Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1896-10-02

/ In Mr.. Bryans speech at Milwaukee
be said: Whenever money goes up
property goes down. You cannot
have dollar that buys more unless
You have property that sells for less.
Now that is fair proposition, 20 SIM
pie that anybody who has money and
wants 1t to 60 up can understand the
advantage OF the gold standard, and
anybody that has property and does
not want 1t to go down can understand
the advantage OF bimetallism."
Mr.. B. in in all his speeches claims
10 be a bimetallist, and talks about the
return Of bimetallism." In his opln-
lon the opening Of the minis OF the
United States to the unlimited coinage
Of silver at the ratio Of 16 to woulo De
return to bimetallism," because the
minis are now open to the coinage
OF gold. Why, then, he says, snoulu
they not be open to the coinage OF Sill
yer? Simply because, at the ratio Oh
I6 to 1, the amount of silver winch "
Ia proposed to have the government can
a dollar is not worth a dollar. II II
were this controversy would be lmpos-
Sible.
The government has put its stamp
upon the dollars which it has co'ned
upon it's own account, and for whose
redemption it is morally and legally re-
sponsible, Just as it Is Responsible ioi
the redemption OF the paper doliar.
True 1t does not redeem silver anu
paper money in the same way. rof
the paper dollar it gives golu uoiiai
In exchange. 1t redeems silver inal-
rectly by accepting it In paymen. ~
debts due itself. This has the same g
feet as If it paid gold IN excnahse ioi
silver. since all the silver in circulataon
could be returned to the government IN
any one year. But If the government
should coin silver, not on us o"n az
count but on the account OF the owner
of the bullion, 1t would be uhoef NO
such obligation. The nature OF Tvs w
,iration would then be changed anu
Il would be under obligation 10 see
that the man who passed silver aoiiar
i. worth one hundred cents shali re-
deem It at one hundred cents, upon
demand OF the holder, just as u con-
pels a national bank to reaesm us
notes at a hundred cents on the uoi-
lar in gold. pu,,,n
The return" of which Mr. Bryan
speaks exists only in his imaginalioh,
therefore. II the government shoatu
coin silver worth one hundred Genus
into silver dollars, then tne ninte
would be open to gold and silver upon
eoual terms. Mr.. Bryan's proaosi.fon
- r. omen the minis to gold and silver
On unequal terms, giving silver tWice
the privileges that are granten solu.
The government, under Mr.. biyan
scheme, would coin one hundred ceh' :.
worth of gold into a dollar, pu. ~
vop,d coin fifty cents worth OF silver
into a dollar. This is SO PLAIN 'hat y
would seem as if even child can I'M
derstand it.
So long as the government maintains
a parity between gold and silver, cum, !,
ing gold in an unlimited amount, anu
silver In a limited amount, we nave
bimetaiism. 1t is not full, theore'ica'
bimeta llism, but it is practical olmetai- :
,em since both metals circulate ana
rarform every function OF money al
~ With each other. Mr.. Bryan
scheme would drive gold out OF circaia- :.
tion which would result in practical
silver recommendation, since silver com
alone would perform the functions now
nerforn,ed by both silver and solo.
The Republican party has planted u
coli in it's platform upon the
doctrine of bimetallism properly
,,naarstood that is, oil bimetai-
liam IN which both metals circulate
freely at par with each OF. ef. Mr.
Rrvan seems to think that we would
not have the gold standard, II we had
bimetallism. He claims that the soiu
standard and bimetallism are contra
5ictory expressions, and that they
stand for irreconcilable ideas. On the
contrary. with theoretical bimetalilsm
IN force, the gold and silver standard ar !
rouy6 constitute but one standard, and
Il would make no difference whether
II was called the gold standard or not
Il would be the gold standard all the
came The Republican party believes
4 easier to pass from the single gold
standard to the double standard, So
called. in which the gold and silver
standards are Identical, than 1t would
he ia pass to bimetallism from the Sill
yer standard. It believes that the
method of arriving at truly bimet
monetary system Is not by way OF the
silver standard, but to pass directly
from the gold standard to the double
standard: at the same time it believes
that It is impossible to have the double
standard. without the concurrent ac-
ton Of the leading commercial nations
IT the world 1t therefore says: We
are in favor of bimetallism, and as a
means Of arriving at bimetallism we
propose to retain the gold standard
until we can secure the cooperation
and consent Of sufficient number OF
leading commercial nations to enable
ue to nut full, theoretical bimeta llism
into practical operation IN this coun-
try. The idea that this is subserviency
to Great Britain is pure nonsense We
might as we'll say that we are slaves
because we are under the law OF CRAWL
tation. as to say that we are province
of Great Britain because we are under
the operation Of the great financial
laws which are, in the world Of bust
ness. what the law of gravitation Is in
physical life.
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