The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-08-27
They Gould Not be Kent at Par.

There would be no obligation resting upon
the government to do it, and II there wero
1t would DO powerless to do 1t. The simple
truth is we would be driven to a silver
monometalisn. Those dollars, therefore,
would stand upon tholr real value. II
tho FREQ and unlimited coinage of silver
at ratio of 10 ounces Of silver to l
ounce OF gold would, as some Of our advo-
Gates assert, make SO cents in silver worth
100 cents and the silver dollar equal to
the gold dollar, then we would have no
cheaper money than now, and 1t would bo
no easier to get But that such would DO
the result Is against reason and Is CONTRA
dicted by experience in all times and in
all lands.
1t means the dobascment Of our cur
rency to tho amount Of the difference be-
tween the commercial and coin value Of
tho silver dollar, which Is ever changing,
and the effect would be to reduce prop
erty values, entail untold financial loss,
destroy confidence, impair the obligations
OF existing contracts further impoverish
the laborer and producers of the country,
create panic of unparalleled severity,
and in1ict upon trade and commerce q
deadly blow. Against any such policy I
am unalterably opposed.
Bimetallism.
Bimetallism cannot be secureSby inde-
pendent action on our part. 1t cannot be
obtained by opening our lnints to the un-
limited coinage of the silver Of the world,
OF q ratio Of IS ounces Of silver to ounce
of gold, when the commercial value is
more than 80 ounces Of silver to ounce of
gold. Mexico and China have tried the
experiment Mexico has free coinage Of
silver and gold at ratio slightly in excess
of l6H ounces of silver to ounce of gold,
and whilo her mints are freely open to
both metals at that ratio not single dol
lar in gold bullion is coined and circu-
lated as money. Gold has been driven out
of circulation in these countries and thoy
are on silver basis alone.
Until International agreement Is had 1t
is tho plain duty Of the United States to
maintain the gold standard 1t Is the
recognized and solo standard of the great
commercial nations of the world, with
which we trade moro largely than any
other Eighty-four per cent. of our for
eign trade for the fiscal year 1895 was with
gold standard countries and our trade
with other countries was settled on a gold
basis,
Chiefly by means of legislation during
and since 1873 there has been put in circu-
lation more than 1921 100000 Of silver or
its representative This has boen done In
the honest effort to give to silver If possi-
BILE, the same bullion and coinage value,
and encourage the concurrent use of both
gold and silver us money. Prior to that
time there had been less than nne mill
ions of silver dollars coined in the entire
history of the United States, period Of
eighty-nne years. This legislation Sc
cures the largest usc of silver consistent
with financial safety and the pledge to
maintain its parity with gold.
We Now Have More Silver Than Gold.
We have today more silver than gold
This has been accomplished ut times with
grave peril to the public credit. The so
called Sherman law sought to use all tho
silver product of the United States for
money at Its market value. From 1890 to
1893 the government purchased 4,5O0 900
ounces of silver n mo:,h, or 5i,000000
ounces year. This was one.third of the
product of the world and practically all
of this countrys product 1t was believed
coinage that such use Of silver would ad-
vance its bullion value to its coinage value,
but this expectation was not realized. In
q few months, Notwithstanding the I'M
precedent market for the silver produced
in tho United States, the price of silver
went down very rapidly, reaching lower
point than ever before. Then, upon the
recommendation of President Cleveland,
both political parties united in the repeal
Of the purchasing clause of the sherman
law We cannot with safety engage in
further experiments in this direction.
On the 22d of August, 1891, in public
address, l said "If we could have an in
ternatlonal ratio, which all the leading
nations of the world would adopt, and the
true relation bo fixed between the two
metals, and all agree upon the quantity of
silver which should constitute dollar,
thon silver would be as free and unlimited
in its privileges Of coinage as gold Is to-
day.
The Double Standard.
But that we have not been able to
secure, and with the free and unlimited
coinage of silver adopted In the United
Stntes. at the present ratio, we would be
still further removed from any interna-
tional agreement. We may never be able
to secure it If we enter upon the isolated
coinage of silver The double standard
implies equality at ratio, and that
equality can only be established by the
concurrent law of nations. 1t was tho
concurrent law of nations that made the
double standard; it will require the con-
current law of nations to renstate and
sustain it,
The Republican party has not been, and
is not now, opposed to the use OF silver
money as It's record abundantly shows
1t has done all that could be done for its
increased use with safety and honor to
tho United States, acting apart from other
governments. There are those who think
that 1t has already gone beyond the limit
of financial prudence Surely we can go
no further and we must not permit false
lights to lure us across the danger line.
We have much more silver in use than
any country in the world except India or
China-$5O0, 600, 600 more than Great Brit
ain; $3.50, ,O00,O 900 more than France; Si00,-
900 900 more than Germany; S325, 900, 900
less than India and SIPS 900, 900 less than
China. Tho Republican party has de-
clared in favor of nm international agree
ment, and II elected president 1t will bo
my duty to employ all proper means to
promote it,
What 1t Means.
The free coinage of silver in this coun-
try would defer, II not defeat, internn-
tional bimetallism, and until an irterna
tional agreement can be had every inter-
est requires us to maintain our present
standard. Independent free coinage of
silver at ratio Of 10 ounces Of silver
to l ounce Of gold would Insure the
speedy contraction Of the volume of our
currency 1t would drive at least 500, ,000,.
O0O gold dollars, which we now have, psr.
manently from the trade Of our country
/, and greatly decrease our per capita circu-
| lation.
1t is not proposed by the Republican
party to take from the circulating medium
of tho country any Of the silver we now
aave. On the contrary, 1t Is proposed to
keep all Of the silver money now In circu-
lation on parity with gold by maintain
ing tho pledge of tho government that all
J OK it shall be equal to gold, This has been
the unbroken policy Of the Republican
| party since 1878 1t has inaugurated no
new policy. 1t will keep in circulation