The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1896-08-22

seems to have been because the theI
unparalleled output of gold from Cal
ifornis, Australia aud Russia had SC
cheapened that metal that is Was mol
! then undervalred by the ratio of the
French uduts.
In examining English history fo'
traces OF the noy emeats which you
claim took place We hayea sLili simpler
task. During the eigbty-three years
from l7l6 to 1895 only s5s4 900 of silver
had been coined in Great Britain;
coinage on private account was abol.
ished in l774, and silver, as We have
seen above, practically did not circu-
late. Aud since silver did not circu
late in England IN 1892, our gold could
not have gone there to replace gold in
the English circulation. And when
gold returned to circulation here in
1885 we could not have brought it from
England oy replacing it in British
circulation by our silver, for England
was not then coming silver on private
| account and had, besides, in 1916,
adopted the single gold standard.
Again. you maiutain that free and
unlimited coinage of silver at ratio
of 16 to would not now drive gold
from our circulation. But, why not?
Even wera your theory correct Is 1t ab-
solntely necessary that gold should
leave the United States au all, to go
out of circulation? The market ratio
is now 80 TO l. With free coinage at
ie to established, will any man who
possesses ten ounces Of gold pay with
It $206 of his debts when he can take
that gold into open market and buy
with 1t three hundred ounces of silver.
which the government will coin for
him free of charge and compel his
creditors to take for s3S7? Would not
it be the universal practice, as It was
in France, for the people to take their
gold to the money changers, in order
to pocket the premium, and make pay |
ment exclusively in silver" If every |
one did that, would not gold be prac-
tically out of circulation in the United |
StatesY OF course, being out of use
here and in demand abroad it would |
soon find its way to foreign mints.
But in the first instance it is not nec-
essary that 1t should leave. the United
States to 60 out OF circulation.
And just here you fortify your poei-
tion by the remark that the amount of
silver is SO small as to be
worth consideration. That
would be an important argument, II
true. But let me point out that with
the ratio falling from 1917 to in 1874
to 32.56 to In 1894 the production of
silver has risen from E5, 300, 900 ounces
in the former to 1877, 10000 ounces in
the latter year. Taking no account of
the immense impetus free coinage /
would certainly, though perhaps ten.
porarily, give to the silver mining in
austry, and supposing that not one
ounce OF old silver would find its way
TO our mints; calculating that not more
.han one halt OF the new production
would each year be coined by our gov.
srnment, it would take but about i've
years for one half Of this new produc.
ion of silver to replace the $500, 900, 900
)f gold We haYe in circulation. While
+ space and time permitted 1t would
De very easy to show that the very
Itrong probability is, that under those
conditions old as we'll as new silver
would flow TO our mints from all direc-
ions and that In the merest fraction
# the five years no gold would circu.
ate among US as mouey.
Very Sincerely,
SQuNp Money DEMOCRAT.