The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-06-25

y Means 80 Open the stinss of be Country
70 Br Mstais
An editorial writer in the New York
Sun has bumped a very thick head
against an argument made by Hon.
Charles f. Crisp in Georgia in favor Of
the free coinage of silver. Judge Crisp
had referred to the disappearance of
gold from our circulation under the
act of 172 and of silver under the act
of 1884 by reference to the conflicting
ratios in ihis country and France. The
ratio OF the French mint kept the com
mercial values of the two metals prac-
tically steady at the valuation fixed
by law. But when two nations coin
freely at different ratios both ratios,
of course, cannot control, and each
metal will seek the country whose law
gives 1t the higher valuation. This
was the substance of Judre Crisp's
argument and the following rs the
Suns reply
Here were two instances in which
the mighty fat of the United States
congress, signed by the president,
couldn't keep gold and silver on
parity in value at fixed ratio, or
keep them both in circulation. II was
monometallsm every time. Yet the
free silverites, Joined by Jud = cr.s1
himself in the close of this ideil, !. IL
| speech, plead that the United States
can maintain what they clll ,tilac:al.
lism' by starting alone ON free silver
coinage at sixteen to one. We are l:y-
ing, we are moving, in a grand and aw-
full time"
1t Is plain that the writer of the fore
going did not even dimly perceive the
meaning of Judge Crispa argument
and that he does not understand the
position OF the bimetallistF or lrnow
what bimetallism means. Bimetallsm
exists in any country when its miu IS
are freely open to the coinage OF both
metals, when it gets the full benefit Of
both in sustaining and replenishing
| the volume of its standard money and
when stable ratio of value is moin-
tanned between them. Leading and
candid monometallists agree that
France by its mint ratio OF 15l5 70
| substantially controlled the relative
market values OF gold and silver up to
1873. When the United States set up a
law, first in 1892 and then in 1894 in
conflict with the French law, it sim n y
resulted in this country's exchanging
first its gold for silver and next its sill
yer for gold. But It got the benefit OF
both metals. So loug as it could ex.
change a gold for silver dollar or a
silver for a gold dollar both metals
loh 70 hn fY1n fp.
increasing the supply of standard
money. When, for any reason, one
metal left the country, the other
promptly flowed in and filed the gap
in our circulation without causing the
slightes disturbance. That was BIZ
metallism What are the conditions
now? There has been for several
years steady outflow of gold. If our
mints were open to the coinage OF
both metals as before 1878 we could
make this good by receiving silver in
its place; but being denied this privi-
lege we must buy back the gold with
bonds, and we have already issued
S262, 900, 900 of bonds for that purpose.
This is monometallism. Monometal
lism restricts a country to the use o.
one metal only.
If it loses that or any considerable
proportion of it it must go without OF
buy it back at sacrifice. Bimetallisn
gives it the use of both and enables i
when one metal goes abroad to fill it
place with the other without loss t,
the circulation Memphis Commercial
Appeal.