The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1899-08-18
THE
Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter,
Edgerton, Wisconsin.
FRIDAY, AUGUST Is, 1899.

j. M. Clancy of StoUghton, has
written The Milwaukee Journal an ex-
tended letter giving his reasons why he
is opposed to committing the democratic
party to the Is to l ratio. His letter
makes fairly good republican reading:
"My reasons for opposing the move
ment in favor of committing the party to
the free and unlimited coinage of silver
and gold at the arbitrary ratio of "16 to
l." are:
First: The difference between the
coinage and commercial value of the two
metals at that ratio is so great as to
make it utterly impossible for this
country, unassisted, to maintain the
parity between them.
Second Contracts for the payment of
money, and prices OF all kinds of prop
erty have become adjusted to monetary
system which admits of no difference be-
tween the purchasing and debt-paying
power Of every dollar composing it. To
change this system in the radical man
ner proposed by the advocates of free
silver would unsettle prices, disturb
business relations, bring disaster and
ruin to large number of important en-
tcrprises, drive gold out OF circulation,
and leave silver as the only standard of
money. Dear and cheap money never
have circulated side by side and never
will, unless one may be exchanged for
the other according to the practice
adopted and enforced in this country at
the present time.
Third: The advocates of free silver
contend that if the white metal be given
the same privileges of mintage accorded
to gold, it will circulate side by side with
gold, and the parity between the two
metals will thereby be maintained, and
that both metals will stand where they
stood before the decentralization of 1873.
Right here is where the free silver advo-
Gates blunder. While it is true that
both metals, prior to 1873 circulated side
by side, and that the parity between them
was maintained, it was true only because
the whole world, except England and
Portugal with a combined population of
about forty Millions used both gold and
silver for primary money. At the present
time nearly every civilized country on
the earth, including every country in
Europe, use the gold standard, and as
the price of both metals depend entirely
upon the laws of supply and demand,
the disuse of silver by hundreds of mil
lions of people, who formerly used it for
primary money, has cheapened its price
and Widened the breach between it and
gold to such an extent that this country
alone cannot bring the two metals to-
gether unless it can now create de-
mand for silver equal to the demand
created by all the countries of the world
in 1873. Persons who imagine that this
country is omnipotent in all things may
be excused for believing that it can, but
those who know its powers are limited
must admit that it would be a danger
GUS experiment.
Fourth: The Silver men say that if
their theory of finance be adopted, the
parity Of the two metals will be main
tanned. They are exceedingly reticent
about explanations. If, as they con
tend, it will be maintained why do they
hesitate to pledge themselves to main
tain it? Why not promise to maintain
it? If they have faith in their state
ment as they claim to have, why not
make a bold declaration to the effect
that if entrusted with the management
Of the government, they will maintain
the debt-paying and purchasing power
of every dollar coined and put in circula-
ton by the government equal to the
debt paying and purchasing power of
every other dollar? If they make a dec
laratiOn of this kind, no one will be sus-
picious of their sincerity in relation to
the free coinage of silver.