New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-28
Tile TASK REEORE RRTAN.

A correspondent inquiries why the United
States. with its wonderful resources, its vast
commerce and its great population. cannot by
itself, as Mr. Bryan says it can, restore and
maintain n bimetallic level of prices by the free
coinage of both gold and silver at the ratio Of
16 to l. He admits that in times past the dual
system of measuring values failed to work, but
he points out that the nations were small then
and their commerce was insignificant as com
pared with the present day. He goes on TO
argue that the situation is changed now, and
that the United States. with population of
nearly eighty million, n foreign commerce of
over S2,OOOO0OO00 annually and domestic
commerce of almost untold proportions, is in
position to exert an influence in the commercial
world never exerted before. Therefore, might
not the result be- Bryan predicts, the estab-
ltshment of an american financial system
without the aid or consent of any other nation?
Barring the obvious reply that nothing
be restored which never eXisted-and successful
bimetallism is not recorded in bistory-the an
swer is simple. The United States is indeed a
great nation, of vast powers and resources, but
the rest of the world has not been standing still
while the United States has been growing. The
population of The United States, large as it is,
is less than onetenth the total population of
the gold standard nations of the world it is less
than Onc-seventeenth the total population of
the principal commercial countries of the world.
The United States owns more than one-ifth of
the gold money of the world; it owns nearly
one-siXth of the coined silver of the world. AS
matters are at present. with the gold standard
assured, its position is impregnable.
If an effort were made to eqUaize the value
Of silver and gold at the ratio of Is to l by
advancing the price of silver from its present
ci11 vail of
coinage value of 81 90 an ounce, the herculean
task would be presented to the United States
not only Of more than doubling the metal value
Of the SG49 00OO0D of coined silver in the United
States and the So 2OOOO0.00O of coined silver in
the rest of the world, but of more than doubling
also the value of all the silver bullion, silver
plate and utensils and silver ornaments in the
world and the future output of the silver mines
The mere statement of the proposition shows its
lmpossihility.
But, it may be urged, the equalization process
would work both ways-Gold would depreciate
silver advanced and the two metals would
meet on middle ground. The worlds supply of
gold money is in round numbers. 81 800. OOO,O 900,
worth its face value. The worlds supply of
silver money is. on its face So 854 100000. worth
in gold approximately 81 90O.OO0 OOO-a total for
both metals Of Sc. 100 900 600 actual value at the
of the metal in this enormous quantity of coin
money It would he necessary To reduce the value
of the gold 20 per cent, or 5000 900. OOO and in
crease the value of the silver so per cent or
S95O,000,000. This wonderful transformation if
it could be accomplished Independently of the
other gold and silver in the world would reduce
the worlds coin money supply by 20 per cent of
the face value of all the silver used in gold
standard countries, for under free coinage silver
coins could have fiat value from their Gov
eminent stamp as they now have but must
stand on their bullion value, as all gold coins
do. And furthermore, it would take 90 per
cent from the face value of all paper now re-
decmablc in gold
This would mean contraction. and not expan-
sion, were the changes in value 10 stop there
But in order to bring about practical b!metal-
lsm not only must this enormous decrease of
S960OOO 900 in the value Of gold money and in
crease of $050.000000 in the value of silver
money be effected, hut all the uncolned gold and
silver in the world and all the future output of
gold md silver mines must he equally influenced
in value. Then, and then only could gold and
silver flow freely TO the minis and circulate side
by side Until all this is brought about the
nation which experiments with free silver coin
age will only be playing with the whirlwind
Will see how absolutely hopeless the task is
The only effect would be to invite silver to the