Connecticut western news., 1896-07-09
THURSDAY. JULY g, 1896.
THE NATIONS PERIL.
The Silver Question, or What l6 to l
 Means.

The Silver Question, or What l6 to Another crisis has been reached in the history of the United States, and the fate of the nation hangs trembling in the balances. The silver question is one of vital interest, and it should be fully comprehended by all. In this crisis partisanship should be sent to the rear, and patriot ism brought to the front. In fact it is a question of national honor, A question of bnsiness; and it involves alike both national and individual prosperity, or ruin. THE NEWS devotes considera- ble space to this question today in order to give it's readers clear vlew of the subject. and 1t therefore presents the following articles which it has clipped from exchanges. inasmuch as said clip pings seem to .'size up" the question in the fewest possible words:
 The New Hartford Tribune has been asked, "what is free coinage at Is to IF" The Tribune replies:
 Not an intelligent boy who who reads the newspaper but is asking questions inst now about "sound money" and .sfree silver"
 A dollar, which is the money stand. ard in this country, is equivalent to 23:22 gr. pure gold, paper dollars are promises to pay in gold, and silver dol lars have been for 50 years limited by Legislation as to the number coined, and supported by government credit. thus making them equal to a gold dollar as a circulating medium. It is now proposed by the free silver men to force an un- limited coinage of silver calling silver dollar containing 50 cents worth of bull ion, equal to gold dollar containing 100 cents worth of bullion, and the con- sequence will be that the gold will dis appear from circulation, and the debss- d ailver will only be taken at half value in business and in commerce. It does not take much of . financier to prophecy the ruin that will follow.
 An exchange puts the case so we'll that we quote:
 A silver dollar weighs about sixteen times as much as gold dollar. When the ratio was established for coinage of gold and silver dollars it approximated the market value of the two metals. An ounce of gold was worth about sixteen times as much ss an ounce of silver. Now m ounce of gold is worth more than thirty times as much as an ounce of silver. Under our law whoever owns gold bullion can take it to the mint and have it made into coins without any cost 10 him. That is free coinage of gold. The gold thus coined is worth a dollar, irrespective of the stamp, all over the !. world. The silver men demand that we should do the same thing for silver without any change of ratio-that is to say, that every owner of silver shall be permitted to take it to the mint and every 50 cents worth of it stamped as a dollar. though it would only be worth it's bullion value outside of the United States.
 The Hon Hoke Smith, secretary ol the interior, said in a recent speech re- ferring to the consequences of establish ing silver standard:
 ''Manufactories would close. Busi ness houses would fail Banks would be raided. The unemployed would bt numbered by millions. Farmers would find few purchasers for their products Want and famine would pervade the land"
 And to this we add one more item The 5, 1000. 900 savings bank deposition in this country, most of them working people. would receive only half valu' for their deposited savings if the silve standard should go into effect.
 Comparatively few people, says tn, Dsnbury News, know exactly what i meant by silver at Q ratio of 16 to l, O which so much is being printed ant talked just now. A contemporary tha was asked the question made tue follow ing answer, which is said by members o both the great political parties to be fair one:
 In order to create double monetar, standard, that is to say, to have tht prices of all commodities ascertained Il money of two different kinds, 1t is neces sary that the two kinds of money should bear 8 fixed, unvarying relation of vslu the one to the other. Being measure of value, they must always bear tn, same relation to each other as pin cup to . quart pail The relation whicl free coinage men seek to establish b, law between silver and gold is that Il ounces of silver shall be worth on ounce of gold, and shall continue to b. worth it. As matter of fact one ounc of gold is worth 32 ounces of silver, an, the value of the inferior metal is contin ually changing. No government in tn world has ever been able to keep the re lation fixed.
 And every government has tried. Tn failure has been due to the over-produc ton of silver and the consequent shrink age of value. The ratio has invariabl, fixed and unfixed itself, according to tn amount of silver and gold in the world
 And here is what the Boston Glob says about what "16 to l" means:
 Sixteen to one. or one to 16, mean simply that Is pounds. ounces, penny weights or grains of silver are equal il value to one pound, ounce, penny weigh or grain of gold.
 But the mint rate and the rate in tn worlds market differ; the latter fuctu ates, and is now at or near the ratio 0 30 to 1, that is, 30 grains of silver ar equal in value to one grain of gold.
 Gold being the standard remains tn init. and silver the commodity, lower