The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-08-14

vain, because savings bank depositors
know that under a gold standard there
is increasing danger that they will lose
their deposits because of the inability
of the banks to collect their assets; and
they still further know that, if the
gold standard is to continue indefinite
ly, they may be compelled to withdraw
their deposits in order to pay living
expenses. 1t is only necessary to note
the increasing number of failures in
order to know that gold standard is
rufnous to merchants and manufac-
turers These business men do not
make their profits from the people
from whom they borrow money, but
from the people to whom they sell
their goods. If the people cannot
buy, retailers cannot sell, and if re-
tailers cannot sell, wholesale mer-
chants and manufacturers must go
into bankruptcy. Salaries in business
occupations depend upon business
conditions, and the gold standard both
lessons the amount and threatens the
permanency of such salaries.
Loaners Instead Of Borrowers
If it is asserted, as it is constantly
asserted, that the gold standard will
enable us to borrow money from
abroad, l reply that the restoration of
bimetallism will restore the parity be-
tween money and property, and thus
permit an era of prosperity which will
enable the American people to become
loaners of money instead of perpetual
borrowers Even the holders of fixed
investments. though they gain an ad
vantage from the appreciation of the
dollar, certainly see the injustice of
the legislation which gives them this
advantage over those whose incomes
depend upon the value of property and
products If the holders of fixed in
vestments will not listen to arguments
based upon justice and equity, L ap-
peal to them to consider the interests
of posterity. We do not live for our
selves alone
No Now Experiment..
AS against the maintenance of
gold standard, either permanently or
until other nations can be anited for
it's overthrow, the Chicago platform
presents a clear and emphatic demand
for the immediate restoration of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver
and gold at the present legal ratio of
16 to l, without waiting for the aid or
consent of any other nation. We are
not asking that new experiment be
tried; we are insisting upon a return
to financial policy approved by the
experience of history apd supported by
all the prominent statesmen of our ma
tion from the days of the first president
down to 1873, When we ask that our
mints be opened to the free and unlim-
tied coinage of silver into full legal
tender money, we are simply asking
that the same mint privileges be ac-
corded to silver that are now accorded
to gold.
Grsenbacks and Treasury Notes.
The retirement of the green back and
treasury notes would not protect the
treasury, because the same policy
which now leads the secretary of the
treasury to redeem all government
paper in gold, when gold is demanded,
will require the redemption of all sill
YER dollars and silver certificates in
gold, if the green backs and treasury
notes are withdrawn from circulation
More than this, if the government
should retire it's paper and throw upon
the banks the necessity of furnishing
coin redemption, the banks would ex-
ercise the right to furnish either gold
or silver. In other words, they would
exercise the option, just as the govern
ment ought to exercise it now. The
government must either exercise the
right to redeem its obligations in sill
yer when silver is more convenient, or
it must retire all silver and silver GER
tificates from circulation and leave
money. Are our opponents willing to
outline a financial system which will
carry out their policy to its legitimate
conclusion. or will they continue to
cloak their designs in ambiguous
phrases? We contend that free and
unlimited coinage by the United States
will raise the bullion value of silver to
it's coinage value, and thus make silver
bullion worth $1.29 per ounce in gold
throughout the world. This PROPOSE
tion 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 demand to silver
when we 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.
The Supply Of Silver.
Because gold and silver are limited,
both in the quantity now in hand and
in annual production, it 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 be-
low that price. So the government
can fix q price for gold and silver by
creating q demand greater than the
supply, The only qnestion upon which
international bimetallists and indie
pendent bimetallists differ is: Can
4bo TIn;tad States hV the free and un-