The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1896-04-16

or Its equivalent. To saw nothing OF the
gross partialjty and manifest Injustice of
such policy. Its immediate effect would
be to contract our currency to the extern,
of about $500 100000 by stopping the use OF
soid as money and putting a premium
on me coins of that metal equal, or about
equal, TO the difference between tho in
trinsic value of the gold dollar and the in
/ trlnsic value of the silver dollar Gold
| CONS would at once become n commodity
and would be bought and sold by specula-
| tors In the market lust as they were during
| the war, when We had a deprecated paner
! currency. The value of the silver dollar
would iluctuate from day to day, moving
| up and down with the rise and fall of the
/ commercial price of tho bullion contained
| IN II, as the Mexican dollar does now, and
| The premium on the gold dollar would of
| course, tiuctuate to the same extent. thus
| afford!ng an opportunity to bullion
brokers and spectators to buy and sell 1t
ut profit. 1t would cease to be used as
| money because no man would pay his debt
| in gold dollars, or in paper redeemabe In
| gold dollars. worth iDl cents. when the law
| permitted him to pay II In silver dollars
| worth only II or 52 cents each. The sud
| den withdrawal of $500, 600 900 from the vol
ume of currency in the country would IN
| doubtedly produce financial and indus
trial disturbance far more disastrous to the
interests Of labor than has ever been cx-
has a particle of sympathy for working
| men and women and their dependent fam-
lies can contemplate the possibility of such
a calamity without feeling that II is his
duty. whether he occupies public or
a private station, to employ every honor
able means at his command to avert It.
While the sudden expulsion of $3.50 00J. 900
In gold from cur stock OF money would
itself be sufficient to create a financial
disturbance unparalleled in the history of
this or any other country, the situation
We Md be very greatly aggravated by the
fact that tho purchasing power Of all the
remainder OF our currency would be sud
denly reduced about ore-half we should
have only about two-thirds as much cur
icnCy as we have now, and at the Same
time IT would be so deprecated In value
that II would require about twice az much
as have now To transact the business
of the country. provided there should be
any business TO transact.
THE DOUBLE STANDARD.
THE attempt to maintain what Is called
the double standard Of value that Is the
ATTEMPT to keep tho legal tender coins of
the two metals, gold and silver. In Use as
money at the same time upon n ratio of
value fixed by law. has repeatedly been
made 10y kings ard parIamcnts in every
civilized country I'm the world, and 1t has
failed again and again In every one OF
them; and II requires no gift of prophecy
10 for0sec that 1t must continue TO fall so
long ms self-lntercsi constitutes IL controll-
ing factor In the business annirs of men.
WNhue@"-p spassHc upon vSslr patience to
review the monetary history of other
countries IN which this experiment has |
been made and failed, 1t may be advan- |
taGcous to refer briefly to our own expert |
ence upon this subject. When Il was de- |
termined TO adopt monetary system for |
the United States and establish a mint, |
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jeffer |
son. two men who differed widely upon
almost every public question. and whose |
names as founders and leaders Of their
respective parties will live az long as our
political literature is read, agreed that In
what should be the coinage
or legal ratio between gold and silver the
true relative commercial value of the two
metals in the markets of the world must
first be- ascerianed, and that this relative
value when ascertained should be incor-
poratod into the tsatute ns tho basis of the
system of coinage Although they
were party leaders. they were statesmen
and patriots and when they were called
ON to consider this great business question
affecting all the private affairs of their fel-
ow-citi2ons, they gave II thorough and
Impartial investigation upon Its merits.
without regard to the effect their decision
might have upon their own political for
uuos or upon the political fortunes OF
heir followers. These great men were
never disturbed for a moment by the de-
usIon that congress could nx by statute
he actual or relative values of gold and Sill
yer any more than II could fix by statute
he actual or relative values of n pound Of
sad and pound Of Iron. They knew that
gold and silver like all other exchange
ihle things arc commodities. and That
heir value will he fixed In the markets
# the world They knew that il was on
rely competent. In fact necessary, for
congress to declare the ratio upon which
he two metals should be coined mt the
mint. II they were to be coined Mt all, but
hey knew equally well that II the ratio
70 declared did not correspond substanti- |
Ny with the ratio which the commercial
world had established the coins of the two
metals could not be kept in use as money ;
Il the INC time and. consequently as ]
ave already said, they determined to as
-rtain the commercial ratio and TO adopt {
I. They reached the conclusion that the |
rue commercial ratio Mt that time was II !
O /: that H. Is ounces of silver were equal :
n value 10 ounce cf gold, and accordingly :
he act of 1872, which was our first coinage ,
NV. authorized the coinage OF the two ]
metals at that ratio.
AT tie ratio thus established the silver
ollar contained Glt grains Of fine silver, s
nd the gold contained 2is. grains of fine {
old: but 1t was soon discovered that I
mistake had been made and that SIli4 | !
rains of fine silver were not In fact equal
value 10 MA grams OF i'llc gun, anu
he consequence was that. although the 5
Inference between the value OF a silver Z
ollar and the value of n gold dollar was !
My about I cent and y of cent silver |
rove gold out of use and out Of the coun-
ry and from that time we had silver d
until after the passage OF 9
he acts of 1894 and 1887. The fact that the | I
liver was put into the form of coin and
,ade legal tender the same as gold and G
nat both dollars were declared TO be worth
10 cents each. did not increase the value
{ the 37li. grains of silver to any extent a
'hatever. The people could not be de-
ejyed by mere words printed in statutei