Evening journal., 1896-08-27

cents, or full dollar. lt required the uoO- |
pie to accept ~ as alegal tender and Is Thus |
morally bound TO maintain 1t at parity |
with gold, which was then, as now, the |
recognized standard with as and the most |
enlightened nations Of the world The gov |
ernment having issued and circulated he |
silver dollar IT must In honor protect the |
holder from loss. This obligation It has so
far sacredly kept Not only is there a
moral obligation, but there is legal obli-
cation expressed In public statute 20 main.
tain the parity
Could Not BE Kept at Par
These dollars In the particulars have
named arc not the same as the dollars
which would be issued under free coinage.
They would be the same in form, but diff
ferent in value. The government would
have no part IN the transaction except TO
coin the silver bullion into dollars Ii
would share IN no part OF the profit 1t
would take upon itself no obligation. IL
would not put the dollars into circulation.
II could only get them as any citizen
would get them by giving something for
them. II would deliver them to those who
deposited the silver and its connection
with the transaction there end. Such are
the silver dollars which would be issued
under free coinage of silver at a ratio of 10
to /. Who would then maintain the par
ity? What would keep them at par with
gold? There would be no obligation rest
ing upon the government 10 do it. aud if
there were 1t would be powerless to do 1t.
The simple truth is, we would be driven TO
a silver basis, to silver mononetallism.
These dollars, therefore, would stand upon
their real value. If the free and unlimited
mn # al ~ ~ IL -
silver TO ounce Of gold would, as some OF
its advocates assert make SO cents IN sill
yer worth 100 cents and the silver dollar
equal to the gold dollar, then we would
have no cheaper money than now, and It
would be no easier TO get. But that such
would be the result is against reason and
is contradicted by experience In all times
and in all lands. 1t means the debase-
ment of our currency TO the amount of the
difference between the commercial and coin
value of the silver dollar, which is ever
changing, and the effect would be to re-
duce property values, entail untold fnan-
cial loss, destroy confidence, impair the OBJ
legations OF existing contracts, further inn
poyerish the laborer and producer of the
country create panic OF unparalleled Sc
verify and inflict upon trade and commerce
a deadly blow Against any such policy
am unalterably opposed
Question OF BimetalIism.
Blmetallism cannot be secured by indie
pendent action on our part. 1t cannot be
obtained by opening our mints to the un-
limited coinage Of the silver of the world
at a ratio of 16 ounces Of silver to ounce
of gold when the commercial ratio is more
than 30 ounces OF silver to ounce Of gold
Mexico and China have tried the expert
ment Mexico has free coinage Of silver
and gold at a ratio slightly in excess Of
| 1875 ounces OF silver TO I ounce of gold,
and, while her mints are freely open to
| both metals at that ratio, not single dol
lar In gold bullion IS coined and circulated
| as money Gold has been driven out OF
circulation In these countries, and they are
on a silver basis alone. Until information
al agreement is had it IS the plain duty of
| the United States to maintain the gold
standard 1t is the recognized and sole
standard of the great commercial nations
Of the world with which we trade more
largely than any other. Eighty-four per
cent OF our foreign trade for the fiscal year
1895 was with gold standard countries,
and our trade with other countries was
settled on gold basis
Chiefly by means Of legislation during
and since 1878 there has been put in circtI-
lation more than 1921, GOO 600 OF silver or
its representative This has been done in
! the honest effort to give TO silver, If pOssl-
Bile the same bullion and coinage value
and encourage the concurrent use of both
gold and silver as money. Prior. TO that
| time there had been less than 1900, 900
silver dollars coined in the ontirc history
Of the United States, period Of 80 years.
| This legislation secures the largest use OF
silver consistent with financial safety and
the pledge 70 maintain its parity with gold
We have today more silver than gOld.
This has been accomplished ut times with
grave peril to the public credit The so
called sherman law sought 10 use all the
silver product Of the United States for
money at its market value. From 1880 70
1898 the government purchased 4, 100000
ounces of silver "a month, or $4,000, 600
ounces year. This was onc-third Of the
product of the world and practically all OF
this countrys product. 1t was believed
by those who then and now favor free
coinage that such use Of silver would nd
vance its bullion value TO its coinage val
ue, but this expectation was not realized.
In n few months, notwithstanding the un-
prccedentod mnrket for tho silver produced
in the United States, the price Of silver
went down very rapidly, reaching a lower
point than ever before. Then, upon the
Recommendation Of President Cleveland
both political parties united in the repeal
of the purchasing clause of the sherman
law. We cannot with safety engage n
further experiments in this direction.
On the 22d of August. 1891, in public
address, 1 said: "If we could have an in
ternational ratio which all the leading ma
tions Of the world would adopt and thu
true relation be flxod between the TIVE
metals and all agree upon the quantity o
silver which should constitute n dollar
then silver would be as FREQ and unlimite,
in its privileges Of coinage as gold is today
But that we have not been able to secure
and with the free and Unlimited coinage o
silver adopted in the United States at III
present ratio we would be still further TT
moved from any international agreement
l We may never be able to secure It II W
inter upon the isolated coinage Of silver
The double standard implies equality at
ratio, and that equality can only be estah
hshed by the concurrent law of nations. ]
was the concurrent law of nations tba
made the double standard 1t will reqtdr