The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-04-13
PRACTICAL ~BI-MRTALIsM.

OSAANCEOAANLANN Va @A~
a North Carolina Congressman in
troduced in the House of Representa-
tives a few days ago a bill which pro-
vides for practical bi metalism, and 1t
is not capable of Being assaulted by gold
monometalists SIS easy as a purely free
coinage measure.
With this measure in force gold and
silver will circulate together halt and
half, or rather their paper repsenta-
; tives will.
This measure provides that instead
of having gold certificates n si4VeF
certificates. that these shall be gold,
silver certificates. That when a per
SOL deposits In the Treasury twelve
and nine tenths grains of gold and two
hundred and six and one fourth grains
Of silver STANDARD gold and silver
there shall be issued TO him 8 cert,f-
cate of. the denomination of one dollar.
The bill also provides for certificates
of all the denominations now in use,
all representing both gold and silver in
the proportion Of Is parts of silver to
one of gold. For example, a SO dol
lar certificate represents five gold dol
lars and FIVE silver dollars, or enough
uucoined gold bullion to make five
dollars and enough %uncoined silver
bullion to make five silver dollars, and
whenever the holder of n of the Ger
t~ifcates desires the gold and silver dol
lars, or the gold and silver bullion
which his certificate represents, he
may get it by presenting his certificate
at the Treasury.
use OF silver, and would decrease the
purchasing power of the dollar about
20 or % per cent. 1t would not re
= duce the purchasing power OF the dol
lar as much Rs an absolute free coinage
measure would, but it would do
enough to raise the price of ell farm
products (and all other products, in
Guiding labor 30 to Is per cent.
An absolute free coinage measure
would decrease the purchasing power
Of the dollar nearly so per cent, which
would almost double the pr &c Of all
property, including farm products and
labor. For a silver dollar, when they
are manufactured in unlimited guam
titles (as they are in Mexico will buy
only about half IS much as a gold
dollars will. II other words, a farmer
could get nearly twice as much for a
bale o. cotton, with free silver as IN
der a gold standard. For proof, q man
can sell q bale of cotton fer Mexican
silver dollars, add get SIS. or $50 dollars
for it, while he'd only get $35 or $40
American dollars for the same bale.
During the late campaign some Of the
millionaire Republican manufacturers
paid their hands in Mexican silver dol
lars, and they paid nearly twice as
many Of the Mexican dollars as they
would have paid in American dollars.
For example: If they owed an en-
ployee $40 dollars, they would pay him
the ten American dollars, or about
nineteen Mexican dollars.
Free coinage would double the price
of all products, and enable every Ia
boring nan to get twice CO many dol
dollars OF dimes for a days work as
before.
Specifically viewed, this universal
advance il price would benefit no one
nor harm any one. For if the farmer
got Il cents a pound for his cotton and
1925 = bushei for his wheat, he would
have TO pay twice as much for the
-On6o IN HrTr1 AnH fhnyT0h thu lnhnR
er could get twice as much for a days
work IS formerly, he'd have to give
twice az much for the goods which he
has to buy at the stores.
But it would benefit every man who
is in debt. For e thedebt ridden far
mer makes 10 bales Of cotton, and
after buying all the "necaasaries of the
farm, ne has 5 bales LETT to apply to
the liquidation of his debt, it will make
very much difference to that farmer
whether he can get z cents a pound for
his cotton under gold standard, or IA
cents Eor it with free silver coinage.
But I must return to my original
~subjec5-the compromise between gold
low prices and silver high prices.
As absolute free silver would nearly
double the price of everything, this
compromise measure of half geld and
half silver IL a dollar, would raise
prices about 80 or IS per cent.
a product formerly selling for scents
q pound would advance in prics to
nearly IL cents a pound. L would be
--.-.L r-AA-. - - |
and is, perhaps, the only way to have