Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-07-10
Bimetallism or MOnometallism,
Mr.. Editor.

Mr.. Editor.
Dear Sir:-The question as 10 the ad-
visibility of restoring silver to the place it
occupied in our monetary system prior TO
1873 is one which interests every citizen of
the United States and is of as great i'm
portance to the farmer, mechanic, and la
boring man, as to the millionaire. Ii is
with great diffidence that l enter into a
discussion of the subject, but after having
stated my views, which are also the views
of very many of my townsmen, l am will
ing to be corrected if mistaken.
One of the principal arguments against
the restoration of silver is its present low
value and that the supply is so large, that
if We were to give it unlimited coinage,
we could not float it at more than so cents
upon the dollar of Alp grains standard sill
yer. Now, l believe the history of our
monetary system answers both of these
objections satisfactorily. find, on page
80 of the statistical Abstract issued by
the United States Treasury department
that from 1857 TO 1878, the ratio of the
two metals (gold and silver was never
lower than ! TO 14-14 and never higher than
! to 16.25-a variation of only two points
in period of 200 years. Now let us look
at it from 1873 to 1892 latter silver was de-
monetized) and what do we see: to 1917
in 1874, and to 1872 in 1892, and now
it takes 80 pounds of silver to equal one
pound of gold, and this Notwithstanding
the fact that the production of silver dur
ing the first 80 years of the century was
about rs per cent in excess of gold, and
since 1850 the supply of gold has become
so large that silver has dwindled to less
than five per cent in excess of gold. To
bo+ Ala M min V1npnh silvar
prior to 1878: The United States had
coined but 1Oj, 900, 900, of this 5000, 900
were silver dollars. the balance subsidiary
coin, but we had also about 100000, 600
foreign silver coins, Spanish, Mexican, ETC.,
and so muchdid we need them that Congress
enacted laws making them legal tender
claws relating to loans and currency, coin
age and banking page 240). Silver has
been made the unit or dollar by law, April
2, 1892. to contain 81 4-16 grains of pure
silver and after, "eagles-each to be of
the value OF 10 dollars or units" each to
contain 247 grains pure gold or 270 stand
dard gold, making the ratio of 10 to l
which was again changed in 1887, max
ing the gold dollar 22.2 grains, ratio
Is % to /.
Such is a resume of our monetary sys-
TEN, and in no period of our history prior
to 1873 have we had any such disastrous,
steady financial trouble, stagnation of
manufactures, trade and commerce, reduc-
ton in the value of the products of labor
and labor itself. 1t has continued, almost
without interruption, to the present time,
and as far as human foresight can go, is
growing steadily worse, and this in times
of profound peace, If this state of affairs
is the result of demonetizing silver and
thus contracting the volume of currency,
would ii not be well to restore it to its
| former place? Did the people ask for its
| decentralization? Who asked for mono
metallism? Did the people know it was
| demonetized when the act of Feb. u, 1878
was passed? They did not. The nations
of Europe, England excepted, were coin
ing gold and silver and maintained its
parity, France at a ratio of of 15t TO /
thus making our dollar worth 1.095 in ex
change for gold They did not want tt
demonetize silver, and it required all the
cunning and persuasion of John Sherman
and his English confreres to induce then
to do it, and they did not do it till ont
year after our Congress was persuaded (o
hoodwinked) and silver had declined pc
cent in consequence. can understand