The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1896-08-28
CARLISLE'S FIVE POINTS.
A Correspondent Replies to Them and
Offers Thee Points.

To the Editor of the Nashville Banner
For weeks past the Banner has
kept standing at the head of its ed
itorial columns Mr., Carlisle's cele-
brated five points" against silver,
and in its issue of the 18th inst, it
boasts editorially that no friend of
silver has yet attempted to refute
them. The Banner seems willing to
rest the issue of the campaign upon
these five propositions, and predicts
that Eat the close of the contest they
will form the crown of thorns which
will be pressed upon the brow of the
defeated champion of the 50-cent
dollar"
Now, it may be impudent presump-
ton in an old, weather beaten farm
er to tackle one so great as Mr.. Car
Isle. [ have the temerity, never
theless, to take up these theses, one
at a time, and test their ffectiveness
as a crown OF thorns.
|. The first of the five reads:
"There is not a free coinage country
in the world to-day that is not on
silver basis" In the same issue of
the Banner above referred to are
twenty questions which were recent
ly propounued by the editor of the
New York World to William j Bry-
an. The tonth of these questions are
in these words: "Is there any
country in the world to-day which
gives free and unlimited coinage to
silver?" Mexico does not. India
does not. None of the Central or
South American States does. We
know of no country that does, of no
example that can be studied. Less
than two weeks before this question
was put to Mr.. Bryan the World
gave its readers a list of the so-called
free coinage silver countries, with
the premiums or seignorage eXacted
for the coinage of silver. Where a
percentage is charged for minting it
cannot be called free coinage. There
is, then, no free coinage except for
gold in the world to-day, and this
first proposition of Mr.. Carlisle has
no significance whatever, unless it
be made TO read in this way: There
is not free coinage country in the
world to-day that is not either on a
gold or bimetallic basis.
2. AS for the second point, "There
is not gold-standard country in
the world to-day that does not use
silver as money along with gold" it
is an untruth of kind containing a
modicum of truth. Money, among
gold-standard advocates, means an
irredeemable, absolute and full legal
tender coin or its equivalent. Every
gOld-standard country uses nickel
and copper as we'll as silver. But
the limited legal tender function of
these "token" coins destroys their
"use as money along with gold"
England is a gold-standard country.
1t has not had a full legal tender
silver coin for over fifty years. Only
four of the ten gold-standard coun-
tries of Europe have any, and these
have only the old silver coins left
over after changing to gold-stan-
dard. And these nations-Germany,
Austria, Roumania and Turk ey are
retiring their old coins. There is
not, then, gold-standard country
in the world to-day that does use
silver as full legal tender money
along with gold except some old
coins.
3. The third statement, that "There
is not silver standard country in
the world to-day that uses any gold
as money along with silver" is to-
tally untrue. Russia is a silver
standard country, and, according to
Mr.. Carlisle's late circular and the
latest United States mint statistics,
she has $480,OO0,O00 of gold, being the
fifth largest gold holding nation in
the world. She offered to lend gold
to our government in one of the last
bond issue and collaborating en-
terprises of Mr.. Carlisle. Mexico is
silver-standard country and one
twelfth of her specie is gold. The
silver countries of South America
have $4,000, 000of gold and $30,0O0,000
of silver. These facts are taken from
Mr.. Carlisle's own tables in his late
circular
4. As to the fourth statement of
the series. 1t is not fair to compare
the per capita circulation of the un-
developed Latin-American countries
and of China and India with that of
such country as the United States.
The Incompatible energies of the
o-SaXon race and the incompar-
able advantages of climate and soil
have greatly more to do with the
amount per capita of money required
to do the immense business of the
United States than any standard of
values has. The amount of money
required by a country depends upon
its resources, its commerce and its
development. America prospered
before it reached a gold-basis, and
its per capita circulation on any ba-
sis should always be commensurate
with its wants. The inference which
Mr.. Carlisle would have us to draw
from this fourth proposition is that
the coin basis of a country deter
mines its amount Of currency. There
is nothing in it.
8. The last point: "There is not q
silver-standard country in the world
to-day where the laboring man re.
ceives fair pay for his days work,
is an argument tinged with dema.
gogy. Does the laboring man in
such gold-stanuard countries as Ger.
many, Austria, Egypt, etc., receive
fair pay for his days work? Doe:
he receive any better pay than the
wage-earner in Mexico and Argen,
tine Republic? Turn to the "World
Almanac" for 1896, pages l58-l59, and
compare the schedule of wages il
cilvor MaNico with tho cap,n in O1anv