The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-12-05
GOLDAND SiLVERIN BELGIUM

An Interesting letter sent to 81 Ct;ca-,
faper by a Distinguished Economist.
The Enclosed lettert to the minister n,
the United States at Brussels reaches
me from M. Allard, the distinguished
Beiigan publicist. Coming from a
source free from political bias. it is
llkeiy to Interest equally the supporters
Of Mr.. Mckinley and those of Mr. Brv-
an each party being, as we ara assured,
equally III earnest to restore silver TO
the worlds currency, the methods onlv
being different:
To His Excellency the Hon. ,Junss Curri,
United States Minister, Brussels:
i feel II my duty to answer without DELAY
the iotter which you kindly addressed to me
yesterday, but l beg your forgiveness IL here
IN the country, far from my Office and nv ref.
erences, am less explicit than l should wish
10 be.
follow IN my answers the Same sequence
which you have adopted in your questions.
Flrst.-The law of Belgium gives to every
debtor The unquestioned right to pay. at his
option, in gold or silver, whether this debtor
be the bank, the government or a private citi-
zen. native or foreign.
Second.-No official estimate exists of the
quantity OF money actually in circulation il.
D>NoAbih IA tiAio IuC can DC aUlrnGd-that
practlcaIly no gold is met with, SO that the ma
tional bank. which alone issues bank notes in
Belgium, never pays gold when these notes
are presented, but always pays silver.
Ihird.-Atl its birth i'll 1881 Belgium adopted
the fTench monetary system, based ON the two
metals, gold and sllver-i. t., limetallism.
But about 1851, when the gnld mines of Cali.
fornla and Australia prodLcGd gold in large
quantities, Belgium demonetized gold and be-
came silver monometallic.
About 1861, however, business became. so de-
pressed in Belgium that the people forced tbe
minister, d.. f~rere-Orban, to retire and Obliged
the government to become again bimetallic.
About 1873 France prevailed upon tho Latin
sta~tes-france, Italy, Belgium, switzerland
to suspend the coinage of silver, which sus.
pension established here a kind of limpinp
monoinetalisDt for though silver can no Ion.
ger be coined the then existing silver coins
continue to circulate within the Latin union.
which union dates from 1865.
Since 1873 a crisis, consisting in a fall in all
prices, exists continually, nor does it appear
possible to arrest its progress. This fall in
prices, reacting on wages, is now evolving a
social and industrial crisis.
You ask me why We returned in 1878 to mon
ometalllsm, llmplnG though it be. l can con-
celve no other reason than that it was to
please a certain class of financiers which prof
lied thereby-a class supported by theories in
vented and defended at that time by some DO.
htical economists, notably by members of the
institute of Franco.
Fourth.-Ao Oh ask what influence these mon
etary measures have had in Belgium On inuus-
try and wages. Money, which was already
scarce i'll 1873, has become still scarcer, and
that fan in prices which was predicted has |
taken place. The average fall in the price Of
all the products of labor is so per cent since
1873; that Of cereals over 65 per cent. Industry
is no longer remunerative, agriculture is ruin
ed, and everybody is clamoring for protection
by import duties, while our ruined citizens
think of wars. Such is the sad condition of
Europe.
fi1th.-For the last 20 years no new gold or
silver has been coined in Belgium.
Sixth.-The mint pays for gold 8, 437 franc.
per kilo and for silver go. IS francs per kilo,
without any change since 1865, but since 1874
it no longer buys silver. There is thus a mint
price for gold only, but gold is always dearer
in the open market than the purchase price of
the mint. Accept. M. lie Minister, the assur.
ances, etc, ALLARD
Honoraire de La Monnaie de Bel.
gique. Delegue du Commencement Beige aux
Confereux Montaire international, 1892, etc.
Aug. Il, 1896. TRANSLATED from the French.)
At my request, M. Allard has obtained
permission from Mr.. Ewing to publish
the letter. -Moreton Prevent Chicago
Record.