Evening star., 1896-10-28
FREE COINAGE MAGIC
Jugglery by Which Silver is to Be
Doubled in Value.
TEE MIDAS TOUCH OF UNCLE SAM
Why Confine the Wonder-Work-
ing Power to the White Metal?
SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS

SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS
If independent free coinage at 10 to !
will, as Mr.. Bryan insists, permanently
double the value of silver over all the
world. a single legislative act, performed
on Capitol Hill, will cause instantaneously
the Mexican dollar to buy not only twice
as much as it now does in this country,
but in London and Paris also. The Indian
rupee will buy twice as much as at present,
not only in Bombay and London, but in
st. Petersburgh. The vast deposits OF
silver in the mines Of Mexico will be in
stantly doubled in value. The national
debt of Mexico, payable in gold. will be
in effect cut in half because the Mexican
silver in which it Is to be paid has ap-
preached by that much nearer to the value
of gold. Without Inconvenience to ourselves
we will have caused the boarded silver
of the Mexicans, the Hindoos and 4OO.OOU.
900 Cinnamon. though buried In the earth,
to know lOO per cent of increase. Every
piece of silver in the world, in ore. bullion,
ornament or coin. will feel the magic infu-
ence OF our value-expanding edict, and at
the Midas touch of Uncle Sam will assume
double share of the characteristics OF
gold.
If We thus have power to work miracles
and to spread comparative opulence among
the humble homes of mere than half the
people of the world, the question arises
why should we limit our beneficence to
the extent of merely doubling the wealth
of the silver Hindoo. Chlnaman or Mexican,
by liking the coinage ratio at 1T to /. II We
can double the worlds market value OF
silver, We can Quadruple it, or multiply ii
by eight or by sixteen. There is no rea-
son why we should be welded to the ratio
of IL to l. 1t does not appear that pre-
clsely this coinage ratio ever prevailed In
any country in any age of the world. The
money of the Constitution" is sometimes
misleadi1 gly referred to, but the first coin
age ratio under the Constitution was 10 to l,
and 1t was also the carefully estimated
commercial ratio, on which basis the con-
stitutional ratio would be about 81 to l at
the present day. We are told that in early
Bible times silver was treated as equal i'll
value to gold, the ratio being ! to l. Why
not restore the money and ratio and parity
Of the Bible rather than the alleged ratio
of the Constitution, thus giving to silver
its scriptural value before even the most
ancient Of the European gold bugs began
their tiendsh work of appreciating gold
at the expense of silver. and thus blessing
the silver owner, small or great, of Mex
leo, India, China and all the world by in
creasing sixteen fold his metals purchas-
ing and debt-paying power?
Turning Silver Into Gold.
If Uncle Sam is to play King Midas he
will appropriately enact the part in a truly
royal style: He will certainly not be con-
tent with a beggarly appreciation of silver
to the ratio of IL to l, and will undoubtedly
at the very least convert all the silver out
right into gold at the ratio Of l to l, even
II he finds himself able to contine his magic
touch 10 silver and to refrain from chang
ing our wheat, corn and potatoes into gold.
There still other ratios which might
find advocates. There is the Columbian
ratio Of 1UA to l. which prevailed at the
time of the discovery of America, and
which may perhaps be entitled to consid-
Grafton as the original American ratio. Out
side of this sentimental consideration it is.
to be urged in favor of this ratio that the;
resulting dollar will be most convenient I'M
size and weight for use. The IL to l dollar
Is too bulky for popular use. A 81 to dol
lar at the present commercial ratio would
be uncomfortable. l to l dollar, of the size
and weight of the gold dollar. would be too
small. though it is probably selfish to take
into account this detail, when the blessings
are considered which We are to shower
under this ratio upon the world at large.
A 1Oa4 to l dollar, the true Columbian dol
lar, would be little larger than the pres
ent half dollar, making a very convenient
coin for popular use.
If we can raise the value of silver over
all the world to any increased price for
1t that We announce as to be paid at our
mints, then most assuredly we should
adopt for the world the Bible ratio of l
to l, with all the powerful arguments in its
favor, or the Columbian ratio Of 1OA to l
with sentimental considerations and con-
venient coinage size and weight to plead
for it.
The question arises, however, why, when
we find that we can with impunity disre-
gard scornfully the world price of silver
and by legislative act fasten a new price
for silver upon all the nations OF a tribu-
tary earth. we should confine our price
fixing power to silver Why should we
not extend it to some commodity Of which
individual Americans produce more and
which they more generally possess? If by
an act of legislation we can double the world
price of silver, why not likewise, by con-
gressional enactment. double the world
value of wheat, corn and cotton?
If the world price of silver is increased
by free coinage to $1.29 Fer ounce, as Mr.
Bryan promises, the mine owner will pock-
ct an additional profit OF 81 cents on every
ounce mined, an annual minimum gain to
existing American mine operators alone of
over 5000 900.
Doubling the Price of Silver on Our
selves.
The theory advanced by Mr.. Bryan
which maintains that by free coinage here
silver will be doubled in price over all the
world, treats free coinage as a purchase of
the silver by the government for a fixed
price at the mints. You and and all the
other taxpayers of the United States sup
ply the money which is to be thus ex-
pended. and the question arises why should
We who produce and own no silver double
the price of silver upon ourselves when we
wish to buy? How does it benefit US who
do not sell silver to have it cost more?
Why should we take this $35, ,OOO, 600 from
our national tax money-already insufficient
to supply our current eeds-and hand it
over voluntarily and unnecessarily to the
silver owners, who make handsome profit
now in selling their silver for one-half of
what we insist upon paying them here
after?
Under the Sherman act we bought silver
to be coined into money. How did that
business operation differ from Mr. Bryan's
proposed purchase?
We paid under the former only the COM
mercial value of the silver. under tho lot