The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-03-19


government has power by its mere nat
to maintain paper as well as silver a, par
lily with gold. He guardediy attempts 20
qualify his admission by adding that there
is no reason on earth why n paper dollar
worth a fraction Of cent cannot be
made worth ip cents In gold. except the
practical difacaity OF regulating the guam
tity OK the issue" The orator fully real
ize4 thai he il near the danger line; but
he nevertheless comedies the sole point
In controversy. and advertises the fact
that he Is travelling over the country in
advocacy OF = false issue. IL Is row In
cambent on him 10 explain why silver as
q money metal cannot be entirely dis
carded. and why the people have been
taxed in the vas. sum Of sta.ao.sa that
the government might make useless and
unnecessary investment IN silver bullion
when paper, from his point OF view. will
answer AL the purposes Of medium of
exchange.
The fatal weakness in the arguments OF
ali base metal money advocates Is that
they attempt 10 stand on middle ground
between sound. stable and uniform
standard OF value and a standard whose
value IS Zero. Their position Is illogical and
untenahie and is certain TO be entirely de-
s;royed by tee course Of events. The
point, and for the purposes Of the pres
ent discussion the sole point. made by the
silver champions Is that IL is within the
power. and for various urgent and I'M
avoldabse reasons IL is the duty, of the
United States government to attempt
alone 10 place a silver dollar whose bull
Lon value u 10 cents Oh intrinsic equality
with gold dollar whose bullion value is
loo cents. In other words. the government
stamp Is worth % cents. The difference
between the contention of the silver man
and The paper money man is difference
Of degree only. The greenbacker contends
tina; the government fiat Is worth 100
cents, and the silver orator stands as firm
ly % he can on the ground that 1t Is
worth 60 cents If silver as a commodity
from any cause were to be reduced in one
half its present value, he ca. remain
consistent Only by maintaining that free
coinage will bridge the chasm of 50 cents
and his ultimate destination must be at
the side OF the original greenbacker.
Mr.. Towne Is entirely aware Of the pat
ent vulnerabiiity OF his argument in this
particular. He hastens away from 1t as
rapidly as his copious flow OF words will
allow him, meanwhile throwing out a
stream of alleged quotations from various
so-called gold standard authorities like
Mcleod. whom he gratuitousiy terms the
abiest (but one3 English champion of the
gold standard; the great Lord Over
stone" whose fame is not imbedded in
any known encyclopedia: Paulus, who
enunciated the essentially false doc
tr!ne that the power of acquis-
ton OF money depends on its guam
tity," and Jevons. whose standing Is
not TO be questioned. But it is not our
purpose to dispute with Mr.. Towne the
scientific value and repute OF these econ
omsts: nor is 1t intended to deny the
pertnence Of the quotations to this dis
cussion. On the contrary, their tendency
Is TO strengthen the position and justify
the methods OF the present financial sys-
TENS in the United States and in Europe
For instance. MIR. Towne quotes Jevons
as saying:
There is plenty Of evidence TO prove
that an inconvertisle paper money. If care
fully limited In quantity. can retain its
fun value. Such was the case with the
Bank Of England notes for several years
after the suspension of specie payments
in 1907. ard such liz the case with the
present notes of the Bank OF France"
II Is clearly the ingenious orators pur-
pose In this and similar extracts TO make
II appear. without explicitly saying so.
that inconvertible paper money is ire
deemable. and that IL rests on no basis OF
value whatever except the government
print. But Il Is redeemable. 1t contains
a promise to pay on demand that both
England and the United States now
scrupulously honor. II may be asserted.
without fear OF successful contradiction.
that uncovered paper money circulated
after suspension OF specie payments in
England in 1877 merely because of the
habit OF acceptance on the part of people
and OF their complete confidence that the
Bank Of England would sooner or later be
freed from the temporary embarrassmenss
that required the adoption OF an extreme
expedient Their faith was abundantly
warranted. Mr. Towne also stoops 10 the
weak subterfuge o: causing II 20 be i'm
piled from his Statement, that 916.Opao 90
the amount is iess) Of uncovered paper
not resting on a specie reserve circulates
solely on it's own merit as money and be-
cause OF the mere fac, that IL Is so stamped
on its face. This IS false in assumption
and In fact. Redemption of the uncovered
Bank Of England and Bank OF France
money rests on government asset. These
notes occupy much the same relation TO
other currency In England and France as
national bank notes in this country. which
are secured by government, bonds.
Orator Towne fancIes he sas made a
strong point when he defantly asks. DO
you dare call our present silver dollar a
4l-cent dollar" Most emphaticaliy We do.
DO you dare. Mr.. Towne 20 call our pres
ent silver dollar "a 1Q0-cent doliarT 1t is
not, and no enc knows better than YOU
that it is not; and no other than you is
more perfectly aware that the reason. and
the only reason. IL passes for and IS ac-
cepted dollar Is the ract that 4; can
De exchanged a. any bank or any business
house, or a. the United States treasury.
fov one hundred cents In gold II Is main
tanned al par cn the same terms and IQr
substantially the sane Teasoa that THE
g,xfeTumens maintains SIS treasury notes
Or IT'S Ereenbacl<s. or its gold notes 0r It's
Silver notes al par. IL goes sor par s,e-
cause IL commands par in gold al the
s2a II 49,