Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-02-10
I B1METALL1sM.
Coin Harvey Doe. 1t fer These whs
DO Net Knew Their own Best
Interests.

ulation knows, Understandings, what
Mmetallism is, and I have been asked
to define 1t.
It is the right to use either of two
metals for money-gold and silver.
The supply reaches the people through
the mints of the government. by the
mints being open to coin all that
comes The option, known a the b.
metallic option, is with the government
and the people to use either Of the two
metals in the discharge Of their obliga-
tions. If the government is paying its
soldiers, its employees, its numerous Of
6cials o. other obligations, under bi-
metallism, it has the right to pay in
money made from either metal. If the
people are paying their taxes to city,
state or nation, purchasing postage
stamps, or d~ischarging their obliga-
lions to each other, under bimetallism,
they have the right to pay in money
made from either of the two metals.
1t thus places the two metals In COM
petition with each other to supply the
demand for money. Thus one relieves
the strain upon the other-as one eye
relieves the strain upon the other.
With the option with the people to
use money made from either OF the
two metals they controlled the demand
and placed that demand on the one that
was the most accessible. If silver grew
cheaper they shifted the demand to 1t
and took the demand away from gold;
hence, silver rose in commercial value
and gold declined. IF gold came to be
the cheaper they. the people. used It,
thus shifting the demand to gold and
taking 1t away from silver. And, 1t was
the demand thus controlled by the peo-
pie, as such and As a government, that
practically maintained the commercial
parity of the two metals for all time
prior to 1878.
Following the act Of 1878 the option
was given to the creditor to demand
either of the two metals-just the re-
verse Of bimetallism, and the result ia
that the creditor demands the dearerof
the two metals-and the dearer 1t gets
the more apt he is to demandit. Under
himetallism, the use of two metals, the
people could be depended upon, natur-
ally, to shift the demand automatically
TO the cheaper OF the two metals when
either was cheaper than the other.
Taking the demand away from the
dearer brought it down in value, and
placing 1t on the cheaper brought the
latter up in value-thus the CONNER
cjal value Of the two was maintained
at q parity. The effect was to give prac-
ttcally the volume of the two metals
to our stock of metallic currency; and
furnished the basis for an equally en-
larged volume of paper money-under
. redemption monetary system.
The theory of the open minis to coin
all that came Of either metal was to let
the supply reach the people. Close the
minis to either and you shut of the
supply and force the use of the other.
The open mints to the two metals gave
thesupplyandt the people controlled the
demand. If silver rose in value 1t
Stunned the mints and was shipped
abroad to pay debts-as it was for a
time prior to 1s73-or in exchange for
gold, and the latter was added to the
domestic supply that went to the minis,
and vice versa. Neither could rise in
value and extort tribute from the peo-
pie so long as the other was in compe-
tition with it-open mints and option
with the people.
The government bought neither
metal. The mints were open to coin all
that came of either metal, and to give
back the coins to those who had
brought the bullion. It was coined free
because 1t was craftsmanship for the
government to facilitate and provide
3 way for money, one Of the principal
functions of society. Bimetallism,
therefore, consists of open mints and
option with the people to use either.
Under bimetallism there is no such
thing as gold contracts, 1t 10 "coin"
contracts.
The reason why the demand, shifted
from metal to the other as exerted
by q nation like the United States, will
maintain the commercial parity Of the
two metals, is because of the worlds
limited supply Of the two metals. All
the gold in the world, at the present
time, available for money, will go in the
cube OF % feet; all the silver in the
cube Of SO feet. All the gold in the
United States will 60 in an average size
bedroom; all the silver in almost any
tanners barn.
W. H. HARVEY.
Free Silver Night Schools.
It can be shown by the rules of the
oommon school arithmetic that low