Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-17
Silver and Values.

Salt Lake City Daily Tribune.
The Now or Never man on the Chi
cago News Is exceedingly rabid in his
advocacy of the single gold standard.
We give him credit, too, for displaying
infinitely more knowledge of the subject
than the most of men who essay to be
teachers of the people In that respect
His last effort is to prove that such a
thing as double standard Is an impossi-
bility. He goes back to the beginning
and shows that at first the silver coinage
was undervalued and the gold over-yai-
ued, and as a result the silver was all
exported. And he add this:
THUS the supreme fact that money
passes current by virtue Of It's intrinsic
value was proved to the confusion of all
those who maintain that money passes
current by virtue of law or the pure fiat
of the government"
The writer In the News evidently for
gets whole lot of things. One Is that
money has no intrinsic value. He says
there was not in this country and could
not be a double standard; that that Is an
impossibility. How was 1t about gold
and silver ON the Continent of Europe?
Was there any trouble there? Now,
from the foundation of the government
up to 1860, ours was a second-class ma
ton. On the whole Continent of Europe
silver and gold were coined at ratio of
15h to l. They circulated side by side.
There was not the slightest variation or
d
writer, IL he means to be fair, ought to
make note of. In our country the ratio
was 16 to 1; so that 1t was possible, all
the minis of Europe being open, for
person to buy our silver, ship 1t to Eu-
rope and make a slight profit.
Suppose Europe had been 16 to as our
country was, what proof has he In the
world to establish that there would have
been any variation? Now, he might use
this argument-that II that was so, then
il we, against Europe, were to remonetize
silver at 16 to 1, then Europe would still
control. and 1t being on gold basis. sill
yer would remain but as merchandise,
except as 1t was redeemab1e In. gold by
statute That argument Is often used,
but 1t Is not sound. for the reason that
our nation now, with its 70,000,000 OF peo-
pie, its mighty commerce and trade and
power is not like the little nation of long
ago; and that fact would be at once rec
ognized, and in every market In the world
silver would go up side by side with gold
and the point of interest to the men OF
the east Is that whether silver advances
20 points or 40, or up to a full parity with
gold, the products of this earth would adj
vance in the same ratio. Thus IL silver
were to go TO 81 an ounce, the farmer
would get 81 per cent more for his crop
next year on that account, and that
would have a wonderful effect on the
trade balances across the water. Sup
pose we could have added 81 per cent to
our exports last year. does anyone think
that It would have been necessary In the
autumn and winter to sell bonds to get
money? And could the farmers alone
have received that much more for their
crops, does anyone doubt but what. I'M
der the present tariff law, the govern
ment would be able to collect from GUS
toms enough to pay It's current expenses?
The gold men OF the east In these days
prior TO the. conventions are strafning ex-
cry pointfo break down silver. and .
great many of them do not know that
the very arguments they advance are an
everlasting proof of the correctness OF
the views of the believers in silver, that
every advance that can be made In the
value of that metal carries with II like
advance to all the property Of the re-
public.