Willmar tribune., 1900-08-22
SHAFROTH SAYS YES.
Bimetallism at 10 to 1-His.
Sound Reasoning.

tied the silver question. It is true,
they have done their utmost to de-
base one of the precious metals of
the world, and one that is the prod
uct OF our own country. But they
have not destroyed it, says Hon. John
r. Shafroth, M. c., of Colorado, in
Money, and nothing but it's total an
limitation as money can prevent the
recurring agitation of this question.
AS long as there are creditors and
debtors in the world; as long as it is
q recognized principle of political
economy, that the quantity of basic
money affects prices of all commodi-
ties and property, just so long will
the financial question remain vital
issue in American politics.
There. is still in the world nearly
S4,ooo,0o0,Oo0 of silver acting as basic
money, and relieving the strain on
gold. The gold standard of value
cannot be attained until all that
money is annihilated. The existence
of that silver money as surely affects
the value of gold, as the existence of
corn affects the value of wheat, and
the existence of beef affects the
value of pork.
I recognize that in order to attain
the gold standard of value, it will not
only be essential to redeem silver
money in gold, but it will be neces-
sary to destroy silver as a money
metal. The next financial legislation,
therefore, that will be attempted by
the capitalistic class will be the total
humiliation of silver as money. It
again will cause conflict beween
the creditor, who desires to remove
the cheapening effect upon gold by
the existence of silver money, and
the debtor, whose interest it is to
retain that effect on gold.
When once the policy of redeem
ing silver coins in gold is thoroughly
established the creditor will then be-
gin the agitation for the destruction
of the full legal tender silver coins
throughout the world. Then a bat
tie will ensue. which will likely last
as long and be as fierce as the one
which followed the closing of the
mints to silver by our legislation in
1873. 1t will be contended, that since
the silver is redeemable in gold, it
has become simply a promise to pay
gold; that as promise to pay can
be printed upon paper by the govern
ment for almost nothing, it is foolish
for the government to have $5OO,OOO,-
700 invested in a currency redeemable
in gold. It will be further contended
that as silver coins can be made at
less than one-half the par value of
the same, it is dangerous to have
circulating medium which can be so
perfectly and cheaply counterfeited.
With these arguments they will seek
to retire every silver dollar, and then
jump them upon the markets of the
world for sale as bullion.
This movement to annihilate silver
as money when consummated will
produce fearful results and frightful
disasters. By destroying silver as
money, you make gold bear all the
burdens of commerce and credit,
which have been borne by gold and
silver together. That, of necessity.
other things being equal, will great
ly increase the burden upon gold.
In my judgment the only safe none
tary system is that which has stood
the experience of centuries namely,
bimetallism.. It can only be estab-
lished by open mints, which cause the
coinage to automatically respond to
the demands of commerce. The BIZ
metallic value of commodities and
property is that which is attained by
the use, as redemption money, of
both the gold and silver of the world,
instead of the gold alone. It is easier
to-day for the United States to es-
tablish the parity in value of the
metals, at the ratio of 16 to 1, than
it has been at any time since the
closing of the India mints in 1898.
The gain in production of gold over
silver, in recent years, makes it easier
now to establish bimetallism, than
when the output of silver was great.
er than gold. In 1893 the world pro-
duced 165, ,472,62 ounces of silver and
7,61s,811 ounces of gold, or twenty
one and seven-tenths times as many
ounces of silver as gold. The ten
dency of such a production was,
therefore, to make it more difficult
to establish the parity in value of
l6 ounces of silver to one of gold.
The gold standard advocates at that
time claimed we could never estab-
1ish bimetallism, because the relative
production of silver was much great
er than gold. In 1898 there was pro-
duced only 11.9 ounces of silver to
each ounce of gold. In 1889, accord
ing to the preliminary estimate of
the director of the mint, the world
produced 5,295, 900 ounces of silver
and 15,239,477 ounces of gold, or only
ten and eight-tenths times as much
silver as gold. The tendency of such
production, according to the prin-
ciple of relative supply, is unquestion-
ably to make it easier to establish the
parity of these metals at 16 to 1, than
when the production existed as in
1898.
In order to show what great in
fuence a powerful nation can exert,
in establishing the equal value of the
metals at the ratio of Is to i, an i'm
portants fact to: be borne in mind is
that there is now, and always has
been, u shortage in the precious met
ais. This is demonstrated by the
fact that governments, either through
their treasury, departments or their
banking institutions, have been COM
PEELED, by reason of the lack of gold
and silver currency, and consequently
,,f f,,11v onvored nanar money ~ &.