Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-07-20
TowNE ON FREE COINAGE.
sInaependentFree Coinage of Silver
RracfiCa hle4


Free Coinage of silver
Practicablef
The very statement of the question
relieves us from considering the evils
of the gold standard, because it add
mits them. 1t admits free coinage OF
silver to be desirable. For why dis
cuss whether it is practicable to do a
thing which it is undesirable should
be done? And if bimetallism is de-
sirable, it can be SO only because the
single gold standard is undesirable.
The question also assumes that BIZ
metallism is possible. The query is,
whether independent free coinage is
practicable; the necessary implication
being that an international concert of
action on the subject would be effectu-
al. Thus the mental attitude of the
supposed inquirer is that of perfect con-
viction as to evils of gold monometal-
lism, assurance of the necessity of the
restoration of the full-money uses of
both gold and silver, confidence in the
ability of "the leading commercial ma
lions" to open their minis to the free
coinage of both metals and maintain
them at parity; but doubt whether
the United States alone may safely
undertake to do it. Let it be remarked
that the argument deals with proba-
bilities and not with absolute certain
ties. 1t lies rather in the domain of
historical reasoning than in that of
mathematical demonstration. tits this
fact that has supplied the gold stand
ard advocates with much reinforce
ment of their arguments. All men are
naturally conservative. Every pre-
sumption is In favor Of that which now
is. The gold standard has thus far
been upheld not SO much by reasoning
in its belief as by cunningly stimulated
doubts as to the efficacy of the substi-
tute proposed, and by lurid representa-
tions of ruin as sure to follow the REM
edy. Undoubtedly, with large num-
beers of men, these aroused suspicious
and Fictitious fears will avail to cause
submission to the existing system un-
til such time as it's rigors shall have
are ready to seek relief in what 1t will
no longer terrorize them to hear called
an experiment"
The believer in the adequacy of the
international treatment must, Of
course, eschew the common adages of
the gold standard cult, such as: "You
cannot change value by law" "You
can't make so cents worth of silver
into 1o0-cent dollar" "The value of
gold is Independent of statute" etc.
For they are as valid against the BIZ
metallism brought about by interna-
tional cooperation as against that
brought about by independent action.
If law per Sc is powerless to affect value,
the law of many nations would be as i'm
potent as the law of one nation.
Law can, and does daily, affect value
1t affects value by getting in operation
forces that act upon the equation of
supply and demand. This principle
essentially true Of commodities, is abb
solutely true of basic substances. The
cost of production of bullion bears an
infnitesimal relation to the value of
the full-money coins made out of it.
The sole determinant of the value Of
such money units is the ratio between
the number there is of them and the
demand there is for them. No sophis-
try can elude the demonstration of
this truth. A piece of money is worth
what it costs to get it, not what it costs
to make it. It will call for more things
in exchange in proportion as it grows
| scarce; and 1T may grow scarce from
either of two causes: Lessening the
supply of it while the exchanges to be
performed by it remain the same, or
increasing the exchanges it must per-
form while its supply remains I'M
changed. The purchasing power of
gold has been enhanced by both OF
these processes, one operating natural
ly and the other artifcially. The
increase in the worlds population,
and the relatively much greater
increase of it's exchanges, have
together furnished natural ex-
pansion of the demand for gold out of
all proportion to its increase in supply;
while contemporaneously Herewith
the nations have been guilty of the in
excusable and Unreasonable folly Of
artifcially, that is by statute, adding
vastly to that demand by taking away.
in gradual but growing increments,
the power of silver to respond to the
practically limitless money demand
and imposing this magnified burden
on the gold alone. Prior to 1873 not
40,o0O,o00 of people were using gold
alone for full-power money. To-day, tc
use Bismarck's expressive metaphor
the number engaged in Juggling at the
gold blanket and trying to make i
cover them is more than 400 100000.
That gold and silver are In some o
their forms commodities and subject T.
q demand for use as such, has occa
stoned much Of the muddy thinking o.
monetary matters. The fact is that il
considering these metals when used a
Money, we must practically neglec
their commodity aspect. AS commodi
ties, gold and silver are fitted by thei
physical and chemical properties 70
> certain purposes, and are necessar
thereto, and will be so employed no mat
7 ter what they may cost. There ar
some other uses where their cost UT
doubtedly qualities the extent of thel
consumption. In the great field of OF
namentation, decoration and displa,
however, it is safe to say that their en-
: ployment will rather increase tina
' otherwise in proportion as they becom
! TT 4x4