The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-27

: IT.
and circulated the silver. it must in
I honor protect the holder from loss. This
! obligation ii has so far saCredly kept.
! Not only is there a moral obligation,
but there is legal obligation, expressed
! in public value, to maintain the parity.
THEY COULD NOT BE KEPT AT
PAR.
These dollars in the particulars /
! have named, are not the same as the
dollars which would be issued under
! free cuinaSC They would be the same
| in form. but different in value. The
/ government would have no part in the
/ transaction, except to coin the silver
/ bullion into dollars. 1t would share
I in no part OF the profit. 1t would take
! upon itself no obligation. 1t would not
/ put the dollars into circulation. 1t
could only get them, rs any citizen
would get them, by giving something
! for them. 1t would deliver them to
! those who deposited the silver and its
/ connection with the transaction there
! ended. Such are the silver dollars
/ which would be issued -under free
| coinage Of silver at a ratio of lG to l.
! who would then maintain the parity"
! What would keep them at par with
| gold? There would he no obligation
| resting upon the government to do ii,
! and if there were. it would be power
! less tn do it. The simple truth is we
/ would be driven to 81 silver hasis-tO
! silver mouometallism. These dollars,
! therefore, would stand upon their real
/ Naue. If the free and unlimited COM
| age of silver at Il ratio of lG ounces
I of silver 10 | ounce of gold would as
! some uf its advocates assert. make
/ fifty three cents IN Silver worth one
! hundred cents. and the silver dollar
equal 30 the gold dollar. then we would
! have ~ cheaper money than now, aud
! il would be no easier to get. liht that
, such WuUld he the result is against
! reason and is CuntradiCted by expert
enc" in all times and in all lands. 1t
/ iueanS the dChaS"mcnt Of our currency
to the amount of the difference be-
tween thr commercial ana coin value
/ Of the silver dollar. which is ever
/ changing and the effect would be to
reduC" property values. entail untold
! financial loss, destroy confidence, i'm
pair the obligations of existing con-
tracts, further inpOvcrish the labor
crs and producers of the country,
create panic nI Lp JHrdlleicd severity,
and inlet unOn trade ana commerce
q deadly blow. Against any such pol
icy, ! am unaltcrubly opposed.
H1AlETALLISM.
bimctallSm cannot he secured by
independent action on our part. 1t
cannot u" Obtained by opening our
mints to The unlimited coinage of the
| silver of the world, at a ratio of l6
ounces Of silver to / ounce of gold,
when the commercial ratio is more
I than thirty ounces Of silver to one
ounce of gold. Mexico and China have
tried the experiment. NCXico has free
coinage OF silver and gold at a ratio
slightly in excess OF sixteen ana a
! half ounces Of silver to one ounce Of
I Al
open e. both metals at that ratio. not
a single dollar in sold bullion is coined
and circulated as money. Gold has
been driven out of ir"ulation in these
countries and they are ON q silver
basis alone. Until international agree
mcnt is had, ii is the plain duty Of the
! United states To maintain the gold
standard. II is the recognized and sole
standard of the great commercial ma
lions of the world. with which we
tad" more largely than any other.
ElShty-iOur per cent. of our foreign
trad" for the fiscal year of 1895 was
with gold standard countries. and our
tiad" with other countries was settled
ou Il gold basis.
WE NOW HAVE MORE SILVER
THAN GOLD.
Chiefly by means of legislation dur
in2 and since 1873 there have been uut
in circulation more than $624 00O. 600 of
silver, or its representatives This has
been done in the honest effort to give
to silver, if possible. the same bullion
and coinage value. and encourage tha
concurrent use of both gold and silver
as money. Prior to that there had been
less :han min" millions of silver dollars
coined in the entire history Of the
United States. Il period of oighty-nine
years, This legiSlatiOn' secures the
largest use Of silver consistent with
financial safety and the pledge to
maintain it's parity with gold We have
today more silver than gold This
has been accomplished at times with
grave peril to the public credit. The
SO-calied sherman law sought to use
all She silver products of the United
Staes for money at its market value
From 1880 to 1898 the government pur-
chased t50oUGG ounces of silver q
month. or - .oJO. GGU ounces a year This
as ore~thrd Of the product OF the
world and practically all of this coun-
try's product. 1t was thought by those
who then and now favor free coinage
that such use of silver would advance
its bullion value TO its coinage value,
but this expectation was not relied.
In a few months. notwithstanding the
unprecedented market for the silver
produced in the United States. the price
of silver went down very rapidly. reach
ing lower point than over before.
Then uuOn the recommendation of
President Cleveland. both political par
ties united in the repeal of the purchas-
ing clause of the Sherman law. We
cannot safely engage in further expert
ments in ths direction.
On the 22nd of August. 1891, in a
public address, I said: "lf we could
have an international ratio. which all
the leading nations of the world would
adopt. and the true relation be fixed
between the two metals. and all agree
upon the quantity of silver which
should constitute u dollar then silver
would be as free and unlimited in its
privileges of coinage as gold is today
But that we have not been able to Sc
cure, and with the free and unlimited
coinage OF silver adopted in the Unit
ed States, at the present ratio, we
would be still further removed from
any international agreement. We may
never be able to secure il if we enter
upon the isolated coinage OF silver
The double STANDARD implies equality
at ratio and that equality can only
be established by the concurrent law
of nations. 1t was the concurrent law
of nations that made the double stand
be established by the concurrent law
of nations to reinstate and sustain it,"
1T FAVORS THE USE OF SILVER.
The Republican party has not been.
and is not now, opposed to the use of
silver money. as its record abundant
iy shows. IT has done all that could
be done for its increased use with
safety ana honor. by the United States
acting apart from other governments
There are those who think that IL has
already gone beyond the limit of finan-
ciai prudence. Surely we can go no