The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-13
THE SALT LAKE HERALD THURSDAY. AUGUST 10, 1895.


is less conNenicn. to carry il large
ljs ntities, is c, implicitly answered ty
4 the silver certificate, which is as easily
/ carried as the gold certificate or any
other kind of paper money. There are
| some who, while admitting the benefits
of bimetallism, object to coinage at the
present ratio. If any are deceived by
this objection, they ought to remember
! that there are no bimetalists who are
/ earnestly endeavoring to secure any
other ratio than 16 to /.
eve are opposed to any change in
| the ratio for two reasons: First, be-
cause a. change would produce great
I injustice; and, second, because a
change in the ratio is not necessary. A
change would produce injustice, be-
cause if effected in the manner usually
suggested, it would
RESULT IN ENORMOUS CONTRAC-
TION
! in the volume of standard money. If
for instance, it was decided by the in
ternational agreement to raise ratios
throughout the world to 80 to 1, the
change might be effected in any one
of three ways.
'The silver dollar could be doubled
in size, SO that the new silver dollar
would weigh thirty-two times as much
as the present gold dollar; or the pres
ent gold dollar could be reduced oue-
half in weight, so that the present
silver dollar would weigh thirty-two
times as much as the new gold dollar;
or the change could be made by in
creasing the size of the silver dollar
and decreasing the size of the gold
dollar until the new silver dollar
would weigh thirty-two times as much
as the new gold dollar Those who
have advised a change in the ratio
have usually suggested that silver dol
| lars be doubled.
IF this change were made it would
necessdtate the re-coinage of four
billions of silver into two billions OF
dodiaTs and there would De an Immediate
loss of two billions of dollars either
to individuals or to the government.
But this would be the least of the
injury.
"A shrinkage of one-half in the silver
money of the world would mean a
shrinkage OF one-fourth in the total
volume OF metallic money.
This contraction, by increasing the
value Of the dollar, would virtually in
crease the debts of the world billions of
dollars and decrease still more the
value of property of the world as
measured by dollars.
BESIDES this immediate result, such a
change in the ratio would permanently
decrease the annual addition TO the
WORLDS SUPPLY OF MONEY,
because the annual silver product,
when coined into dUllare twice as large,
would make only half as many dollars
The people of the United States would
be injured by a change in the ratio,
not because they produce silver, but
because they own property and owe
debts, and they cannot afford to thus
decrease the value of their property
or increase the burden of their debts.
In 1878, Mr. Carlisle said, Mankind will
be fortunate indeed, if the annual pro-
duction Of gold and silver coin shall
keep pace with the annual increase OF
population and industry
Il repeat his assertion. All of the
gold and silver annually available for
coinage, when converted into coin at
the present raaio, will not, in my judg-
ment, more than supply our monetary
needs. In supporting the act of 1890,
known as the Sherman act, Senator
Sherman, on June of that year, said:
'Ur7 er the law of February, 1878, the
pun -.ase of $2,000,00O worth of silver
bullion a month has, by coinage, pro-
duced annually an average of nearly
SIS, 600 per month for a period of
twelve years, but this amount, in view
of the retirement of the bank notes,
will not increase our currency in pro-
portion to our increasing population.
If our present currency is estimated at
81, 400, 100000, and our population is in
creasing at the rate of per cent. per
anmum, it would require $42,000,000 in
creased circulation each year to
KEEP PACE WITH THE INCREASE
of population; but, as the increase of
population is accompanied by a, still
greater ratio of increase of wealth and
business, it was thought that am i'm
mediate increase of circulation might
be obtained by larger purchases of sill
yer bullion to an amount sufficient to
make good the retirement of bank
notes, and keep pace with the growth
of population. Assuming that $54 000,-
600 a year of additional currency is
needed upon this basis, that amount
is provided for in this bill by the issue
of treasury notes in exchange for bull
lion at the market price. If the United
States then needed more than $40, 100000
annually to keep pace with the popu-
laffon and business, it now, with a
larger population needs a still greater
annual addiction and the United States
is only one nation among many. Our
opponents make no adequate provision
for the increasing monetary needs of
the world.
In the second place, a change in the
ratio is not necessary. Hostile legisla-
ton has decreased the demand for sill
yer, and lowered it's price when meas
ured by gold, while this same hostile
legislation, by increasing the demand
for gold, has raised the value of gold
when measured by other forms OF
property. We are told that the
RESTORATION OF BIMETALLISM