New-York tribune., 1910-04-11
RISE AND FALL OF PRICES
Mr.. Frewen Attributes Them to Tam
pering with Bimetallic System.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
81. Pray permit me- 10 reply shortly 70
your editorial note of Friday Gu WedDes-
dav. a. The Finance Forum 7 had quoted
Professor Jev0ns investigations OF Cur
-encr and Finance as declaring that the
deDreciation Of gold after California was
1 effect a liquidation" of national and
other debts ard ] SAID that the economic
incidence II rhe present rise 0f prices Is
t5-dav. as then, Tie p.unde-ing Of the
creditor class
This vol say. is strange language from
an economist who did his best En- $50 20
induce th.s country 10 double by 'egisla-
tion the value ~ silver" But al that time
YOU must recall the index number" Of
prices had taIIen in Jess than quarter Of
q century from II 90 So. and wiser men
thau the writer We're certainly looking for
a remedy We did not dream that in the
earth just beyond the pick point ~ the
miner was the remedy, which We shall al
admit ln the next few wears OF Intensity
lre Oriental competition. IS remedy far
worse than The disease j. is a far cry
20 lS95 and "a farther 90 1873, and I doubt
whether tEe-a is any other evidence that
favored rs 90 e than that was and am
arIeu-Ir cor 1912 % e.. but in any case. If
D suEed 3 -iEled in good company. Prince
Bismarck llQGestioua1Iv the greatest
mind of rbar generation. wrote 10 Governor
ffocE advising Is 20 : single handed The
writer certainly never suggested rs 10 &
for taa United States. excepting with the
condition that tle Indian mints should
.e reone.ea % free coinage. and. strange
a. So seems la the apathy % to-da~. the
WuIror- Commission. representing the
United States government. offered This in
rssS. France. and France oniv. being part
ne-eI in the proposal
The -e-- recent history oF prices is
shocking 90 record. Between 1873 and ise6
prices fell iu the ratio of ia % o.. JUS,
about doch'ng f1e burden OF che national
debts. Since 49,. in a few sho-7 years.
prices have risen almost ore-half. greatly
desroIlug the public creditor ] suppose
ne all deriore such fluctuations ln what
.-.-f -o be called here ''the -a-dsti,x' ''
N1w had one or TWO Leading mintE re-
-.aIued ope- after 1872 90 change silver for
gold and gold for sUvar. I think We might
al now admit tnat ;lera would have been
no Catastrophe fau of prices after 1873
and also no ueruicI0us rise Of prices after
Isss The index number -00 might have
been nearly an unbroken -"o from $50
10 1910
ID short. tre l.meaHe or alternating
standard would have proved itself an IDEAL
standard OF values. whereas tho single gold
STANDARD as STANDARD Of deferred pay
mertS has become the laughing stock OF the
ua-for- The Western cu--eacies after 1913
were contracted and prices forced down.
hy legislation. by anti-silVer legislation at
Washington Paris and Berlin. and then
not br legislation. bur hr the accident Of
The new gold discoveries. our cur~encies
have become inflated during the past few
wears.
The action az the open mint 81 Paris was
a. the eauili5ratorv action ~ a water pipe
connecting rwo vast reservoirs. the alter
mating standard protected each reservoir
alternately against the effect Of drouth
0r food. Now. nowever. there is no con
Meeting pipe between the Oriental and Oc-
eid-nfaI reservoirs. SO thar the exchange
fluctuations have become hopeIessly un-
manageable
Bur what Q ask your attention Goo is this
ard az first sight lt may seem paradoxicaL
is t not probable that had there been
one or two Important Western mints open
al L5ia 10 for free coinage. the deprecia-
tion 0f gold since lsss might have been
.aT Jess serious than it is2
This was indeed the case after the Cali
foruiaH gold discoveries J dwelt upon
t4e point last "Wednesday. why did not
the great deIlee of th- new gold. breaking
upon Tie rurrenc.es Of Europe "repudiate"
suI more. In the happy phrase of Michael
gberaIier. himself a monometaulst silver
Ghe coined silver OF Eur0pe) was The pcra-
rhae which broke the fail Of gold"
Then. as today the new gold rslded
Europe. raising an prices. and then, aa
to-day attracted .1 that advance of prices.
every export r0n Asia was poured upon
8ur markets. The result was that after IS1
Asia had wonderfully favorable trade bal-
auges-g.l.ch size drew. of course. lu silver.
tIe coined fan legal tender silver ~ Europe
v nieh went br Wholesale into the melting
r0t fo reaprear a. rupees. dollars and
fa-.s
rlneiaI..sa. t.e morrs changer being
trs Fr,u,n mint VoIhea most beautifully
.1 protect -s from inEat!on. Each ounce OF
gold from california vhlrh reached Paris
drove l5l. ounces OF coined silver into Asia.