The San Francisco call., 1896-05-16
BIMETALLISM.


that shall employ both gold and silver as
the standard money of the country be-
cause there is not enough gold to meet the
business operations of the world, and for
that and for no other reason do they de-
m and the reconciliation of silver. Gold
itself proves every day that it is made
quate by widening trade balances, which
is but another way of saying that in ratio
to the inability of gold money to supply
the needs of commerce are the obi
ties of commerce deprecated in their
market value. Every seller of commodi-
ties knows this to be true by experience.
Gold monometallists are trying very
hard to convince the people that the main
tenance of the parity of the two metals,
with equal purchasing and redempt
| power, would be a commercial and finan-
cial impossibility, but the people will not
be so convinced. The history of the coun-
try prior to 1873 and their own good
common-sense tells them that the reason
ing of the gold standArdites is that OF the
money-lender, the mortgage broker and
the bond-owner. Perhaps the most deeply
rooted OF the polite cal tenets of the real
wealth-makers of this country is their un-
qualified belief in monetary system that
shall make gold and silver the standard of
value without discrimination against
either metal.
Since the slaughter Of silver political
economists and statisticians tell u.s. the
average depreciation in the value of those
things which the great wage and farming
class produce, including wages, has been
about 45 per cent. But land-rents, dwell
ing-house rents, cost of travel. streetcar
! fares. interest on money ana the thousand
and one other things that are controlled
! by corporations, money-lenders and rent
! gatherers have suffered no such loss; and
why have they notP The answer is found
in the restricted volume of standard
money which is the natural as well as the
intended consequence Of driving the silver
dollar out of its Legitimate place as COLDS
companion in the country's monetary
system.
The goldites tell US that the Government
has coined more silver dollars since 1873
than in the whole previous lifetime of the
country, which is true, but they omit to
say that by the act of demonetizing silver
provisions were made to make the silver
dollar token dollar, redeemable in gold,
thus forcing gold monome:allism upon an
unsuspecting people. But for the fact
| that gold is pledged to redeem our silver
dollars they would not pass for more than
about so cents. They were boldly, un-
tremendously and surreptitiously reduced
to their bullion value when the right was
conferred upon them to be full dollars Just
so long as it suits the conspirators to re-
deem them in gold money, but not a min
ute longer.
In order to keep silver wholly dependent
upon gold for recognition as money Sec
retary Carlisle grants the exclusive right
of option to the Governments creditors.
That is to say, the creditor of the Govern
ment is given the right to designate the
kind of money he wants lis claim paid in,
and naturally he takes gold, because the
/ Government itself recognizes only gold as
the ultimate redemption money of the
country, thus belittling all other kinds.
Now, all that is required to make both
silver and gold the standard money Of the
Nation is for the Government to reserve
the right to pay claims against it in which
ever metal. gold or silver, it may elect to
pay in. That would be the Governments 8
admission that it held one kind in Just as
high esteem as the other and that it would
not be forced to discriminate aeaiust
either by any creditor. Then open the
mints to both metals without discrimina-
ton or favoritism. That would give the
country bimetsllism pure, simple and
| honest.