Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-10

volume of money in the country-tem-
porarily doing in that direction what the
free coinage of silver would have done.
But anent the production of gold arises
the question, whence came these extraor-
binary supplies of the yellow metal? How
| did il all come about? Did not the un-
just treatment of silver defect the at
~tention of miners to a search for gold,
and We're not these discoveries the result
of efforts in that direction that had not
been made while the white metal could
be proftably mined?
In dropping silver mining. on account
of the low price of that metal, an enor-
nous production of gold has resulted.
And, what is more, the end is not in sight.
Not only is the output of gold growing
larger each year, relatively speaking, but
the invention of a process by Edison for
working dry placers promises to add bill
lions to the annual yield within the next
few years. 1t is not unreasonable to.
predict an annual yield in the near future
that will make the gold supply in this
country alone equal to the total volume
of money contemplated by the advocates
of free coinage in 1896 by the joint use
Of both silver gold. H. n.
-
If the white metal be thus robbed of it's
rishtful position as the associate of gold,
through an ample supply Of the latter to
serve the purposes of basic money of ulti-
mate redemption, will the democratic
party still attribute it all to Providence,
or will it be able to see that it was the
warfare against silver tina reduced it's
gold, leading up by a perfectly natural
step to the enormous production of that
metal? Essentially, the production Of
gold ought not to weaken the free coin
age cause, and it would not do so had not
Bryan based his contention in 1896 upon
the theory that bimetallism would supply
the mony necessary to carry on the bust
ness of the country. With sufficient gold
to perform that service, the purely guam
titarive argument in favor of free coinage
| goes TO pieces. 1t is only when the supply
Of gold is insufficient for the ordinary
, purpose of business, and hard times en-
sue by reason of its scarcity, tina the
aforesaid argument can be made effect
i've.
Had Bryan and his coadjutors in the
, that free coinage is Fundamentally. right,
without reference to the volume of money
the setback which has come to them
through the increased production of gold.
Under bimetallism one metal acts as 4
governor on the other, as it were, pre-
venting its undue appreciation, thereby
keeping money active in it's true func-
ton as a medium of exchange. AS a re-
suit OF this, property becomes more val
liable than money and business is lively,
Under the natural operations of a single
StdlludIu, NletHeI VI SOiu VI SllNtl'
money appreciates into a value that con
verts it from a Medium of exchange into
property itself. If the metal from which
the money is made be scarce it becomes
property of the most valuable kind. The
result is, money is more to be desired
than property, and exchanges are cor
respondingly dull and business is poor
the trend of prices being downward. Hat
this basis, it could have met present con.
ditions with greater bravery and lait
broad and deep the foundations for a flu
ture victory.