People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-09-17


period OF California
Kansas. ana AuseI SH ~, us ne,
cause the proportion
Of IS Of gold to 81 OF silver, which then OBJ
tained, has been changed now TO OF gold
TO 70 Of silver, that silver Is relatively IN
creasing Proportions are not TO be esti-
mated as Of a short period OF decline In
one OF the metals, any more than snort
period Of its rise. II they were, we might,
In order to determine the relative increase
OF the metals, go back 10 the first OF the
century, when the product stood less than
2 Of gold 10 IS OF silver. and come on down
TO the half decade closing with 1860. when
they stood In the proportion OF is OF gold
TO 81 Of silver, and from that rapid and
prodigious increase say that there Is an
overproduction OF gold, therefore we will
demOnetize II, as was actually and serious
ly proposed in those days Proportions must
be estimated as Of long periods OF time,
and not Of short spurts Of rapid increase
or sudden decline.
Ratio Not Affected by Production.
There has been, since the discovery OF
America, a relative Increase In the pro-
duction Of gold over silver, but not a steady
and constant Increase Gold has increased
by fits and starts, but silver has maintained
a steadiness Of output as compared with
gold that is striking and peculiar. During
this entire period Of 400 years the production
OF silver as compared TO gold has ranged
between 81 Of silver as the lowest and SO
as the highest, compared to IL Of gold as
the lowest and 1874 as the highest.
Besides this fact there is another which
/ specially desire TO make prominent. II
is this: These tables which show a steadily
increasing output OF gold, also show in
connection with the tables Of the relative
commercial and money values OF the two
metals; that when the production Of gold
was the lowest as compared with silver
that Is TO say, when the overproduction
Of silver as compared to gold was the high
est-n0 appreciable change in the ratio,
either OF the money or commercial values,
OF the two metals occurred. These tables
OF ratio Of values ] also have before me in
the Atlas almanac and encyclopaedia before
referred to.
when the relative production OF gold
was the lowest and the overproduction Of
silver, as compared to gold. was the high
est, the two metals throughout the world
maintained a ratio changing from slightly
below Is Of silver as the lowest to slightly
over Is OF silver as the highest, to l OF
gold. In other words, at an average OF
about l5la to !, the money ratio obtaining
/ In France, and nearly all Of the European
and Asiatic countries. Now, however,
when the production OF gold has relatively
| increased throughout the world, as COM
pared to silver, ID Is claimed that there Is
| such an OverprOductiOn Of silver as 10
necessitate Its disuse as money, or its use
at a greatly changed ratio. There Is alb
solutely no sense in the proposition. Men
| talk as though considerable relative in
crease Of silver production in this country
alone In recent years requires us to dlscon-
tlnue its use as money. II II were all TO
/ be used in this country there might be some
! FEASIBILITY in the claim. But the fact is
4 Il. tta arra % hnNh
| silver and gold Of all the nations OF the
globe. Our silver Is In demand, even al
! though 1t has been demonetized in other
countries as well as our own. / read from
the statistics. page ll6 Of Republic Al
manac)
Our Demonetized silver in Demand
This table shows that between the years
| 1864 and 1893 that Of silver we exported,
| that is to say, sent TO foreign countries,
| $Sll 10000 worth, while during the same
period we imported from foreign countries
Of silver only Si5O0OOOOO, leaving out
nearly $50 OOO.OOO Why should we
| discredit this product and depress the in
dustry OF its production by joining with the
| other nations Of the globe in an effort 10
assign to ii such inconsiderable value? But
| this Is not all. The greatest production Of
silver in the whole world for any one year
was 1875, Wnen II ItdCHeu INC sum- III IVuuu
numbers, Of S2O9,O00,00O.
MARK me, this is not the production Of
| the United States alone. but the production
| OF the entire world In that year. Had none
| OF Il been used In the arts or for other
| purposes than for coinage into money; had
| none Of II been allowed TO any Of the other
nations Of the globe and had we possessed
ourselves Of the whole OF that sum and
| coined Il into money, II would have given
/ to each man. woman and child
OF the sO,e0,000 in this country
| only g apiece. The production OF the
| United States during that year was. In
round numbers, 100000 worth. Had we
| not exported any OF II, but had we coined
| II all into American dollars, without using
Il would have given to each man, woman
and child a fraction over 81 apiece. Ire
mendous imitation OF money volume that
would have been. wouldn't II, Mr.. Gold
Standard Man?
But It is stated that free coinage. or
any substantially increased coinage OF Sill
yer would drive gold away from this c0un-
try and leave US stranded upon the desc
late shores OF silver mOnometallism. have
heard this claim before. / heard II In 1916
and the years Immediately succeeding,
when Peter Cooper. OF blessed memory,
stood for the rights OF the people against
the money-changers Of the world. 1t was
then made, and made as vOciferously and
positively as It Is made now. What hap
pened? Under the limited coinage acts of
lsIs and 1880 We coined between 900
and 100000 OF standard silver dollars and
nucn OF subsidiary silver coin, amounting
In all to over s6Oo.O0o.OOQ
Gold Not Frightened by Coinage Act.
Instead OF driving gold from the coun-
try, gold has flowed TO us in a steady and
constantly widening volume from the date
first mentioned to the present time, except
as Its outflow has recently been compelled
by the desperate attempts OF the money
gamblers to force the government to their
terms by presenting legal tender green
backs and silver certificates for redemption.
and the 0bsecuiOus and traitOrOus acts OF
the Secretary OF the Treasury in paving
out gold TO them instead Of silver, without
warrant Of law for making such discrimina-
ton.
This desperate attempt TO force the sub
mission Of the people to the tyranny Of the
gold power presents the superficial ap-
pearance Of the driving of the gold away.
But why did not gold go away during the
earlier years OF silver coinage? Instead
OF being driven away. is rapidly increased in