The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-08-22
BIMETALLiSM DEFINED.
Il Means to Open the MINIS Of the Country
In I3s,fh M az IL

II Means to Open the MINIS OF the Country
to Both Metals.
An editorial writer ia the New York
Sun has bumped very thick head
against an argument made by Hon.
Charles 2. Crisp IN Georgia in favor Of
the free coinage OF silver. Judge Crisp
had referred to the disappearance Of
gold from our circulation under the
act Of 1892 and Of silver under the act
Of 1884 by reference to the conflicting
ratios in this country and France. The
ratio Of the French mint kept the COM
mercial values of the two metals prac-
tically steady at the valuation fixed
by law. But when two nations coin
freely at different ratios both ratios,
OF course, cannot control, and each
metal will seek the country whose law
gives it the higher valuation. This
was the substance of Judge Crisps
argument and the following is the
Suns reply; psssrrs
Here were two instances il which
the mighty fat Of the United States
congress, signed by the president,
couldn't keep gold and silver on a
parity in value at a fixed ratio, or
keep them both in circulation. It was
monometallism every time Yet the
free silverites, joined by Judge Crisp
himself in the close of this Identical
speech, plead that, the United States
can maintain what they call 'bimetal-
ism by starting alone on free silver.
coinage at sixteen to one. We are liv-
ing, we are moving, in grand and aw-#
ful time J" ~ h'aa ,:t q eess q
1t IS plain that the writer Of the fore
going did not even dimly perceive the.
meaning of Judge Crisp's argument.
and that he does not understand the
position of the bimetallists or know
what bimetallism means. Bimetallism
exists IN any country when its mints
are freely open to the coinage of both
metals, when it gets the full benefit of
both in sustaining and replenishing
the volume of its standard money and
when q stable ratio of value is main
tanned between them. {, Leading and
candid 8 monometallists agree that
France by its mint ratio of 151S to /
su bstan TALLY controlled the relative
market values of gold and silver up to
1873. When the United States set up a
law, first in 1892 and then in 1884, in
conflict with the French law, it simply
resulted in this country's exchanging
first its gold for silver and next its sill
yer for gold. j But it got the benefit of
both metals. : So long as it could ex-
change gold for silver dollar or a
silver for gold dollar both metals
were available to the full extent for
increasing the supply of standard
money. When, for any reason, one
metal left thez country, the other
flowed in and filled the gan
in our circulation without causing the
slightes disturbance. That was BIZ
metallism. What are the conditions
now? There has been for several
years q steady outflow of gold. If our
mints were open to the coinage Of
both metals as before 1878 we could
make this good by receiving silver in
It's place; but being denied this privi-
lege we must buy back the gold with
bonds, and we have already issued
S262, 600, 600 of bonds for that purpose.
This is recommendation. Monometal-
ism restricts a country to the use of
one metal only. d. :. ;: - -.
II it loses that Or any considerable
proportion of it it must go without or
buy it back at sacrifice. Bimetallism
gives it the use of both and enables il
when one metal goes abroad to fill it's
place with the other without loss to
The OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Commercial
Appeal NJ !.