Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-06-27

holds good also with the producer of
gold and silver.
The ratio Of 16 to1 means, that at the
mint 10 ounces of silver are treated as
equa! TO one ounce of gold.
But silver and gold are both used in
the arts, and goldsmiths and silver
smiths get their gold and silver by buy
ing it. This fact gives rise TO what is
known as the market ratio between the
metals asdistinguished from their mint
ratio. Now, If gold or silver is worth
more as bullion than as money, if the
market price of either is at any time
greater than the mint valuation, it is
clear that the metal thus undervalued
at the mint will be disposed of in the
market as bullion and will cease to cir
culate as money. The famous law of
money, that with unlimited coinage
Of both metals at fixed ratio, the metal
that is overvalued at the mint will go
to the mint and will circulate as money,
while the metal that is underyaiued at
the mint will retire from circulation"
was first discovered by Oresme. of
France. a councillor of Charles the
Wise, who was having trouble with his
money in consequence OF having un-
limited coinage of both metals. The
same conclusions were reached l6O
years later by the independent investi-
CATION of Copernicus, the eminent as
tronomer, when he was called upon by
Sigismund, King of Poland, TO formu-
late plan for the reform of the intoler-
ably disordered money system of that
anciect monarchy. And in the latter
part of the sixteenth century it was
again discovered and formulated by Sir
Thomas Gresham, adviser of Queen
Elizabeth of England, IN honor o. whom
is has been called the Gresham law
This fundamental principle or law of
coinage has been found true in all ages
and countries, whenever and wherever
the experiment has been tried. The
Gresham law is, of course, not law
enacted by any person or legislative
body. II is simply the observed result
of a principal of human nature. For
wise reasons our Creator has endowed
each of us with the instinct of self
preservation. This is the basis of the
Gresham law. 4 short way OF stating
the law is this:
POOR MONEY DRIVES OUT GOOD
MONEY"
Why is this true? To illustrate, let
us suppose a case: You owe me $40.
You also owe $40 10 a man in Chicago.
In your pocket you have two so bills.
Let us suppose that one Of these is
good only locally; that is, it will be re-
ceived without discount only in the
neighborhoOd YOU and live. The 9TH
er bill will be supposed to be good any
where. Under the circumstances,
which of the bills would you naturally
give to me? You would naturally give
me the one having only local value;
the other bill you would reserve TO send
away to Chicago. OF these two bills,
in other words. you would naturally
send away the good one. SO would I.
So would any one. And in consequence
our community would send away its
good money. good anywhere" and
have left only the poorer money, good
locally" This illustrates what it meant
by the Gresham law.
And now a word in regard to the
quantity and quality of money. | pro-
pose to show that we nave plenty, or
large and sufficient quantity, of money,
and that quality is more important
than quantity.
The following statement was made
February II, 1896, by R. e. Preston. di-
rector Of the mint at Washington:
The value OF all silver coins used az
money in the world in 1873 | estimate
to have been $1,S16. 565. 657, and in 1894
about S4.000,000,000. The amount of
god coin in the world in 1873 was
estimated to have been $3,044. 547 800.
and in 1894 about $4.250. 100000. In
the United States our total coinage of
silver since 1873, up to and including
1894, has been s5SS, ,467. This is an
average of almost s25,OO0.0 1000 a year. or
ten times the highest average annual
coinage before 1878, and of this coinage
the vast sum of $431 .320457 is in he
form of dollars, every one of which Is
full legal tender Such an enormous
coinage of silver was never dreamed of
in the world before In view Of these
facts, it is simply trifling with words
to say that silver has been 'demonet-
ized;" and to say that half our money
has been struck down" is plainly to tell
an unmitigated falsehood. When
specie payments were resumed in 1879
it was considered that s100,000,000 in
god would be sufficient reserve to meet
all our outstanding treasury notes, ctc.,
which now amount to eight or ten times
that sum; and it has been shown that
1t was sufficient until the revenues
we're found to be insufficient to pay our
expenses. and it was used for expenses
and not for reserve When it is con-
sidered that about 90 per cent. of our
business is done by means of checks
drafts, etc, it is very plain that we do
not need all the gold and silver coin
and paper money piled up in our vaults
with which to do business. We do not
need the coinage and circulation of
more money. The free silverites"
claim that we need more money and
want silver freely coined. If they are
successful we will have poorer money.
The silver money would be bulkier and
less convenient than what we now
have. And it would lack in stability
Silver has become so abundant that its
value cannot be depended on, as we
have seen especially from 1890 to 1885
And | propose to show that the loss in
quality would be the greater evil.
Mr.. McCleary says: when l was a
!, Inc hos I oh