Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1900-12-14
EIGHT
Good Reasons Are
Given by
the SILVER SAGE
As to Why the White Metal is
no Longer
AN ISSUE OF CONSEQUENCE.
General Warner Writes on the Question
of Money.
AN ISSUE OF CONSEQUENCE.
General Warner Writes on the Question
of Money.

General A. ]. Warner, the apostle of
free silver, of this place, has given the
following signed statement of his
views on the money question:
l. There is no good reason for hay
ing silver. money at all if it is to be
made redeemable in gold. Paper is
quite as good to write promise to pay
on and is much cheaper.
2. To make our silver dollars re-
deemable in gold will be thing new in
the history of money, a departure from
a universal custom since the precious
metals came into use as money; for no
nation ever made the full weight coins
of one metal. convertible into the 9th
er, while both were leSal tender ana
kept in circulation. The one has al
ways been money as absolutely as the
other. The full weight coins of France,
nor of any other country where coins
of both metals are entitled to circulate
as money. are not convertible the one
with the other except as a matter OF
accommodation.
8. 1t is not necessary to make our
silver dollars redeemable in gold in
order to insure parity with gold; it is
only necessary to duly limit the guam
tity, and the quantity Of uncovered pap
er currency allowed to be issued.
4. To make our silver dollars re-
deemable in gold, and thereby visual
ly make silver certificates also re-
deemable in gold, will be to set W two
endless chains instead of one. as now
.. By making greebacks and silver
(and virtually silver certificates) both
redeemable in gold, while the banks
are permitted to redeem their notes in
either United States notes or silver, the
burden of supplying gold for redeem
ing mank notes is shifted onto the gov
ernment. The banks control the vol
ume and have the profits, the govern
ment the responsibility and the labor
and must b rrow the gold and issue
bonds for it whenever necessary
6. 1t is not by promise of redemp-
tion that other forms Of currency are
certainly held at par with gold, but by
duly limiting the quantity of othe.'
kinds of currency. If other forms of
currency are to be kept at par with
gold-and that all forms of currency
should be at a parity goes without say
ing-there must be some established
proportion between the gold and other
kinds of money and that proportion
within their limits of variation must be
maintained. In other words. the pro-
| portion must be quantitative, and the
history of paper currency in every
country that has tried it proves that
the promise of redemption alone is not
| sufficient to insure the parity of paper
with gold For instance. if at this
| time $4,000, 100000 constitute cur dis
| tributive share of the worlds money;
| that is, if this volume is necessary to
main CAlobihko SOlNiIlOh's 81
equilibrium of prices between this and
other countries, then, if other forms OF
currency be kept sufficiently within
this volume TO require part of the
circulation to be of gold, the part o.
the currency of gold viii
not fall below the par o
| oold Dut "a ,o,Ora than 60 nm
900 of other kinds of currenc!
be put into circulation. neithe
the promise of redemption nor any
thing else will maintain it at par will
gold or preserve the gold standard
Probably, long before the limit o
So, 900 of other currency wa
reached panic would be precipitate,
and gold put to a premium. Nor wit
an excess of paper currency kept in cir
culation will borrowing prevent gol
from going to a premium with MS, an
more than in Brazil, Spain, Italy. Aust
ria or Russia. This has occurred no
once, but many times inthis and othe
countries. The danger, therefore.
not in the volume of silver now coinet
. but in the volume of paper that may b
issued on top of 1t.
3 7. II silver dollars are made redeem
t able in gold, the basis Of money of I
: nal redemption win be narrowed an
the whole money structure. instead
VI