Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-07-10
'epublics was preceded by a refusal to
-ecoppiza ayiStipp or;Is

republics was preceded by a refusal to
recognize existing evils.
THEY SAY SILVER WILL RUN GOLD OUT.
They say that to remonetize silver
will run gold out of the country.
Gold is not in circulation now. 1t is
cornered. The merit Of bimetallsm
is to recognize the fact that from time
to time one or the other of these
metals will leave us, and the fact that
we have the other with us is what
would save our financial system. If
there are causes tending to take gold
away fIuIn US, IL Will wnetneT sIIveI Is
money or not. We have no silver
now as real money, and yet gold is
leaving us. They stopped the coinage
of silver even as credit money two
years ago, and yet gold has since left
us faster thad ever.
OVER PRODUCTION OF SILVER.
They say silver was demonetized on
account of overproduction. At the time
silver wac demonetized, the world was
producing so cents in silver to one
dollar in gold; less silver than gold.
In the % years since then the world
has produced about equally dollar for
dollar of silver to gold. The world is
now-in 1S96-producing about 50
cents worth OF silver to one dollar of
gold.
sILvER's COINAGE SINCE 1873.
They say: $50 many hundred
millions of silver has been coined since
1S73," and ask: "Why are you not
satisfied with such an enormous coin
age?"
The answer is this: All the silver
coined since 1878 has been credit
money, practically redeemable in gold.
1t has not added a dollar to the
primary money of the nation. The
more you issue OF it in this form the
worse it is for the stability of our finan-
cial system, if the proportion OF credit
money is already disproportionate to
the quantity OF primary money. What
was needed was its recognition as
primary money in competition with
gold. AS credit money it answers no
other purpose.
THE ACT OF 1875.
" But" they say, "by the Bland
Allison act of 1878, silver is now full
legal tender money"
The answer is this: By that act
silver was made legal tender only in
the sense that greenbacks are full
legal tender. 1t was left crippled by
limited coinage. Free coinage was
not given to it, as enjoyed by gold.
None OF those rights were conferred on
it enjoyed by gold and that are neces-
sary under true bimetallism to restore
parity in commercial value between
the two metals. Nor was full legal
tender given to it. A cause was in
serted:
" UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THE
CONTRACT"
This gave the money power an op-
portunity to continue their war on
silver. The country was flooded with
with notes for You to sign payable in
gold, and when the law thus conferred
the option on the creditor, as to
which metal he would demand, an
other law in bimetallism was violated.
Where before 1873 the debtor had the
option, gave it to the weaker metal, if
either was, and thus maintained the
commercial parity, the Bland-Allison
act gave the option to the creditor,
who would always demand the dearer
metal, and the dearer it became the
more apt he would be to demand it.
Instead OF the government debating
what was money, by this act, the cred
itor was allowed to dictate, and since
then the money lenders have bound
this country and its people up in bill
lions of dollars worth of bonds, notes
and mortgages, payable in gold. The
debtor, as rule, has no option, when
he goes TO sign note for borrowed
money. At such a time, money is
such a necessity to him, that he is
putty in the hands of the money lend
er.
Nor does he, as a rule, know that
he Is assisting in piling the demand
on gold and further increasing its
value. He is hopeful and expects the
Tomorrow to take care of itself.
When he goes to pay the debt, he
fluids that dollars have risen and that
prices have fallen, and that he has to
give up more of his property than ever
in exchange for gold, or its equivalent.
IMPROVED FACILITIES.
They say improved facilities and not
demonetization is responsible for low
prices.
The answer to that is this: From
1850 to 1873 was period of great i'm
provement in inventions and improved
facilities, greater by far than for the
same period either before or since,
and yet in the face of improved facili-
ties, prices advanced. If improved fa-
cilities have lowered prices since 1873,
why did they not do it before 1873?
Cost OF production is not what makes
prices.
What makes prices is this: Itis
no 1,t. Al