The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-10-23

The country upon those dreams Would
oil the commercial nations together coin
ing silver at 10 TO l bring up the value of
silver bullion to $129 per ounce9 Per-
haps Strong commercial reasons suggest
the contrary. Would America alone bring
silver to $1.29? Assuredly not; although,
of course, the new demand for silver
from the minis would give some increase
to it's value, which increase, however,
might again be offset by an increase of
production.
Some imagine that the ratio of silver to
gold was always Is to | or thereabout.
The ratio was constantly changing
throughout historic times; at one time
silver was more valuable than gold; at
the time of the discovery of America sill
yer was ten times less valuable than gold;
200 years before it had been eight times
less valuable. The ratio is constantly
changing, and the question for us today is
not what the ratio was at a preceding
date, but what it should be in ouS time.
But has not Herr Bismarck couVseIled
the United States to go ahead and make
the experiment. all alone? Yes; and some
Americans quote his advice as an author
ity. The sly old fox would, indeed, be
pleased to see America make the expert
ment-and go to the bottom of the sea.
Free Coinage then, will give us money,
worth in the commercial market of the
world little over half it's nominal value.
No one imagines that the stamp of the
government gives value to a piece of
metal; it merely certifes to the quantity
and quality. Otherwise the government
stamp might as well be affixed. Other
wise the government stamp might as well
be affixed to copper or mere paper. If the
government stamp gave value the debased
coins issued in the past by impecunious
sovereigns would not have ruined the
subjects of those sovereigns and the as
signats of France, and the paper issued by
Ferdinand of Naples a century ago would
not have sold in the government market
as government rags. Legal tender, COM
polling men to accept against their will
money above it's commercial value in the
the markets of the world, is rank injus-
tice. The early financial statesmen of
America Jefferson, Morris and Hamilton,
never thought of making the legal value
of coin CHER than the commercial value
of the metal of which the coins were
made
Therefore, with the passage of free sill.
yer coinage we shall have currency re-
jected at it's nominal value from the mar
kets of the world, unstable and fuctuat-
ing in real value. Business cannot pros
per with such currency. The first con-
dition of the life of business is stability Of
the currency. None will invest money of
a certain value today in commerce and in
dustry if by the time the raw material has
been turned into marketable wares the
currency is likely to have changed in
value. Business in all branches would
become speculation, gamble, and con-
servative capital would keep out of sight.
No loans would be made. 1t is nonsense
to say that capital must put itself into the
American market, whether the capital be
American or European. We should not
be deluded by words. We may clamor in
vain for capital. It will not come to us
unless there be security for it. 1t will re-
main in the vaults of safety, or go to other
parts of the world, where reward is small
but certain. And without capital there
will be no enterprises and no work for the
people.