Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-10-15

l. What is bimetallism
A. The equal legal treatment of
the two metals, gold and silver, as
money, at given ratio of coinage.
z. What is meant by 16 toll?
That in coming the two metals
into money Is or. of silver are to
be deemed equal to one OF. of gold.
2. What is the present CONNER
cial ratio of silver and gold bullion +?
1t is about 80 to 1.
l.. What has caused the divergence
between the coin and the bullion
value of silver?
The characterization of silver in
1878 by the country and some of the
nations of Europe.
3. Why was silver demonetized?
1t was demonetized because of the
desire to limit the supply of money,
make money dearer, thus increase
its purchasing power, and therefore
to the advantage of money dealers,
oondholders, creditor classes and
those having fixed incomes.
6. Was not the decentralization of
silver in 1873 due to its over-produc-
tion as compared with gold?
II was not due to the over-produc-
tion of silver, because (a) for many
years prior to 1873 the worlds pro-
duction of gold had been about three
times as great as that of silver, and
(b) in 1878 silver bullion was at a
premium of per cent over gold.
z. How does the worlds produc-
tion Of gold and silver for the last
100 years compare with each other :?
Between the years 1892 and 1892
the worlds production of gold ex-
ceeded that Of silver about 600 mill
lion dollars.
s. What is the ratio of the two
metals as they exist by weight in the
world to-day available for money? p
1t is about 15s to l, which means
that there are only about sixteen
times as many tons of silver in the
world available for money as there
are tons Of gold.
8. What, therefore, is the the natu-
raj ratio between silver and gold?
Sixteen to one Ia the natural ratio
betweeen silver and gold bullion and
would manifestly be the present
commercial ratio had not there been
legal interference.
10. TO whose advantage Is it that
nations have been induced to adopt
the gold standard?
To the advantage of all creditor
nations, especially England. Two
hundred million people now use
gold alone as redemptive money who
in 1878 used both gold and silver {;
hence the constant rise In the power
Of gold land money based Oh gold,
which rise shows itself in the fall of
prices of commodities.
IL. If we had free coinage of sill
yer would not this country become
the dumping ground" for silver
from all nations?
There are, II is supposed, about
four billion dollars of silver coin and
bullion in the world, and if all of
this should come here it would only
give the United States a per capita
of about $5S, which is only a little
more than we had Of all kinds of
money in the North at the close of
the war when times were exceed
ingly prosperous. France to-day
has nearly this amount of money
per capita, and is one Of the most
prosperous countries In the world.
IL. What is there to prevent this
silver from coming to our mints for
coinage?
There are three conclusive rea-
sons: (a) Other nations have no
more silver than they need; (b) Eu-
rope annually uses about twice as
much silver as she produces, and (c)
the great bulk of the silver now In
existence is already coined at ratios
more favorable to silver than 16 to L,
some being Is to l and some 153 to
one.
10. If silver coin should not come
to our mints for recOinage would
not Europe continue as at present tt
depress the price Of silver bullion ?
North and South A merica produce
IS per cent of all tho silver now be
ing produced In the world and ter
times as much as Europe does, 81
that the United States and the othe
countries Of the western continent
could easily control the price of sill
YER bullion regardless Of other ma
tions.
IA. Why not put more silver II