Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-13

no silver is being coined to take its place.
Not only is gold going abroad, but 1t
must continue to go abroad as long as the
present financial policy is adhered to I'M
less we continue to borrow from across
the ocean, and even then we simply post
pone the evil, because the amount Dor
roWed, together with interest on 1t, must
be repaid in approaching dollars. The
American people now owe large sum to
European creditors and falling prices
nave left larser and larger margin be-
tween our next national income and our
annual interest charge.
There is only way to stop tho increas-
ing flow of gold from our Shores and
that is to stop falling pricsg. The res
toratfon of bimetallism win not only stop
railing prices, but viii, to some extent,
restore prices by reducing the worlds
demand for gold. 1t is argued that a
rise in prices lessons the value of the dol
lars which we pay to our creditors. 1
reply that in the balancing of equities
the American people have as much right
to favor financial system which will
restore prices as foreign creditors have
10 insist upon a financial system that
will reduce prices. But the interests of
society are far superior to the interests
of either debtor or creditors, and the in
terests of society demand a financial
system which will add to the volume of
the standard money of the world and
restore stability in prices.
Perhaps the most persistent misrepre-
Se0IaI1On that we nave 10 meet. is the
charge that we are advocating the pay
ment of debts in 50-cent dollars. At the
present time and under present laws a
silver dollar when melted loses nearly
half its value but that will not be true
when we again establish a mint price for
silver and leave no surplus silver upon
the market to drPg down the price of
bullion. Under bimetallism silver bull
lion will be worth as much as silver
coin. just gold is now worth as much
rrol1 ~, nd holt oxra hot Gil
dollar will be worth as much as gold
dollar
The charge of reputation comes with
poor grace from those who are seeking
to add to the weight of existing debts
by legislation which makes money dear
er and who conceal their designs against
the general welfare under the euphonious
pretense that they are unfolding public
credit and national honor.
In answer to the charge that gold will
so abroad, 1T must be remembered that
no gold can leave this country unless the
owner of the gold receives something in
r,.urn for it which he would rather have.
In other words, when gold leaves this
country ttos who formerly owned it
will be benefited. There Is no process by
which we can be compelled to part with
out gold against our will. nor is there
any process by which silver can be
forced upon us without our consent. Ex-
charges are matters of agreement, and
if silver comes to this country under free
coinage 1t will be at the invitation OF
some one in this country, who will give
something in exchange for it.
Those who deny the ability of the Unit
ed States to maintain the parity between
gold and silver at the present legal ra-
tic without foreign aid point to Mexico
and assert that the opening of our mints
will reduce us to silver basis and raise
gold to a premium. 1t is no reflection
upon our sister republic to remind our
people that the United States is much
greater than Mexico in area, in popula-
ton and in commercial strength. 1t is
absurd to assert that the United States
is not able to do anything which Mexico
has failed to accomplish. The one thing
necessary in order to maintain the parity
is to furnish a demand great enough to
utilize all the silver which will come to
the minis. That Mexico has failed to do
this is not proof that the United States
would also fail.
1t is also argued that since number
of the nations nave denlonetized silver
nothing can be done until all of those
nations restore bimetallism. This is IL
logical. 1t is immaterial bow many or
how few nations open mints, provided
there are sufficient open mints to furnish
a monetary demand for ALI the gold and
silver available for coinage.
In reply to the argument that improved
machinery has lessened the cost of pro-
ducing silver, 1T Is sufficient TO say that
the same Is true of the production of gold,
anu yeti tudt, SOid has
risen in value. AS matter of fact, the
cost of production does not determine the
value of the precious metals except as 1t
may affect the supply. If, for instance,
the cost Of producing gold should be re-
duced 80 per cent without any increase
in the output, the purchasing power of
an ounce of gold would not fall. So long
as there is monetary demand sufficient
to take 1t at a fixed mint price, all gold
and silver produced the cost of produc-
ton need not be considered.
1t Is often objected that the price Of
gold and silver cannot be fixed in return
to each other because of the variation in
the relative production of the metals.
This argument also overlooks the fact
that if the demand for both metals at a
fixed price Is grea ter~than the supply or
both relative production becomes imma-
terial In the early part of the present
century the~annual production of silver
was worth, at the coinage ratio, about
three times as much as the annual pro-
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