The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-01-20
SIXTEEN TO
ONE, WILL BE
The Fight, Without Any
Flinching.
COED REASONS FOR THIS RATIO.
True Friends of Bimetallism VIII Not
ana Therein Lies the Hope of the Enemy.

CHICAGO, Ills, Jan. 16.-EdjtOr
Herald There has been good
deal said lately about the ratio of Is
to l. Judge McConnell's speech in
this city before the Monticello Club
and utterances of other Democrats,
reported in the press dispatches, for
the moment made it look az If the
Democratic leaders were wavering
on this subject. However, Mr..
Bryan's speech in this city on the
7th inst, and the declaration of Alt
geld, Harrison and others, show that
nothing like compromising on the
ratio is to be thought of. But while
this question is up The reasons for
the ratio of l6 to are per inent.
The argument for this ration given
by Mr.. Bryan in his speech here is
that no practical action can be OBJ
tanned on the election of Demo.
cratic President and Congress, un-
less the President and congressman
elected are all committed to a given
ratio. He very correctly says that
if the ratio Is left open in the plat
folm we will have some in favor of
Is to |, others 20 to l, Others % to /,
and others possibly 30 to |. That all
this would result in indecision, mac
tion and final defeat.
Had Mr.. Bryan given more of his
speech to this subject he would no
doubt have given other and more
treEchent reasons for the party
standing firm for the ratio of l6 to |.
Believing that what the readers of
your paper want is further reasons
and Justification for the ratio at 16
to l., [ called to day on Mr.. w. H.
Harvey, author of "Coin's Financial
School," and asked him to tell me
what the reasons are.
Zone reason" said Mr.. Harvey,
"is that if you increase the ratio be-
yond l6, you must either enlarge the
size of the silver coins or lessen the
size of the gold coins. All our pres.
ent silver dollars are Is times the
weight of the gold dollar. The exact
ratio is l5 50, but we say l6 to fol
convenience. What is meant by ra-
ito is that our silver dollars are Il
times the weight of our gold dollars,
All our metallic money now in eXis.
tence bears that relative weight, sill
yer to gold. TO change the ratio
means the recoining of all the coins
made of one of the metals. If the
change is made in the gold coins il
would be by recoining all of the golO
coins and making them proportion
ately lighter-one-t twentieth, o: one
thirtieth the weight of the presen
silver dollar, according to what ra
ito was agreed on"
"And the other way?" [ asked.
Is" he continued, "to increase
, the size of the silver coins. 1t means
the calling in of the silver coins anC
recoining them all, making then
bigger and heavier-twenty, o
twenty five, or thirty, or thirty
three times as heavy as the golC
dollar. If you increase the size o.
: the silver coins the expense of re
coming them will be very great a;
compared with recoining the golC
coins, as the silver coins outnumbel
the gold coins about 100 to L.
"Do you mean," 1 asked, tina
there is $40 of silver in circulation
to 81 of gold?"
No" he replied, "there are no
: as many dollars in silver coin AZ
gold, but the dimes, quarters, halve
, and dollars in existence make abou
: one hundred pieces to one piece o
+ gold that has been issued. The gol(
3 coins are fives, tens and twenties
} There are no dollar gold pieces
: though it is made by law the uni
l. of value. By act of Congress the.
are no longer coined, for the reaso
: that they are too small to be popula
' or admit of use. The law provide
e for twenty-three and two-tenth
/ grains of gold as the unit of value
= and yet it is impracticable to max
! the unit. So, when you conside
!, that the gold coins are ali fves an
= over, and the silver coins are on
= dollars and less, you can see ho'
d there are something like one hur
o dred of the latter to one piece of tn
IS former. And the cost of recoinin
o the silver would be one hundre
g times as great as recoining the gol
n coins"
n There is in the world" continue
1t Mr.. Harvey, "(l6 to II about tn
n same quantity of silver as gold. Th
d is an admitted fact by both side
Is What mean is, that dollar for do
e lar, with the silver dollar weighin
= sixteen times as much as the gOl
n dollar, there is in the world aboU
Of 81 OOO, ,OO0,0 900 of each-gold aud si
lr yer. To state it another way: TheI
Or is by weight sixteen times as muc
$, silver in the world as there Is golt
10 Not twenty times nor twenty-flV
,,e times, nor thirty times as much, bl
a sixteen times as much, by weigh
of silver to that of gold. And wht
lr coined into money at the ratio
X weight of l6 to it makes substa
IN TALLY the same number OF dollars
each metal. When the same priv
q. a. lege is given to. silver, by a powerf
r. nation like the United States, tn
in gold enjoys, at the ratio OF 10 to
of the commercial values of the tv
er metals will resume their former r
lation, with the silver in a silv
I'm dollar, practically, OF the same cOu
~ mercial value as the metal In q