The Globe-republican., 1897-09-23
Secretary Gage Replies to Bryan.

Secretary Gage Replies to Bryan.
The airy manner in which w. j
Bryan will toss off an absurd state
ment, as if it were next thing to an
axiom, is refreshing to see. He must
have unlimited faith in the gullibility
of the American people. One of his
jaunty propositions attracted the at
tention of Secretary of the Treasury,
Lyman J. Gage, Who made it the oc-
casion of an interview given out for
publication on the 18th, says the
Chicago Inter Ocean. Nothing
could be more timely than this in
terview, nor could the exposure of
the fallacy in the Bryan statement
have been more complete. The in
terview fitted the assertion most COM
pletely and exactly.
Mr.. Bryan stated. first, that it was
the contention Of the bimetallists
that the opening of our mints-not
the minis of the world, but ours
alone-to the free and unlimited
coinage of silver at the ratio Of 16 to
l would fix q mint price for silver,
just as mint price is now fixed for
gold; and, second, that the demand
thus created by law would be stuff
Gent to utilize all the silver presented,
and thus the bullion valne would be
raised to the coinage value. This is
a concise and explicit statement of
the position of the free silverites.
Mr.. Gage insists that there is no
coinage value fixed by the mint, and
be is clearly right. Mexican dollars
would be worth as mucs as the Uni
ted States dollar if that were true.
The mere fact that a bar of silver
has been converted into bag of coin
does not rise its value. If there
were it could be fixed as well by the |
minis of Mexico as by those of the |
United States. Even in Mexico itself |
an American dollar is worth two
Mexican dollars. It is the fact that |
in the United States the government
maintains all the money issued.
paper or silver, on par with
gold that makes the same amount of
our silver money worth about twice
it's weight in Mexican coins. The
government can do this because it
the amount of paper and
silver money put out. Free coinage
would take the regulation of the
value of silver money completely out
Of the hands of the government.
MIR. Bryan talks of raising the bull
ion value up to the coinage, but, as
MIR. Gage says, there is no s'raise"
about it. Under free coinage values
must be identical in this country, as
n Mexico.
Temporarily there might be little
Increase of value for silver, it being
full legal tender for debt, but the
fleet of any increase, however slight,
would be to draw the surplus silver
# the woodland there is a vast
of ito this country, to be
'oined into dollars and made avail
BILE in the payment of debts, and
hat increase in the supply would
make silver drug in the market.
lr. Gage shows himself to be q
master of finance in the clearness
nd force with which he runs down
he Bryan sophism, and it was
lost timely exposure. One great
rouble hitherto has been that the I
1fiated threories of free silver soph-
IT'S have been allowed to go unpunc- {
lred, and false Impressions allowed
} harden into fixed convictions. The
rage interview cannot fail to have
most wholesome general effect upon
ublic sentiment. The great mass
the people are honest, and if they
ray into crooked paths they do so
scause they are duped by specious