Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1900-10-27

address coming from Secretary Gage
presents the issue in an authoritative
manner, as convincing as il is intelli-
gible To any reader. Secretary Gage
said:
Gentlemen of the Young Republican Club:
1t is my purpose to speak TO you Tor
20 minutes My subject may be stated
after this fashion: What is the inter
est of the wage-earner and stipendiar-
les of every class in the proposition TO
omen the minis for the free and I'M
limited coinage of silver at the ratio
of III to /? 1t is the declared purpose
of the Democratic party. 50 called. TO
do that thing. If done, Il VIII nave
an enormous effect for veal or woe
upon the welfare of every man, Wom-
an and child in the United States No
question is of deeper moment than
this question, and you cannot act intel
ligently on it unless you understand it.
Do YOU really understand it? |
thought until lately that by this time
the merits or dement's OF that PROPOSE
ton must be understood by every one
but l know better now. a gentleman
"a business man of considerable intel
lIgence-only a week since. called on II
member of congress and asked him
this question: What does III 10 /
mean? l am ignorant and l want TO
know" Now. let me ask that question
right here and now. What is III to /?
What does the term m AN: l have a
little nddaughter IL years old. She
visited me a few weeks 20. and Willie
-
| s:i1d. II THINK II IS this way: G3Yd ~
worth about 32 times as much as sill
Yer, but the Democrats want to pass a
law TO make Ii ounces of silver worth
the same as one ounce IF gold. | don't
know if that is right though" Well
my child" l said, you have it right
down fine. ana l won disturb your
mind by further expIanas.on''
What Is 16 TO L?
But we grown up folks can profita-
bly, enlarge the point II little here.
What is Ii to L? 1t is the ratio which
congress fixed many years ago be
tween gold and silver Snen coined al
the mint-that is To say, il is a relation.
In weight of metal. between silver dol
lars and gold dollars Un,isI the Inv.
given quantity of gold was stamped
dollar and Ii times that weight in
silver was stamped a dollar. You per
eeive il Is a relation of weight, not n
relation of value.
You Will ask. then, why Was the
weight ratio fixed at rs TO L: The an
swer is obvious and plain. 1t was he
cause that relation Of weight recoy-
nized in the coins tainted the then
commercial value IF the tw, ftetaIs
in the markets of the world. Because
the commercial value of gold WIS rs
times. or thereabout. greater than sill
yer, congress recognized the fact and
established the coins in the same ratio
o. weight Make no mistake On this
point. The mint ratio never es1ab-
lished the value of either gold o. sill |
Yer. nor did it establish the relative |
value OF one TO the other The opm-
mercial exchanges OF the world fix |
the value of all things. including cold |
and silver. The only way ON eirtn To |
determine the value of gold. either as
coin or bullion. is 70 find our what ii |
will bring in flour. Or ciofhilg. or IL
Dor. or other things The salne of gold
Is measured by the quantity of things
for which it viii exchange. The saipa
Is exactly true as to silver. Now,
gold and silver are no more related to
each other in any fixed ratio than are
wheat and corn. Wheat ansi corn are
good for food. and there y Il sort Of @ |
latfon between the two IN value Tut il
Is nuctuating. not Il liked. relation |
The same is true Of gold and silver.
They are both metals used as money
but their relation to each otn a IN ex-
value has. as history
proves. been a variabIa. not a fled.
citation.
The Mint an tn. Real Ratio.
Now. when our coinage laws were
passed in 17a2 and amended in 1854.
>, Iale or tt ounces Of silver had
Ibout the same power IL purchase
hings in the world as had one
ounce of gold. and Tor that reason.
md that reason solely, the mint ratio.
ratio OF weight, WAS established IN |
way that was surpassed To core |
pond TO their commercial values n
heir respective powers 10 b,Iy things |
cannot step TO recsFe history. Stuff
lent 10 say that never in our history |
lid both metals come 10 The MINT for
oinase in any app-eciablc volume M
he same period OF time Ths- metal
ane for coinage which had ut The. ,
ime the least relative buying power /.
broad. while the one which enjoyed
he greater purchasing power abroad ,
Id not come 10 the mint. but sseI Z | ,
broad. where il could MAKE h..tferI i.
argainS for the owner of il. But | |
ince the years 1872 and 1884 the reIa | :
i've value between gold and silver has !
Rdically CHANGED. In the former per- q