The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-27
M'KINLEY and SOUND MONEY


same Naiuel answer; The silver dol
lars now In use were coined on account
OF the government. and not for private
account or gain, and the government has
solemnly agreed to keep them as good
as the best dollars we have. The gov
ernment bought the silver bullion at its
market value and coined IL into silver
dollars. Having exclusive control of the
mintage, IL only coins what IL can hold
at parity with gold. The profit, repre-
senting the difference between the COM
mercial value or the silver bullion and
the race value OF the silver dollar, goes
90 the government for the benefit of the
people. The government bought the sill
Yer bullion contained In the silver dol
lar at very much less than it's coinage
value. II paid IL out to its creditors. and
put IT In circulation for the people
at Its face falue OF 100 cents, or a full dol
lar. IL required the people TO accept II
as legal tender. and is thus morally
bound 10 maintain IL at a parity with
gold. which was then, as now, the recog-
nized standard with us and the most en-
Hghtened nations Of the world. The gov
ernment having issued and circulated
the silver dollar. II must In honor protect
the holder from loss. This obligation II
has so far sacredly kept Not only Is
there a moral obligation. but there is a
legal obligation, expressed in public
statute, TO maintain the parity.
These dollars, In the particulars have
named, are not the same as the dollars
age. They would be the same In form.
but different In value. The govern
ment would have no part In the transac-
ton except 10 coin the silver bullioninto
dollars. 1t would share IN no part OF
the profit II would take upon itself no
obligation. IL would not put the dol
lars into circulation. IL could only get
them as any citizen would get them, by
giving something for them. IL would
deliver them 10 those who deposited the
81 af.ff .tfs ha
transaction there end. Such are the
silver dollars which would be issued un-
der free coinage OF silver at a ratio of 10
To 1. Who would then maintain the
parity? What would keep them at par
with gold? There would be no obliga-
ton resting upon the government To do
It, and II there were IL would be power
less TO do IT. The simple truth is we
would be driven 10 silver basis-to sill
Yer monoms tallsm. These dollars,
therefore, would stand upon their real
value. If the free and unlimited coin
age OF silver at afratio OF 10 ounces of
silver to / ounce of gold would, as
some Of its advocates assert, make %
cents In silver worth 100 cents, and the
silver dollar equal TO the gold dollar.
then we would have no cheaper money
than now, and ii would be easier to get.
But that such would be the result is
against reason and is contradicted by
experience in all times and in all lands.
rency To the amount OF the difference
between the commercial and coin value
OF the silver dollar, which is ever chang
ing, and the effect would be to reduce
property values, entail untold financial
loss, destroy confidence, impair the OBJ
legations OF existing contracts further
mpoVerlsh the laborer and producers
OF the country, create a panic OF un-
paralleled severity, and inhict upon
trade and commerce a deadly blow.
IA 4
ably opposed.
BimetaIlisun.
Bimetallism cannot be secured by in
dependent action on our part 1t can
not be 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 than 80 ounces of silver to
j OF gold. Mexico and China have
tried the experiment Mexico has free
coinage of silver and gold at a ratio
slightly in excess of l61s ounces of sill
Yer 10 l ounce OF gold, and while her
mlnts are freely open To both metals at
that ratio. not single dollar in gold bull
hon Is coined and circulated as money.
Gold mas petn driven out OF circulation
IN thsse countries, and they are ON sill
Yer basis alone. Until international
agreement Is had, ii is the plain duty of
the united states TO maintain the gold
standard. IL Is the recognized and sole
standard of the great commercial ma
uons or the world with which We trade
more largely than any Other. Eighty
Tour per cent Or our foreign trade for
the hscai ycar iSa5 was with gold stand
ara countries. and our trade with other
countries was settled OH gold basis.
Chiehy by means OF legislation during
ana since 1873, there has been put in cir
culation more than S6z4 coo 600 of silver,
or It's representative. This has been done
in the honest eitort TO give 10 silver IL
possible, the same bullion and coinage
NaIue, ana encourage the concurrent use
or both gold and sllver as money Prior
To that time there had been less than
100000 of silver dollars coined in the
entire history OF the United States "a
period OF 81 years. This legislation Sc
cures the largest use OF silver consistent
with nnanCiai safety ana the pledge to
maintain its rarity with sold.
we nave today more silver than gold.
rms mas been accomplished at times
with grave peril 10 the public credit The
so-called sherman law sought to use all
the silver product of the United States
Tor money at itg market value. From
1890 10 1888 the government purchased
4,5OO,OOO ounces OK silver month, or 54-
100000 ounces a year This was one
third OF the product OF the world and
practically OIL OF this country's product.
1t was believe oy those who then ana
now favor Il Image that such use OF
SILVER would dnce its bullion value
to its coinage sc, but this expectation
was not realized. In a few months. not
withstanding the unprecedented market
for the silver produced in the United
states, the price of silver went down
very rapidly, reaching a lower point
than ever before. Then, upon the recon-
mendation OF President Cleveland both
political parties united In the repeal Of
the purchasing clause OF the Sherman
law. We cannot with safety engage in
further experiments in this direction.
The Double Standard.
On Aug. %. 1891, in a public address.
said: IF we could have an interna-
tional ratio, which all the leading ma
tions OF the world would adopt, and the
true relations be fixed between the two
metals. and all agree upon the quantity
of silver which should constitute a dol
lar. then silver would be az free and un-
limited i'm its privileges OF coinage as