The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-05-27

both. not simply the promise of it. You free
silverites offer them method that has always
failed and in the nature of things always will.
We offer q method that has never failed under
normal conditions, and that is why IL has been
adopted by all the leading nations OF the world.
You offer a law permitting both to be coined,
hoping that both will be. We offer u plan
whereby the desired result Is secured with GER
tainty. Yours Is the bimetallism OF the statute
book. Ours Is the bimetallism Of the counting
room. Yours Is theoretical bimetallism. Ours
Is practical bimetallism.
Short History of Coinage.
In the evolution of money the metals gradu.
ally superseded all other commodities as the
medium Of exchange. Iron and copper came to
be produced in such quantities that they ceased
to be "precious metals and gave way to sill.
yer. In the course Of time, as civilization and
troduced into country after another. In
this evolution a nations needs and progress
can be pretty accurately determined by noting
the kind OF money used by 1t.
AT first the metals passed by weight. To save
the trouble OF carrying scales and the danger
OF being cheated by means Of alloys the custom
gradually grew up OF having the ruling prince
cut the metals into pieces of convenient size
and shape and stamp on one side Of the piece
its weight and fineness land later on its WORTHY
and on the other side the features OF the prince
as the author OF the stamp. This was the origin
OF coinage.
But princes were sometimes tempted by
their greed or their need to put into the coins
less OF the metal than they should. Then, in
order to compel people to accept these debased
COINS In payment OF OD1gatlOnS, the princes uc-
creed that the coins must be accepted This
was the origin Of what are known rs illegal
tender laws.
For hundreds Of years the money Of Rome
was copper. We have memento of that time
in our English word OBSTINATE" The Latin
for copper Is "aes" and to estimate literally
means to give the value in copper. About 800
b. G. copper was dethroned and silver became
the standard money. About $50 b. c. gold be
gan TO be used in Rome as money. With the
fall of Rome Europe was for about five CEN
turtles almost entirely without gold money,
the currencies of medi@val Europe being OF
silver and copper The reintroduction OF gold
coinage began 1t Florence, Italy, in l2o2 with
the coinage of the form.
As result of the Crusades the commerce OF
Florence. Genoa. Venice and other states lying
along the Mediterranean had so increased as
TO demand the use OF u more convenient money
than silver. Gradually other nations, as their
commerce became great enough, INTRODUCED
the use of gold money with silver money. The
Crusades not only enlarged trade along the
Mediterranean. but they also opened up to
ErSpS the then only gold I'm yds
and the source OF supply came together. The
use OF gold as money was thereby both neces'
STATED and made possible.
Then began the coinage Of both metals. Then
began, too. consequence the monetary
troubles with which the history OF the next
Ave centuries abounds-the alienation OF sill
yer money and gold money, the frequent
changes In the ratio in the vain attempt to
keep both. the edicts against shipping out
nent merchants and others for seeking gain
NV axyort;nO the metal undervalued IN the
minis Of one country and overvalued In the
,nateIs" wars not IN CON sao,,ence ~ anv tbaorv
~ imetaiiism hut ~ what leon Saw onot
ed before, so cptly characterized as "the prim'
thar ~ TIC - rracin,s ,ns.teis otherwisa
sOresra Conarnicns Gresham and others
~ es 1Styaropt t;,mas .nd 90 d,sforant cnnn
tries pointed on. The source q the ,rouSle, By.
tho Ipnnntrses ,.,ithan{ a ran,aSv And the
snn,iv - ,nI and silver was so small las will
be -, Nv raSerence 10 the tabIe showinc their
10 oa1 - 49, ~ natione hant ~,
Snn,ng apeeinst hone las we are ant IN AZ when
nopins t,.t sn,aS,,,, Az 49,,
r;nt tnr hath METALS wnn,d 1--WE the circI,a
tion of both. But as we have seen. these hopes
were INDUCED only to be disappointed. Eng
land oue the ooldlan KNOT IN Iolo ana was
this score that had afflicted her. But other ma
lions kept on in their old way. with the old
time their gold and at another time their sill
YER. f-77 -7I
The food of gold at the middle of this cen
fury opened the way ior fe s vur own c0Sn
and ;ntaiiicence 81 our neople' was the first 10
t ~ 49,. 10 e saen carnoras. NJ e.riy as 1874
1Sefors the birth 81 the Repubiicaf party1
passed an act making silver coins subsidiary
began TO move In 1851. and in 1895 the countries
49, ,s,,,,, ths att, unio .aonf.d the nrinci.
v v,s - imited coinage and tender OF Silver.
49, 49,, es,,a,.ad IL, ia7I-e And Tho nrinc,nIe
ermany ~ NV arIv 'a nj, p,he c,y,
lied nations g the world
Nv reference 10 the table showing the pro.
duct,on ~ gold and silver II will be seen that
Sap hssean to increase enormousIv" leaning
trn,, ae averay s ~ Ar 6aa G0D In the neriod ~
,ssss "a 70 an average 81 All s4 oo in the period
Of is7 70 Il was at this time that the theory
~ ~ o"i az go Ia. '" .r,,sr.s - r.,cant