Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-08-22
cloak their designs In ambiguous
~phrasesf
RimefaIIIsn m Necessity.

Tense or IL. we conlenu THAT free aiiu
unlimited coinage by the United States
alone will raise the bullion value OF sill
yer to It's coinage value, and nus make
silver bullion worth $1.29 per ounce III
gold throughout the world. TINS proPo-
sition Is in keeping with natural laws.
not IN defiance of them. The best known
law of Is the la w OF supply
and demand. We recognize this law
and build our argument upon IL. we
apply this law to money when We say
that a reduction in the volume OF money
will raise the purchasing power % ~
dollar; we also apply the law Oh supPly
and demand to silver when we ina
a new demand for silver created py Id"
will raise the price of silver buinofl.
Gold and silver are different from oth-
er commodities in that they are IHliteu
In quantity. Because gold and silver are
limited, both in the quantity now al
hand and in actual Production D. toi-
lows that legislation can fix the rdtio DE-
tween them. Any purchaser VINO stahus
ready to take the entire supply OF any
given article at a certain price can pre-
vent that article from falling below mat
price. So the government can Tx a price
for gold and silver by creating demand
greater than the supply.
bimetallists believe that several nations
BY entering into an agreement 10 com
at a fixed ratio all gold and silver
product can maintain the bullion value
Of the metals at the mint ratio. when
a mint price is thus established 1t regu-
lates the bullion price. because any per-
son desiring coin may V the bullion
! converted into coin at that price, ana
any person desiring bullion can secure
IL by melting the coin. international
bimetallists cannot accuse the adVo-
Gates of free silver of being bullion
owners who desire to raise the value or
their bullion - or debtors who desire to
nav thaIr lahta fr Nhaan dollars: or
"demagogues who dssire 10 curry favor
with the people" They must rest their
opposition upon one ground only, name
ly, the supply of silver available tor
coinage IS too large to be utilized py the
United States.
Fears No Silver Flood.
In discussing his question WI must con-
s.der the capacity of our people TO use sill
yer, and the quantity of silver which can
come to our m.nts: Now. how much silver
the world. because almost all or it -
more valuable at this time in ether lands
than it Will be at our minis under Tree
coinage. If our minis are opened to
free and unlimited coinage at the present
ratio merchandise silver cannot come
here. because the labor applied TO IL has
made it worth more in the form of mer-
chand!se than It will be worth at our
minis. We will he required to CON only
that which is not needed but.
il We stand ready TO take and utilize all OF
il, other nations will be compelled to buy
at the price which we fix. Many fear that
the opening Of our mint VIII be followed
by an enormous increase In the annual
production OF silver. Tbs is conjecture.
silver has been used as money Tor tnou.
sands of years, and during all OF that
time the world has never suffered from
an ov~erproduction. II IL oily to refuse
to the people money which they now need
for fear they may hereafter have more
Our opponents cannot ignore the fact
that gold Is now gong abroad IN SRlte n 05
no silver is being coined to take It's place.
There is only one way 10 stop the .ncreas-
ing flow of gold from our shores, and that
ton of bimetall.sm will not only stop fall
ing prices, but will, to some extent, restore
gold. If Il IS argued that a rise IN prices
lessons the value Of the dollars which we
pay TO our creditors, l reply that, IN the
balancing of equities, the American PEG.
ple have as much right to favor a flnanciat
system which will maintain or restore
prices as foreign creditors nave 10 INSIST
upon a financial system that Will reduce
prices.
sentation that we have 10 meet Is mo
charge that we are advocating the, pay
ment of debts In 50-cent dollars. AT the
present time and under present laws u
silver dollar. when melted, loses nearly
half its value. but that will not he true
when we again establish a mint price Tor
silver and leave no surplus silver. upon
! the market 10 uTdB uO"h ~ pl.Nt.O VI W.
ION. Under b.metallism silver bullion VIII
be worth as much as silver coin, Just as
gold bullion IS now worth as nnch as Sold
coin, and we believe that a SILVER dollar
Will be worth as much as a gold dollar.
As to- liquidation.
The charge Of reputation comes with
poor grace from those who are seeking
to add to the weight of ex.st,rE debts by
legislation which makes money dearer
and conceal their designs against the
general welfare under the eurhoiuU--pie-
tense that they are UNFOLDING pubic cred-
Il and national honor.
Those who deny the ability of the United
States to maintain the parity between gold
and silver at the present legal ratio with
out foreign aid point 70 NeXtco as PROOF
that the opening of our m. nts VIII reduce
us to a silver basis and raise gold to a
premium. 1t Is no reflection upon our sis
ter republic to remind our people that the
United States is much greater than Mexico
In area, N population and in commercial
strength. Ii Is absurd to assert that inc
United States Is not able to do anything
which Mexico has failed to accomplish.
The one thing necessary In order TO MAN.
great enough to utilize all the silver when
will come to our minis. That Mexico has
failed TO do his Is no proof that the
United States would also fail. -
1t IS also argued that since a number OF
nations have demonetized silver nothing
can be done until all those nations, restore
b!metalliSm. THIS is also iloRical. IL -
immator.al how many or how Few nations
have open minis provided there are SUI
fcient open m.nts to furnish a ! .onetary
demand for all the gold and silver avail
able for coinage 1t Is often objected that
the prices of gold and silver cannot be
fixed In relation to each other because OF
the variations in the relative production
of the metals. This argument also over
looks the fact that If the demand for both
metals at a fxed price Is greater nan une
supply of both relative production becomes
immater.al.
If II Is asserted by our opponents that
the free coinage of silver Is intended only
for the hAn1nf of mine owners IL must DO
remembered that free coinage cannot re-
store TO the nine owners any more IMAM
also be remembered that the loss when
the demonstration of silver has brought
to the nine owners is insignificant COM
pared 10 the loss which this policy has
brought to the rest of the people, The re-
storat.on OF silver will bring to the people
generally many times as much advantage
as the owners can obtain from II.
The argument that a silver dollar -
heavier than a gold dollar and that there
fore silver IS less convenient to carry IN
large quantities Is completely answered
by the silver certificate, which Is as easily
carried as the gold certificate.
ia to 1 the Only Ratio.
There are some who, while admitting
the benefits of b.metallism, object to COM
age at the present ratio. If any are de-
ceived by this objection they ought to re-
member that there are no b.metall!sts
who are earnestly endeavoring to secure
| any OlHtI Idk.O lndu 10 " j.. We ~ II
posed to any change in the ratio for two
reasons: First, because a change would
produce great injustice; second, because u
change in the ratio Is not necessary. A
change would produce injustice because IL
effected in the manner usually suggested
IAN increase in ratio) 1t would result In
an enormous contraction IN the volume or
standard money.
This contraction, by increasing the value
of the dollar, would virtually increase the
debts Of the world by billions Of dollars
and decrease still more the value Of prop
erty of the world as measured by dollars.
Besides the immediate result such q
change in the ratio would permanently de-
crease the annual addition to the worlds
supply of money because the annual silver
production, when coined into dollars twice
as large, would ony make half as many
dollars.
The people Of the United States would be
injured by a change in the ratio not be-
cause they produce silver, but because they
own property and owe debts, and they
cannot afford to thus decrease the value OF
their property or increase the burden or
their debts. All Of the gold and silver an
nually available for coinage, when con-
verted into coin at the present ratio, VIII
not, in my judgment, more than supply our
monetary needs.
In supporting the act of 1890. known as
the Sherman act. Senator Sherman, on
June 3 of that year, said:
IF our present currency is estimated at
81. 400, 900, 600 and our population is increas-
Ing at the ratio OF 3 per cent per annum,