Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1896-08-07

Latin Union In 1868, but suspended free
! coinage of silver In 1878. And Austria sus-
pended free silver coinage if 1870. though
she was then, AMI for nearly half century
| had been, on an exclusive paper basis
like the United States from 1862 TIL 1879.
Portugal has had the single gold standard
since 1854, and Russia has been on an tn-
convertible paper basis. without free silver
| coinage until quite recent. From this brief
summary ,au you can see TINT between $50
suspended throughout the length and
breadth Of Europe, and In the United
| States. But silver VS. still largely used
| and coined as money-amost quite as much
rs beforehand 1t Is still being used and
coined In large quantities. The aggregate
| value of
The Worlds Product Of Silver.
from 1871 to 1894, inclusive. was s3,o24,-
429, 1OO and the aggregate value of the
worlds silver coinage, from 1873 to 1891.
inclusive. was 81. 750 423.0l5. II allowance
DO made for the use Of silver In the arts
1t appears that the worlds mints absorbed
the worlds silver. After this general sus-
| pension OF free coinage governments no
| longer gave a fixed anu arbitrary price
the coin ratio Of an ounce Of gold for mr.
| teen and one-haf or sixteen ounces Of sill
ver-but bought the silver bullion ut its
| commercial and not coin value, and the
seignioragc or difference between the price
|
ured to the respective governments and
their people, and not to he owners Of
silver mines and silver bullion rs before.
Their silver harvest was past. Tho brok-
| crs. the money changers. the mine owners
and the bullion dealers no longer reNped a
silver harvest. This change In the demand
for silver and In the method Of paying for
| the same, Of course, tended to reduce the
price. 1t was no longer a fixed monopoly.
Then there was also great Increase In
the production Of silver. For the nifty
years ending with 1870 the worlds total
| GOO in value. while for the twenty-four
years ending with 1894 the total product
amounted to $1,000, 41.1OO. Could add
the figures for 1885, which are not ut hand.
1t would b. found that the total production
Of silver within the last twenty-five years
Is nearly double the product of the nifty
years next preceding. 1t should also be
| noted in this connection that there has been
considerable Increase In the worlds pro-
J ductlon Of gold within the same period.
The value of the total product FOR pr the iltty
years ending with 1870 was So, S0.24i0OO.
| and for the twenty-five years ending with
1898 was $3O20.24S. 400. 1t thus appears
| that the worlds production Of gold has been
nearly as large In the aggregate within the
| last twenty-five years as In the hfty years
| next preceding. The value OF the average
annual output OF both gold and silver COM
blnct for the fifty years ending with 1870
| was S9G, go OtO. aud the value OF the aver.
nge annual output OF gold alone within tho
| twenty-five years ending with 1S,1 was
1921, 100, 03O, thus showing that gold alone
has more than occupied the same space
within the last twenty-five years that both
gold and silver together did In the nifty
| years next preceding. In fact. the average
annual excess OF gold alone. within tho
| twcnty-nv year period. over both gold anu
silver combined within the fifty year period.
| -
| Client to keep pace with the average In"
| crcnse of population. From this brief sum
mary Of facts, It wond appear to the cam
ala and unbiased thinker that silver has
fallen In price, fallen by lts own weignt'
and chiefly from two causes. VIZ: IN.
creased production and the suspension OF
free coinage But the suspension OF FREQ
| coinage has not been suspension or com
agc, but merely the suspension or paving
| n ixcd and arbitrary pricc-the coin ratio
has continued with nearly undated pace.
From 1873 TO 1894. inclusive. there was
coined the value OF 81, 75G. 423.0l5 Of tho
worlds silver. ns against $3.40l.7 O3 400 OF
the worlds gold. In the fncc Of these facts
the advocates Of free colnngc-of silver
Observation-Disclosures the nudnclty and as-
| surancc to Insist tnnt silver has not fnlIen
In prlce: that the divergence in value has
arisen solely from the appreciation OF gold.
| md that silver during oil these years has,
| at the
nchcst Of the Silver Mnsnntes
Of the Rockies. stood still. rs the sun and
the moon stood still mt the request OF
Joshua centuries ago To make their con-
tention good they parade before us curious.
| Nv md ingeniously constructed charts, and
| Index numbers utterly overlooking cur.
| rent events md their import. They FUR
ther contend that the products OF nome
labor have fallen In price solely because
silver has stood still, and gold has gone up.
Coli, they say, Is the only primary money.
and that the price and value OF nll things
are fixed and guaged by primary money.
| and that there can be no primary money
| without free coinage. Prices, they say.
nrc low because gold. the primary money.
Is high Higher prices, they tell us. Is
| the great need of the hour. So say We
ALL But this. they are honest enough to
tell us, Gun only be secured by making our
money chcaper-thc gold dollar is too dear
rock Of nxlty silver. or expel 1t altogether.
Give ua n cheap silver dollar, such as they
have In Mexico China and Japan. II we
| can only cheaper our money, releAse 1t
from the tolls Of ever-ascendng gold, then
prices will go up, and the demand will
exceed, or mt least equal. the supply IN all
directions. How single and how simple Is this
remedy for hard times and Industrial de-
preston. Answering all these contentious.
| I pause first Of nlI to remark that FREQ
| coinage Is not an esschtlAl elcMeht OF
primary money. 1t Is the fact that 1t Is
| d legal tc:.der, and not redcemablc In any
| other money that makes any kind of money
SO called primary money. Our silver dol
lars are to-day. rs between man and man.
in all business transactions, rs much prl-
mary money and as much a legal tender "a
gold. The only exception Is that you may.
| II you SO choose, stlpulate to pay In gold.
In the next place 1t Is not true that prices
and values are fixed and measured by the
amount OF so-called primary money In
circulation That may have been approx
imately or partially true in the early dawn
Of our civilization, when gold or silver. or
both combined, were the only currency.
and oil traffic. outside Of barter, was car
ried on In no other money, or any substi-
tute therefor But under our modern sys-
TEN OF transacting business, by means Of
| checks. drafts bills OF exchange, and
paper currency, gold and silver cut but
| ..,,au In, Eolur,ao Of hnsi.