Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1896-09-03


would be very soon confounded by the
statement that free silver would put
more gold out OF circulation than the
minis OF the United States could pos
slbiy In years Of silver and that, instead
OF having more money, we would have
less. With our six hundred and odd
millions OF gold driven out of circulation H.,
we will reduce the per capita money Of
this country between IS and 80. SO 1t Is
not for more money.
We have an abundant supply OF circu
lating medium, gold, silver. national
bank paper, nbacks, treasury notes
fractional silver. We have something
like s23 per capita OF our population.
What is it, then, that creates this demand
for silver? 1t is openly avowed: 1t is not
more dollars, but cheaper dollars that are
wanted. 1t is a lower standard OF value
that they are demanding. They say gold
has gone up until 1t has ceased to be a
proper standard OF value, and they want
silver. But how do they want it? Now,
my friends, there is q great deal OF talk
about bimetsllism and the double stand
ard, and great deal Of confusion In the
use OF those terms. Bimetallism is the
use OF the two metals as money where
they are both used.
By double standard they mean that we
shall have a gold dollar and silver dollar
which shall be units OF value by which all
property and all wages and everything is
to be measured. Now our fathers thought
that when they used these two metals in
coinage they must determine the intrin-
sic relative value OF the two SO that a
comparison OF the markets Of the world
would show just what relation one ounce
OF silver bore to one ounce Of gold, how
many ounces OF silver it took to be equal
to one ounce OF gold in the mar kets Of the
world where gold and silver were used,
and they carefully went about ascertain
Ing that.
jefferson and Alexander Hamilton
alton OF that question, and they collected
the market reports and they studied with
all their power that question, and when
they had found what appeared to be the
general and average relative value of
those two metals, they fixed upon ratio
between them. Now what WAS the OBJ
ject OF all that? Why did they lump all?
Because they fully understood that unless
these dollars were of the same inherent
intrinsic value, that both OF them could
not be standards OF value and both could
not circulate.
Why, every boy knows that 1t Is essen
tial that the length OF his stills below the
tread shall be the same. What is the law
that governs here? 1t Is just this simple
law OF human seltshness and self-protec-
ton hat il you have two things either one
OF which Will pay a debt, and one is not as
valuable as the other, you are sure to give
the least valuable one. 1t is just upon
the principle that a man who can pay a
debt with one dollar won't give two
precisely that. So that unless these
two things maintain approximately the
relative value that sixteen ounces Of silver
worth one ounce of gold you cannot
make such dollars circulate together.
The one that is more valuable the man
will keep In his pocket or he will sell it to
u bullloii biohti, dilb tNcl -poby W III uoV
the OF her. 1t is an old law proclaimed
years ago in England by Gresham that the
cheaper dollar drives the better one out.
1t has been illustrated in our history re-
peatedly. 1t has been illustrated in the
history OF every commercial nation in The
world, and any body Of half sense could
see why it is so. You might just as well
say that II we had two kinds of bushels,
il the law should declare that 60 pounds
OF wheat was a bushel and 80 pounds Of
wheat was a bushel-well, what farmer
would deliver wheat by the 60-pound
measure II he had sold it by he bushei?
Now SO nice were our people about
this in trying to adjust this that they
went into decimal fractions. We say
Is to /. In fact, that is not the ratio.
1t is Ia. 9SS plus. Now that is the actual
ratio. 1t Is so near 16 that We call 1t 16,
but he men who made our silver dollar
and our gold dollar were so nice in their
calculation that they went into decimal
fractions into thousandt hs-to adjust
it accurately. Now what do these peo-
pie propose to do? To take any account
OF thousands? No. When the markets
Of the world fix the relative value
OF silver or gold at 81 ounces OF sill
yer to one ounce OF gold, they propose
to say 16. Well, my friends, there has
been nothing more amusing, and yet |
fear that with the thoughtless it may
have been in some measure misleading,
than the repeated declaration OF Mr..
Bryan that rybody admitted that BIZ
metallism WAS a good thing-there is
no debate on that subject, and that the
debate OF the campaign has come down
to this fine point. The republicans say
that we cannot have this good thing
without the consent Of England, and we
say We can have it ourselves, and he has
endeavored to pivot this great campaign
with its tremendous issues upon that pin
hole