Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-11-11

AI Meme; Growing Strength of the
Double Standard Id". In France. Ger
many. England. l.U,>ia ami Am. RIGA.
III AIlll last w !, ii, we'd the posi-
iI'u { i:nytI;lM,:. II :, s;ardi:- the none
t&ry difficulty, til cardinal fat If
which was III" promise t. reopen the
lAai.i! luin;- I'll the sd" coalition pro-
Fused y tn ch:nc,!lorci the cXchequer
tAat other nations should join III any
limetaliic agreement (which seemed
=, 4 t. thrEl> ives. =
That premise w&~ ~, ken, rs we have
u, 81 the Plea that the COVE rnlEUnt
iii MT like IL oy,rrulc the WISHES Of
Its Indian officials, who desired gold
STANDARD fer India. Thcreulon great
discomfort arose. The principal trade
and lllor Organizations Of the country
& TIE nuinuCr ,r U,,I 1000 Issued a.
protest stigmatizing the lnlnlstry's &C
tion as Is breach Of faith toward foreign
nations and an injury to national indus
try. A feeling of anxiety also began to
spread among London bankers and 9TH
crs when they reflected that gold would
probably be taken away to India for tho
gold standard scheme. The government
was thus compelled to allow 4 debate
on the subject in the house Of commons
and 10 appoint committee of inquiry.
With the appointment OF that commit
tee came a publication Of tho Indian
governments proposal for gold stand
ard, and the disclosure has so alarmed
the whole community both in India and
I:.sland that probably the scheme will
10 abandoned. Tho committee, how
ever, is to investigate and report On the
whole question.
The scheme proposes to melt down
100, 000. 600 Of rupees and to sell the
resultant silver bullion for GO, 900, 600
rupees which would be locked up in
the treasury, tho less being thus
100000 rupees. These 10000, COO
would DO replaced in the treasury by
10000 sovereigns to be borrowed in
England. One result Of this operation
would therefore be to deprive the In
clan public Of 90, 900, 900 rupees in cir
cumstances of which the Bombay Cham
Der Of Commerce writes that "those ell
gagged in trade find themselves for sec.
ond year face to face with bank rate
Of lw to 1e per cent per annum and &C.
commodation almost unobtainable on
any terms" The Indian government,
moreover, proposes to repeat as often as
may be necessary this operation of de-
stroying silver money and locking up
borrowed gold till the existing money
famine is so intensified that people may
be forced to bring gold from England
When gold has thus flowed into India,
say to the extent Of $4,000, 900, gov
eminent may. we are told, pay out
some of its stock, but no definite ar
rangement is stated. The project in
several other ways betrays its author
uncertainty. Power to borrow no less
than EGO. 100000 is sought, of which
e5, 900, 600 would be taken as first in
stallment, and it is suggested that the
United Kingdom should assist India by
assuming a share of the liability
A systematic examination of the
question being here impossible, we pro.
pose to notice only some points Of
special interest.
Every one admits that the choice lies
between gold standard and return
to the silver standard by reopening the
minis. 1t is also admitted that if the
minis are to be opened this should be
done in connection with some arrange
ments for re-establishing bimetallism
in France and the United States, mas
much as successful bimetallism in any
country would both fix exchange every
where and secure the Indian treasury
against loss by fixing the rupee at q
high value.
The new demand for gold and the
further depreciation Of silver would al
ter still further the value Of all money
throughout the world, lowering the
average price Of goods in gold standard
countries and raising it where silver is
used. Has not this wholesale falsifica-
ton Of the measure of value gone far
enough since 1878, when bimetallism
was abolished? In that year only Eng
land and Portugal had gold standard.
Since then other countries, numbering
an eightfold greater population, require
gold and now the English government
proposes that 300, 900, 900 of Indian peo-
pie should join in the scramble for that
metal, though its production has increas-
ed only two or three fold. AS things
stand at present the average wholesale
price Of goods in gold standard countries
has fallen about 40 per cent since 1878,
which means that the manufacturer,
farmer. trader or any one who sells
goods has to part with &C 2-3 per cent
more Of them than he did % years ago.
1t is absurd to say that machinery prob.
ably produces &C 2-3 more goods than
in those days and that in this way in
dustry is saved from the loss. Machin-
cry on the average has not been improv-
ed to anything like that extent. and
even If it had been correspondingly
increased supply Of money would still
DO desirable SO as to keep prices steady.
1t is plain, then, that the value of
money, which is the average quantity
Of other things it will buy for us, has
been altered by this action Of govern
ments, and England should remember
that she set the example in this, having
This Justification Of money, the meas
ure Of value. has been affected, NOT in
favor Of the poor man against the rich
nor in favor of the industrious against
tho idle. bat in favor of the creditor
against the debtor, Of the debenture
holder against the manufacturer and the
mortgage against tho farmer, with re-
suits the magnitude Of which, as i'm
piled by the worlds national debts
alone, may be counted by thousands Of
millions sterling.
This is a mere glimpse at some of the
disturbances produced in gold standard
countries by the abolition of bimetal-
ism i'll 1878, whereby their supply Of
silver money is now cut off and new de-
mands are made upon the worlds gold
supply.
An opposite state of things prevails
IL silver standard countries where
prices have slightly risen and manufac-
tuners are thriving SO that our mer-
oil - 1,.r, ~lx.o... A