Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1896-08-07
Free Coinage.

l.
How in the world can a country with
such small circulation per capita of
money do business in any other way?
give us more money and the credit
system will drop off, of itself. There
is not gold enough in the whole world
to pay the present debt of the United
States. Then, how can you advocate
q single gold standard. If it is the
law that makes gold SO valuable which
l have proven to you it is without it
having much value itself, why cannot
the law make the silver worth some-
thing too? You say it can by interna-
tional agreement. say our country
can without any such agreement. Our
government bonds are nearly all pay
able in coin which means either gold
or silver. Consequently they maybe
paid of in silver as we'll as gold.
Suppose merchant goes to England
or any other European country to
purchase a cargo of manufactured
goods and would pay for it in silver,
the English merchant would readily
take his silver at par even if this
country was alone on the bimetallistic
system. Why? Because he would
know that he could go to New York
or any other port of this country and
exchange the silver dollar at par for
our raw material such as cotton, corn,
and wheat and various other products
which they need and have to buy from
this country. And further, the reno
netization of silver would deprive the
European countries of the advantage
they now have, to buy our silver bull
lion for 55c on a dollar, then go to
India and buy for this bullion $1.OO
worth of wheat or other products.
Everybody with the least bit of reason
can readily see that the silver could
not be obtained at SOC on a dollar in
case it is 'remonotized, but 1O0c, be-
cause there would then be demand for
it, and in proportion to each other
worth just as much as gold, as there
is just as much intrinsic value in one
metal as the other. Another thing
in connection herewith is that il this
country begins to remonetize silver
the European countries will follow as
they are now working in that direc-
tion. Silver was above par in 1873
when it was demonotized. This being
a fact, how can people talk about
cheap dollars and dishonest money
when there is no more intrinsic value
in one metal than the other and only
as medium of exchange it has value
according to how the laws make it.
If silver is remonetized it will be
worth 1OOc and at a certain ratio just
as much as gold. If silver was remon-
etized and gold domonetized silver
would be the valuable metal, and gold
would fall in value and be dishonest
dollar according to the republican
idea, because the demand for the
metal would diminish.
What appears to bother Mr.. ':M"
is how the money which is coined by
our government and owned by the
silver mine owners will benefit us.
Suppose Mr.. .'M." had two or three
thousand dollars or more, would he
then buy himself a burglar proof chest
with time lock on and put same in a
vault on his place and put his money
! in there and have it,. What good
would it do him then?s. think he
would 60 to work and enlarge his
business or improve his farm as the
case may be and thus gain some COM
fort from his money. Or if he thought
his business was large enough or his
farm we'll enough improved he would
loan the money out and get interest
on them. 1t would then require
laborers to do the work and they
would get wages and good wages as
employment would then be more
plentiful. The same principle holds
good as regards the silver mine own
ers. They will enlarge their mines,
start some other Industrial enter
prises, and loan out the money and
get interest. This will require more
help, more labor and money will thus
come into circulation. Money is now
dear. 1t is true of other commodities
that the more there is of it the
cheaper it is. The same fact will rule
in the money market to a certain ex-
tent. The more money in circulation
the cheaper the money will be or in
other words the dearer the products
wnl be. 1t would also cause more
competition in the money market as
there would be a larger number hand
ling the money, and the different
parties would have various interests.
1t would not be only the gold bugs