The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-08-20

was wise to follow a bad precedent, but
from his answer it will be seen that the
fault does not lie with the grecnbacks and
treasury notes, but rather with the execu-
tive officers who have seen fit to surrender
a right which should have been exercised
for the protection of the interests of the
people. This executive action has already
been made the excuse for the issue of moro
than $3.50, 900, 600 in bonds, and it is i'm
possible to estimate the amount Of bonds
which may hereafter be issued If this policy
is continued. We are told that any attempt
upon tho part of the government at this
time to redeem its obligations In silver
would put u premium upon gold, but why
should it, The Bank Of France exercises
the right to redeem all bank paper in
either gold or silver, and yet France main
tains the parity between gold and silver Mt
the ratio Of 15k to l and retains in cir
culation moro silver per capita than we do
In the United States
1t may be further answered that our op-
ponents havc suggested no feasible plan for
avoiding the dangers which they fear. The
retirement of the greenbacks and treasury
notes would not protect the treasury, be-
cause the same policy which now leads the
secretary of the treasury to redeem all gov
ernment paper in gold, when gold Is de-
manded, will require the redemption of all
silver dollars and silver certificates in gold
If the greenbacIs and treasury notes are
withdrawn from circulation. More than
this, if the government should retire it's
paper and throw upon the banks the ne
cessity of furnishing coin redemption, the
banks would exercise the right to furnish
either gold or silver-in other words, they
would exercise the option, just Us the gov
ernment ought to exercise 1T now. The
government must either exercise the right
to redeem it's obligations in silver when
silver is more convenient, or 1t must retire
all the silver and silver certificates from
circulation and leave nothing but gold as
legal tender money. Are our opponents
willing to outline Il financial system which
will carry out their policy to it's legitimate
conclusion, or will they continue to cloak
their designs in ambiguous phrases?
Necessity For Bimetallism.
There is an actual necessity for bimctal
lism as well Us q theoretical defense of it.
During tho last 23 years legislation has
been creating an additional demand for
gold, and this law created demand has re-
suited in increasing the purchasing power
of each ounce of gold. The restoration of
bimetallism in the United States will take
away from gold just SO much of its pur-
chasing power as was added to it by the
demonetiZation of silver by the United
States. The silver dollar is now held up to
the gold dollar by legal tender laws and
| not by redemption in gold, because the
standard silver dollars are not now re-
deemablc in gold either in law or by ad-
| ministrative policy.
We contend that free and unlimited coin
age by the United States alone will raise
| the bullion value of silver to its coinage
value, and thus make silver bullion worth
$1.20 per ounce in gold throughout the
world. This proposition is in keeping with
natural laws not in defiance of them. The
best known law Of commerce is the law of
| supply and demand We recognize this
law and build our argument upon it. We
| apply this law to money when we say that
! a reduction in the volume of money will
| raise the purchasing power of the dollar.
We also apply the law of supply and de-
| mand to silver when VIC say that new
demand for silver created by law will raise
| the Price of silver bullion. Gold and silver
| are different from other commodities in
| that they are limited in quantity. Corn,
wheat manufactured products, etc. can be
produced almost without limit, provided
they can be sold at II price sufficient to
stimulate production, but gold and silver
are called precious metals because they are
| found, not produced. These metals have
been the objects of anxious search as far
back as history runs; yet, according to Mr..
| Harvey's calculation, all the gold coin OF
| the world can be melted into n % foot cube
and all the silver coin in the world into n
| &c foot cube. Because gold and silver are
| limited, both in the quantity now in hand
and in annual production, 1T follows that
legislation can fix the ratio between them.
| Any purchaser who stands ready to take
the entire supply Of any given article at
certain price can prevent that article from
falling below that price. SO the govern
ment can fix a price for gold and silver by
creating a demand greater than the sup
ply. International bimctallists believe that
several nations, by entering into an agree
ment to coin ut a fixed ratio all the gold
and silver presented, can maintain the
| bullion value of the metals at the mint
ratio. When n mint price is thus estab-
lishcd it regulates the bullion price, be-
| cause any person desiring coin may have
| the bullion converted into coin ut that
price, and any person desiring bullion can
secure 1t by melting the coin. The only
question upon which international bimctal
| lists and independent bimetallists differ Is,
| Can the United States by the free and un-
| limited coinage OF silver ut the present
legal ratio create demand for silver
| which, taken in connection with the dc
mand already in existence, will be suf
flcient to utilize all the silver that will he
presented at the mints? They agree. in their
defense of the bimetallic principle, ard
| they agree in unalterable opposition to tho
| gold standard International bimetallists
cannot complain that free coinage gives a
benefit to the mine owner, because inter
national bimetallism gives TO the owner ol
silver all the advantages offered by indie
pendent tbimetallism at the same ratio In
ternational bimetallsts cannot accuse the
advocates Of free silver of being bullion
owners who desire to raise the value OF
their bullion or "dcbtors who desire t.
pay their debts in cheap dollars" OF
"demagogues who desire to curry favor
with the people, They must rest their
opposition upon one ground only-namcly
that the supply Of silver available for coin.
age Is too large to bc utilized by the Unit
ed States.
Our Capacity to Use silver.
In discussing this question we must
consider the capacity OF our people to U.s.
silver and the quantity OF silver which car
come to our mints. 1t must bc rcIncm
bercd that we live in country only par
TALLY developed, and that our people fan
surpass any equal number of people in tho
world in their power to consume and pro
duce. Our extensive railroad development,
and enormous internal commerce mus,
also be t.. into consideration. Now
| how much IT can come here Not the
coined silv,i "f the world, because almost
all Of II is more valuable at this time in
other lands than 1t will be at our mintf
under free coinage. II our mints are
opened to free and unlimited coinage al
the present ratio, merchandise silver can
not come here, because the labor applied tn