The Louisiana populist., 1897-11-26
MIR. CAGES MISTAKE.
TAKEN TO TASK BY A STUDENT
OF FINANCE.
the Secretary of the Treasury Is I'm
doubtedly sklllful Money-C Changer
but Is Ignorant of the Science of
Money.

to stability, and hence honesty, in the
future than a standard based on gold
alone, for the average fluctuations Of
TWO commodities Is likely to be less ex-
IRENE than the fluctuations of one. But,
as we have said, a measure Of value OF
strict invariableness in purchasing
power, and hence of honesty, is not to
pc thus obtained. Such invariableness
cannot be secured until the volume OF
money is regulated by it's purchasing
power, until 1t is increased just as an
increase Is shown to be needed by a
tendency OF prices to fall and provision
Is made for decreasing the volume of
currency II spirit of imitation Is
evinced by tendency of prices to rise
abnormally. And no assurance can be
given of this while we base the supply
OF money upon the fluctuations in the
supply OF two commodities. Still, the
making OF the supply of money depend
ent on the supply of two metals, gold
and silver, instead Of one, would be An
assurance OF greater stability, Of
nearer approach to honesty, and this Is
what is contended by bimetallists.
1t Is further c0ntended by bimetal-
hsts that the opening Of the mints to
lree silver coinage would fix mint price
TOR silver as the price is now fixed for
gold and that this would be followed by
such equalization of the demand for
gold and silver that the commercial
parity Of gold and silver would be re-
stored to the mint parity. In short, it
lis contended that under bimetallism
the demand for money would adjust
itself SO as to restore and maintain this
parity; that the demand for silver
would be SO increased and the demand
for gold for coinage so diminished that
the commercial parity between gold
and silver would at once be restored at
the mint ratio. the purchasing power Of
silver bullion increasing with the In
creased demand and the purchasing
power OF gold diminishing until parity
was reached. And after parity was
once reached it would be maintained,
Tor 1t Is evident that self-interest must
impel debtors to make use Of the money
OF full debt-paying power that they can
most readily get, and so the moment
one metal became relatively abundant
lor coinage, the demand for 1t
would become relatively greater,
while the demand for the other metal
would become proportionateIy less.
The inevitable result would be to check
any tendency Of the most abundant
metal to fall below par and to keep the
relatively scarcer metal from rising
above par. These are the results
claimed by bimetallists.
I But now Mr.. Gage, who has been |
drawn into newspaper interview, |
comes forward and tells us that there |
Is no basis for the conteptions of BIZ |
metallists; that bimetallism, meaning
the free coinage of both gold and sill |
YER into full legal tender money. is
really q very different thing from what
himetallists contend. I'm the first |
place" he asserts. there Ii, properly |
speaking, no mint price for gold or
silver" But when we turn to DR..
Lnderman's work on Money and .Le-
gal Tender In the United States pub-
lished In 1877, when be was director Of
the mint, and which is first authority
On such matters. we find In the f]rst
chapter Of his work devoted to i .sbrief /
explanation Of terms commonly used
"A treating Of bullion, mints, coinage
and money" this definition Of the
Mint price Of gold or silver-the
rate per standard ounce at which the
mint converts bullion into unlimited
legal tender coins"
So It Is quite clear that under free
coinage at which q coinage rate ID flxed
lor the conversion Of bullion into coin
here is = mint price as defined by tho
irst Of gold authorities on such MAJ
ters. And that Mr.. Gage is unaware
'f the accepted meaning Of the term
mint price" Is not the fault Of binnet-
lllists.
II 10 very true, as Mr.. Gage asserts
hat "all the mint does with the man
Rho brings to the mint certain nrr,-
,er Of grainS Of uncoined gold. IL a
i've him II return the same n,rnsX. u Il