The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-26

IL uOeS not TecelNe any ODllSdtiOu III
return. 1t puts it out to pay debt.
When a bank reissues one pf its notes.
1t issues 1t to borrower, and takes an
obligation of the same amount with
which to reimburse itself: and so 4
bank may, upon safe business princi-
pies, reissue Its own notes, while the
United States cannot.
Then came the cry that the circula-
tion of the country was going to be
greatly reduced by this redemption of
United States notes, not considering
that under the national banking laws
any number of citizens In any locality
could establish bank and issue circu-
lation in the Old-fashioned way and
circulatio which the banking laws
made absolutely secure to the bill
holder; far different from the expert
ence of state banks. This cry. in con-
nection with the active interests of sill
YER mire owners and silver dealers,
led, unhappily, to the passage of a law
requiring the reissue of United States
notes and to the passage of the act OF
1878, providing for the purchase and
coinage by the United States of silver
bullion at the market price and at at
the old ratio of l6 to |. And this
amount of purchase was further in
creased by later act of congress. I'm
der these acts there was coined down
to the 30th of June, 1893, $4l9, 1882 ,450,
when the amount had grown so enor-
nous. together with the uncoined bull
lion in the treasury. that congress Gr
1895, repealed the act
WOULD IT INCREASE THE VALUE?
1t Is now proposed not to restore the
purhasing act of 1873 and the subsequ-
ent act for the government coming
dollars on its own account but to cCin
for everybody from every country, oil
the silver that shall be brought to the
mint into dollars, the intrinsic value of
which is at present from SO to 53 cents,
and the legal tender value Of which, to
be paid to all the people engaged in all
the industries of the United States,
is 20 be full dollar.
Our silver friends insist, as stated
by Mr. Bryan in his New York
speech. that the effect Of such q
law will be to raise the price of silver
SO that it will be worth in the market
s1.29 an ounce, which is the valuc re-
quired to make the silver in dollar
worth a dollar. If Mr.. Bryan meant
what his words literally mean. he
would be plainly right, for If the price
of silver is stated In silver dollars the
value of the same weight OF silver in
the silver dollar or out of 1t would al
ways be the same. But such trick OF
phrase would be unworthy Of great
candidate for a great office unless all
tricks are fair when war is carried on
''in the enemey's country"
PROFIT OF THE NINE OWNER.
But we will have the country to sup
pose that the price Of silver under free
coinage at 10 to l would rise to $l..3
per ounce, paid for in gold. This result
il true, would make the silver of the
mine owners and dealers. not only in
our own country. but in every foreign
country, instantly realize a profit of
$50 per cent. by act of congress. Every
ounce of this silver would be worth
almost exactly two and one ehalf times
as much rs it was before. The toal
value of the silver produced in the
world in the last five years Is more than
$500. .O00. 900, and no congress would give
them a net profit of $500, 200, 900. Do the
honest, intelligent and industrious peO-
pie of this country believe that all the
clamOr of these people for free coin
age is either disinterested or honest?
But is this prophecy of Mr.. Bryan re-
liable? Can any instance be cited in
the whole history Of mankind. in which
any such effect has been produced by
free coinage? The contrary is true. 1t
was known to Jefferson and Madison,
and Hamilton. and Washington when
they established the coinage system Of
1892. that it was not true, and that
even q slight variation in the CONNER
cial value of the two metals at any
given ratio Immediately deprecated
the cheaper metal and drove the other
out Of circulation, and disturbed and
impeded the welfare and progress of
the whole body of the communities.
LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
The law of suppy and demand, which
every farmer, every business man and
every wOrkingman perfectly under
stands in his own occupation. governs
the price of the precious metals just as
certainly as it governs the labor There
is another thing in this connection that
ought to be mentioned, namely that
these precious metals are not consumed
as they are produced from year to year.
as the other products Of human indus-
try, but continue to accumulate. which
enormously increases the danger and
demonstrates the impossibilty of main
tanning II double standard Of values.
II is as certain. therefore, as anything
that human philosophy and human ex-
perienCe can establish that the free
coinage Of silver at the ratio of 16 to |
will produce an enormous depreciation
Of the value of the silver dollar. and
Immediately nut the United States up
on the footing of silver standard
alone And this standard will grow
more and more deprecated rs the pro-
duCtion of silver is stimulated by the
right of every mine owner and dealer
to turn his metal (worth only 81 to 90
cents an ounce) into dollar. compul-
sorry legal tender to every man engaged
in labor trade or production.
But. it is asked. what harm will this
do? 1t Is said that prices Of every
thing will rise according. If the prices
Of everything-labor. manufactures,
food products and all--rise in equal pro-
portion. what better off is anybody? In
that case we should be just where we
are now, excepting that 1t will take
double the volume os money to do the
! same amount of business. But human
experience has proved that prices Of
everything do not, in such periods
of initiation. rise in equal proportion
and that as it respects the small manu-
facturer the small farmer and the
small trader. and especially the wage
earners, prices do not rise in propor-
tion. 1t was found and is proved by
statistics carefully gathered that dur
ing our wartime imitation (and since)
the pay of the wage-earners did not
rise i'm proportion to the rise in the
things they had to buy.
ON THE VERGE OF A .;REz.K
DOWN.
Some one may ask how it lraprens
that our present silver dollar, cone1 g t
the ratio of l6 to l. maintains its parity
! with pOld The answer iS Casy " ic
| that the government. in order 10 avert
| the inevitable disaster that you'd 9th.
| erwise follow. has treated IN its tar
sactions the silver dollar as worth one
tenth of a gold eagle: and. as fat.
| whether the law authorizes il CT not.
| ten silver dollars can be exchanged for
| a greenback, and greenback present =
| ed at the Treasury and gold o5ti incd
| for II. It is this fact, and this nlnne.