Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-09-29
SAGE DEMOLISHED BRYAN
The ropocratic FnIIncic. stand ~,
Show.

The fopocrntic FnIIncic. stand \.
show.
There is one statement which Rrya,
often made during the presidentin
campaign and which he repeated in mi
letter printed recently in the Tribune
.It is as follows:
1T ~ the contention OF bimetallists tina
the opening OF our minis to the free anc
unlimited coinage OF silver at the ratio o
sixteen To one will fix a mint price foi
silver. Just az mint price Is now fixed foi
gold. They further contend that the de-
nand thus created by law Will be suf'iclen
10 utilize all the silver presented. and thu,
the bullion value will be raised 10 the coin.
age value"
These assertions are criticised ano
their lack of truth is fully exposed b,
Secretary Gage. The secretary point,
out that the so-called mint price" doe,
not fix the value of the metals which
are minted. All that IA mint does is "a
return TO a man in coin the number of
grains OF gold or SILVER he brings to il
IN the shape of bullion. All that tn,
mint does for him is TO put his bullion
IN form in which he can exchange il
Tor commodities more easily.
Were congress to halve the number
of grains in a gold dollar. the mint
price" of gold. which is now s2OO7-
that being the number of dollars of
% Is grains of gold each which can be
coined out of $50 grains of gold-would
rise to Si7.3i an ounce. But the value
OF gold bullion would not change. and
the new dollar would buy only ha.f
rs much as the old dollar bought.
Bryan asserts that under free coin
aye there would be demand" for
silver. created by law" which would
raise the bullion value of silver TO the
coinage value. That there might be n
demand" but only If the free coinnpe
silver dollars were givcn that legal
tender quality the Bryanites want their
free silver dollars 10 carry. The secre-
tary states:
Ihe reason why the legal tender quality
might or would lend n greater value to sill
YER Is this. and this only: As they would
serve TO pay existing debts many peopIe
would avail themselves thereof TO dis
charge their obligations. provided they
could make profit TO themselves by doing
so. This they could do only In case me. all
Yer dollars Were worth less than gold dol
lars. NJ the same cost most peoEI. Will
Keep their honor and integrity. Many Will
90 so a any sacrifice. y few will forfeit
both Tor the most paltry consideration
How great a demand would be mus set
up Tor silver dollars, as before stated no
body knows"
IL free coinage law were enacted
and there We're no Silver dollars coined
at the ratio Of sixteen 10 one. the first
dollars coined under the law. according
20 the secretary, would bc in demand
at more than their bullion value. For
with one of those dollars. worth from
40 10 ~ cents. debtor could nay off
100 cents of indebtedness. If his cred
itor was pressing him. the debtor would
ma 1T TO his interest to pay rather more
than ~ cents for the cheap dollar he
needed TO cheat his creditor with.
But rs the minis poured out more
free silver dollars
'Themarke. value OF the coined dollar
would he the same as the market value OF
the bullion in IL: and unless a new demand
would arise not now forescen or unless the
SILVER supply should he much reduced th,,
value OF silver, either as metal or a. money
would not be essentially different from
the present value of silver bullion"
The secretary points out. however.
that there are in existence nearly 500
100000 silver dollars of 37lH grains
each. Those dollars are kept artificial,
at par with gold, but the day a free
coinage law was enacted they would
drop to their bullion value and become
cheap. There would be so many cheap
dollars, with which so much indebt
edneSs could he paid off dishonesty.
that those dollars would remain cheap.
Bryan cannot get away from the sec
retary's reasoning. Under free coinage
the bullion value OF silver and what
Bryan calls 1.-THE coinage value" would
coincide. \ silver dollar would buy
"'lH grains of silver bullion. But that
silver dollar would buy less than half
the goods a gold dollar would buy.
~ would take 40 ounces of silver. coined
or uncoined, to buy an ounce of gold.
In a word. the value of silver bullion
or coin if measured in gold. which is
the worlds standard, would remain
precisely what il IS now. - Chicaoo
Tribune.