Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-07-20

coStller. There their dearnesS is their
chief charm. If gold were as plentiful
as iron, q very few rich mems tables
would groan under the weight of gold
service and watches and bracelets of
gold would be replaced with objects of
more precious material. Take away
from gold to-day it's use as money, and
q man would not have to be moral
philosopher to hold it as "dross." With
at least 10 years supply, for all other
on hand, it would become
veritable drug in the market.
Under bimetallism it is no more the
business of silver to be at parity with
gold than it is the business of gold to
be at parity with silver. When by
law ratio is established between the
two at which they may be freely taken
to the minis and, not exchanged one
for the other, but coined and given back
to the one bringing them; and when,
after being coined, either may be used
indifferently for any purpose for which
the other may be used, the person that
has payment to make (for example,
the debtor) being always allowed to
choose in which kind of coin he will
make it, and nobody Being permitted by
contract to discriminate against either
metal; the law has not fixed a price"
lin the usual sense of that term) upor
anything. 1t has simply determined
the ratio to each other at which two
substances may discharge, not com,
modify function, but new and added
function which the law itself at that
very moment confers, "prices" will be
fixed by the relation between things
and these money units, as always.
Rightly viewed, then, as it seems to
me, the question of ratio is relatively
simple matter. When we consider how
all-dominating the money function is
and how limitless and constant the de
mand is for whatever will fully per-
form that function, it appears reason,
able that the law, in the very act OF
comforting on two substances inter.
changeably the right to discharge this
function and respond to this demand,
may have quite latitude i'll fixing the
ratio each-to-eash at which they may do
SO. The law itself in granting the pow.
er to both imposes the condition on
which alone either can exercise It..
When so tied together they become, as
Cernuschi said, practically one money.
I venture to think that it has been
demonstrated that law has had meal
culably more to do with determining
the relation between gold and silver
used as money than all other influences
combined; has been in fact the almost
exclusive factor. Indeed, believe the
incontestable data of history prove that
this relation is susceptible of legal fxa-
ton for all practical purposes at any
convenient point within very wide
limits.
But can the United States alone ac-
complish this? have myself no doubt
of it. 1t is an established fact that
France from 1903 to 1873, with her mint
open to the free coinage OF gold and sill
yer at the ratio of 1:15.50, maintained
the actual parity of the metals within
her own territory and practically even
on the London markets. The London
market quotations show no wide di-
vergence from the French mint rela,
ton, the greatest being, very naturally,
during the Napoleonic wars; but are 80
close as to show that, making allowance
for cost of shipment, insurance, etc, the
parity must have been maintained In
France. Indeed, correcting the mint rar
ito by allowing for the different charges
(nominaD for coming gold and coming
silver the average market ratio for 80
years (1792-1s73), by the London quota
tions, almost exactly tallies with 1t, be-
ing 1850 to i. Of course, during part of
this tire the name of France embraces
the other countries of the Latin union
Italy, Greece, Belgium and Switzerland;
but as / remember it, they had nearly
all their coming, which was very small,
done in France and were of practically
no Importance in the task Of sustaining
the system.
The actual operation Of the system as
we should expect it TO appear upon the
opening of our minis is exhibited in the
following words of the late William z.
st. John, practical banker and fnan-
cier connected with affairs for many
years, who began the study Of the coin
age question as a gold standard man,
but ended as nearly all careful and thor
ough students do end, by becoming an
earnest convert to independent bimet-
allism, and whose untimely loss to the
cause and the country is deeply to be
deplored:
"This, then, is what will follow the re-
opening of our mints to silver: The
gold already in the treasury will re-
main there, if common sense dictates
the treasury management, that is II
| the treasury exercises it's option to re.
| deem United States notes in silver
A premium on gold (Which, let us re.
member, is conceded for the sake Of
argument, as q probable, immediate
and temporary result) will not occa
sion contraction of the currency, banl
boards of gold continuing to serve al
portion of bank reserves agains
their liabilities. A premium on golt
will tend to increase our exports b,
causing higher rate of foreign ex
change, that is to say, by yielding I
larger net return in dollars on the sal
of bills of exchange drawn agains
goods exported. Such premium will
tend to diminish our imports by in
creasing the cost Of bills of exchang
with which to pay for goods imported
| The tendency of increasing our export
and decreasing our imports will be
first, to set our spindles running, swell
the numbers of paid operatives, in
crease their wages, thereby adding t
the number and paying capacity Q
consumers, and thus enlarge our HON