The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1896-08-20

Yer has been used as money for thou
sands Of years. and during all Of that
time the world has never suffered from
an oy"rproductIon am firmly con
WINGED that by opening our minis to
FIRE" AMI unlimited coinage at the pres
"nt ratio We can create demand fnl
silver which will keep the pric" of sil
yer bullion nj SlH9 an ounce. measured
by gold
some Of our opponents attribute the
fall in n" value Of silver. when meas
urcd by gold. TO the fact that during
The last quarter Of a Ccntny tho
world s supply Of silver has increased
NOR" rapidly than the worlds supply
! Of gold, This argument is entirely an
SW'r"d by Ia" iart that. during the
last five years the annual production of
gold has increased more rapidly than
tho annual production Of silver. Since
the gold plic" Of silver has fallen more
during the last five years than il ever
fell in any previous five years in 'hc
history Of the world it is evident tina,
the fall is not duc to increased produC-
ton. Prices can be lowered as effect
ually by decreasing the demand for an
| article az by increasing the supply Of
| II, and It seems certain that the fall
in III" gold price Of silver Is due to
hostile legislation. and not TO natural
| laws
"Our opponents cannot ignore thc
fact that gold is now going abroad IN
spite Of all legislation intended to pre-
| vent II, and no silver is being coined
! to take its place. No, only Is gold go
ing abroad now. but it must continue
to go abroad as long as the present
financial policy is adhered to unless we
continue to borrow from across the
! ocean, and even then we simply post
| pOne the evil, because the amount Dor
| rowcd, together with interest upon It,,
must be repaid in approaching dollars
| There is only one way to stop the in
crcasing flow of gold from our shores,
| and that is to stop falling prices. The
| restoration Of bimetalIism will Not
only stop falling prices, but will to
some cX'ent-rest0rc prices by re-
ducing the worlds demand for gold.
Answers the "50-C-nt Dollar" Talk.
"Perhaps the most persistent mis-
! representation that We have to meet Is
| the charge that we are advocating the
| payment Of debts in 50-ccnt dollars
| The charge OF reputation comes with
poor grace from those who are seeking
to add to the weight Of existing debts
by legislation which makes money
dearer. and who conceal their designs
against the general welfare under the
euphonious pretense that they are up
holding public credit and national
honor.
1t must be remembered that no gold
can leave this country until the owner
of the gold receives something in re-
turn for 1t which he would rather have.
There Is no process by which we can
be compelled to part with our gold
against our will, nor Is there any proc
ess by which silver can be forced upon
us without our consent
"Those who deny the ability Of the
United States to maintain the parity
between gold and silver at the present
legal ratio without foreign aid .oint to
Mexico and assert that the opening Of
our minis will reduce us to a silver
basis and raise gold to a premium. 1t
Is absurd to declare that the United
States is not able to do anything which
Mexico has failed TO accomplish The
one thing necessary in order to main
tain the parity is to furnish a demand
great enough to utilize all the silver
! which will come 10 the minis
As to Cost OF Production.
In reply to the argument that i'm
proved machinery has lessened the cost
of producing silver, it Is sufficient to
say that the same Is true of the pro-
ducton ci gold and yet, notwithstand-
ing that, gold has risen in value AS
a matter Of fact, the cost Of production
does not determine the value of the
precious metals, except as 1t may affect
the supply. If, for instance, the cost
Of producing gold should be reduced
80 per cent. without any increase in
the output, the purchasing power Of an
ounce Of gold would not fail SO long
as there Is monetary demand sufIi.
cent to take at fixed mint price all
the gold and silver produced, the COS,
Of production need not be considered
Tho Mine Owners Not Specially Benefited.
"..s IL ~ asserted by our opponents
that the free coinage Of silver is in
tended only for the benefit Of the mine.
owners. it must be remembered that
free coinage cannot restore to the mine.
owner any more than the demOnetiza.
ton took away; and it must also be
remembered that the loss which the
decentralization Of silver has brought
to the mine-owners is insignificant
compared to the loss which this policy
has brought to the rest of the people
| rs at, brto =,