The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1896-09-10
SIMPLE FACTS
FOR Campaign Readers Concerning Silver
and Gold.

1Or Campaign Readers Concerning Silver
and Gold.
When free coinage comes we shall not
be inundated with silver bullion. No
bullion will cross the Atlantic coming
this way, for the simple reason that
forty millions is being exported annu-
ally from this country to the other side
Of the Atlantic.
The amount of money in the world
exceeds in volume all the stock of sill
yer and gold in the world available for
coinage. There is no excessive pro-
duction of either which promises to
make any change in this fact. The
volume of gold and silver in the world
has been accommodating since the days
of Tubal Cain. Nobody eats it or wears
it out. 1t stays. The addition made
to it in either metal in any one year, or
ten years, or twenty years makes no in
huential change in the volume of the
metals.
When gold was discovered in Cali
fornia and Australia all the great mon
ey lenders pretended to be afraid that
gold was going to be so abundant that
it would be worth no more than pebble
stones. So they employed able finan-
cial writer's to write in favor of the
demonetization of gold. This view
finally prevailed in Prussia and all the
German states and Austria, all of which
established the silver standard in 1857
or thereabouts. But gold has not yet
become so plentiful as to be of small
value. There is no more danger of any
overproduction of silver now than there
was of an overproduction of gold then.
Gold is not international money.
American gold coin is not counted
when it is exported or when it is re-
ceived in London. 1t is weighed as SC
much bullion and credited as such by
weight. Whoever promises to deliver
gold abroad does it with the full
knowledge of this fact 1t is mere bar
ter in which money has no part what
ever. When men give promissory
notes they agree to pay dollars in mon
ey, and that means whatever is legal
tender money in the country. When
they expressly agree to deliver gold
they simply waive their right to use the
lawful money of the country at then
pleasure and agree to furnish one kind,
which, by thus being designated in
money contracts, becomes commodity
difficult to obtain. 1t is no part of the
duty of the government to enable an
individual to keep any special contract
for the delivery of any kind of mer.
chandise, whether it be wheat, wool,
gold or silver.
When the free coinage of both metals
| is provided for by law in this country
there will not be single gold coli
leave the country unless an equivalent
is left behind it. 1t will not be giver
away. If all the gold could go out o
the country it would make it cheaper il
the countries to which it went, Will,
silver, being made to do all the work O.
money here, would correspondingly in
crease in value. If any foreign natio1
felt disposed to stop trading with us be
cause her people disliked our fnancia
system we would try and get along
without buying anything from them
But the United States could not buil(
o wall high enough to prevent Joh1
Bull from climbing over it to sell us hi
goods under whatever financial system
we may choose 10 adopt. The yer,
pawnbrokers will go right along doinl
business just the same under free coin
age as they do under the gold standard
In other words, commerce and trade dt
not depend upon the uniformity o
money in the different countries.
An international agreement for th
establishment of ratio between golC
and silver will never be made, evei
though all the nations should suddenl,
become bimetallists. The reason fo
this is that each nation makes its owl
laws concerning money and lega
tender and banking. An internationa
agreement would be treaty between
nations, and treaties are of no othe
binding effect than the willingness o
the parties to them to maintain then
and can not be enforced. 1t is the lay
of nations that any nation may with
draw from any treaty to which it is
party whenever that treaty operate
perniciouslJ upon its interests. An in
ternational bimetallic agreement would
therefore, be terminated at any tim
any nation chose to withdraw from 1t
And such withdrawal would not be a
unfriendly act or one that could b
resented or resisted.
"The existing gold standard" re
ferred to in the st. Louis republiea
platform, means that we will buy gol
of gold brokers and then let them dra'
it out again as brokers in America
securities abroad. Then we will agai
buy it from them, and again pay
back to them as before, in exchange fo
greenbacks, which are the proceeds {
the sales of doubtful American secur
ties owned abroad. There is no gol
in the country which is subject to th
ordinary demands upon the banks, an
there is never any gold in the treasur
except what is bought from the fellow
who draw it out in order to sell it bac
again. This is the 'honest money
scheme to which poor Major McKinle
bound himself as the price of Wa
street campaign fund. Great is hun
bug Cincinnati Enquirer.