury, which
Dristle with significance:
/. There is not free coinage country
in the world to-day that is not upon a
silver basis.
?. There is not a gold standard coun-
try in the world to-day that does not
use silver along with gold as money.
,. There is not q silver standard coun-
try in the world that uses any gold as
money along with silver.
4. There is not silver standard coun-
try to-day that has more than one-third
of the circulation per capita of the
United States.
5. There is not silver standard coun-
try in the world where the laboring
man receives fair pay for his days
work.
The only countries whose minis are
open to the free and unlimited coin
age of silver are Japan, Mexico, United
States of Colombia, Bolivia, Chill, Ecua-
dor and Peru. Silver coinage in all
other countries being on government
account only.
Wages are the lowest in these coun-
tries.
Do you want America to take ~
place in such column?
such market for and create such a
demand for the white metal that Is
value would climb the ladder until It's
commercial value would shortly equal
its coinage value.
That this is unsupportable, let me
call your attention briefly to two pieces
of legislation in the interests of sill
yer, both of them enacted since 1873.
First, the Bland-Allison bill, which
became law February 20, 1878, restored
the 4121a grain silver dollar to the coin
nge, clothed with full legal tender
power, but of course did not open our
1nints TO free coinage of silver bullion
as before 1873.
The Bland-Allison act reestablished
the dollar of Our Daddies" and gave
1t full legal tender quality except when
expressly stipulated in the contract.
The law directed the secretary of the
treasury to purchase silver bullion
monthly at the market price thereof,
not less than 100000 per month nor
more than 100000 per month, and
caused the same to be coined monthly
as fast rs so purchased into such dol
lars. Let us pause at this point to re-
mark that these dollars did not cir
culate, however. Under the act of 1878,
1916 tons of silver were purchased by
the government, costing $3OS, 1875, o62.
From this purchase $37s, 1893 silver
dollars were coined at an expense of
$5,OO0,OOO, and yet not to exceed one
dollar out of eight dollars went into cir
culation.
NOTICE:
!. 1t did not expand the currency.
2. But the point we wish to make
Is that this tremendous purchase of sill
Yer and coinage of silver dollars did not
enhance the price of silver.
Silver bullion declined from 81 .12 per
ounce in 1879 to s3h cents in 1889. To
put it in another way, it went down
until it stood with gold, as twenty-five