The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-03

Au6u 1oSV, the average monthly ratio
OF silver to gold was 1861 In March
1894. the ratio was "a 351 That is in
| just years and six months silver
i lost exactly one-half its value as COM
pared with gold. Such a thing has
never been equalled for its suddenness
| and extent. But it might be said that
| Sold h9d gone up, and that this drop
of silver relatively to gold was not a
| drop relatively to goods The AIdrich
report ends with the year 1891, and
we have absolutely no reliable data
to indicate how much these 223 articles
may have fallen since 1891 Owing To
| the depression consequent on the crisis
! or 1893, 1T is probable that prices in
general are somewhat lower than in
1891; but that they have been haIved
since 1890 is quite imaginary and
| absurd. Therefore, the fall Of silver
since 1881 has been another fall rela-
uVeiy TO goods. Even supposing prices
| TO nave fallen 20 per cent relatively to
! solo since 1891; yet, silver has fallen
since 1881 over go per cent relatively to
gold. SO that silver has changed re-
iatlVely to goods at least 40 per cent
IN the last few years. From absolutely
! reliable figures, taken from official
sources, we may now conclude that sill
yer has varied more and with greater
1 extremes in purchasing power over
goods tnan has gold. Since 1860, gold has
gained only 7.8 per cent of purchasing
|
lost at least 40 or so per cent of purchas-
/ ing power. over goods. If goods have
IaLen IN price, silver has fallen so much
mere as to carry it out of sight. as a.
just standard of payments.
1t may be objected, however. that
comparison Of prices should be made
not with 1850 but with 1873. when
silver was "demonetized." My answer
is that, in surveying, no engineer
would think of getting the drainage
level of a town by taking that Of a
neighboring hill. So with prices: the
year 1873 showed the effect of great
| rise; prices had gone up under sDecu
lation following the civil war. and then
the bubble burst in a panic But even
| SO, prices were higher in 1866 than In
1915. But we do not take 1866 as a
starting point. 1t was an abnormal
and exceptional year. The year 1860.
IN justice, Is the proper starting place.
because 1t was year in time Of Deace
Wmle we were on a gold basis 1t is
impossible, however, to regard 1873 as
proper year by which to discover
whether gold has varied from goods
because no gold or silver were then in
circulation From 1852 to 1879 we were
on standard OF inconvertible paper
| money.
Mr.. Bryan, in his speech Of accept
ance, Aug. 18th says: "a dollar which
increases in purchasing power is lust
as dishonest as dollar which de-
cfeases in purchasing power" And
then IN order to show what is a Just
| standard he quotes from my History
OF Bimetallism in the United States"
my belief that (under multiple
Standard "a longtime contract would
thereby be paid at its maturity by the
same purchasing power as was given in
the beginning" Mr. Bryan is then
| committed to this view Indeed. he
/ ha fill
| claimed that monometallism or BIZ
metall1sm, Or any other system, gives
an absolutely just standard of value"
Exactly SO, and inasmuch as free COIN
age of silver would result in the with
drawal Of gold, and the establishment
of single standard, the question for
us as voters to decide is, whether in
tact the existing gold standard has
| been, and is, more just to debtor and
/ creditor, than a silver standard would
! be- 1t is not claimed that gold has
always maintained the same and I'M
changing purchasing power over goods
That would be impossible But it is
claimed as a fact that gold has varied
less IN its purchasing power over goods
than has silver Therefore, gold has
proved itself in fact more just stand
ard for debtor or creditor than silver
! This result is not founded upon any
individual Judgment, but upon the
facts given in the table above,-facts
! which no one disputes.
If 1T be said that since 1873 silver has
| been shut out from use as money in
| reply that this statement is wholly
untrue. More silver is today in circu-
lat1On in Europe and the United States
than in 1873. 1t is rediculously untrue
that one-half the metallic money of
the word ii. e. silver was thrown out
of use in 1873. Germany still uses over
| $lO0,OOO,OOO legal tender silver thalers;
| the Latin union increased their silver
| circulation after 1873 not closing their
minis entirely until 1878; the United
States, after 1878, has added about
| 5000 100000 of silver to it's currency.
And the director Of the United States
mint reports for 1895 that in the cur
| rencies Of the world there is 4.O7O. $780,
900 of silver in use, of which S344O
100000 has unlimited legal tender power.
If O0O0O0O0O of silver are today used
as money. what nonsense to talk of
! one half of the metallic money having
| been legislated out Of existence in 1874,
| 1t is pure fable.
Some writers, however, in order to
| snow that silver has maintained the
! same level with goods, while gold has
| gone up from both, quote some state
| ments to show that prices have NOT
| gone up in silver-using countries
Without multiplying evidence note
the hard condition in which ware-earn
ers found themselves in, India, under
the rise of silver prices. The civil ser
wants of India presented a petition to
the viceroy, Lord Landsdowne. Tan
81, 1S93,and said: "This disastrous fan
In the value of the currency in which
the officers of the Indian government
are paid has affected all branches OF
the service alike. Since 1886. when tho
depreciation of silver became acute.
there mas been sharp rise in the
price of almost all articles produced
IN 4 he
OF servents, and in house rent. In the
same period, the retail price Of goods
imported from Europe, on which a por-
ton OF our salaries is spent, has also
risen largely from the same cause; and
the prices paid for them increase with
each successive fall in exchange" In
Geed the whole petition is pathetic
story of hardship because silver
prices had risen, while the government
had not raised wages and salaries.
This is what other countries may ex-
pect when they go to the silver stand
ard.
We have seen that while prices of
goods have fallen, silver has fallen in
dependently of goods, and not CORE
spondingly with the movement OF
goods. Silver goes up or down just as
copper goes up or down. There is moth
ing in silver which connects in with
the movement of goods. Nor, as have
previously shown, have prices OF goods
fallen because of scarcity Of gold.
j Laurence Laughlin.
IND AMI HIS PEC0PN