Year: 1877

From the Bankers Magazine.l

 An effort will be made in the next Congress to re-establish silver money in this country. The great importance of the subject, the general interest in the question and its possible speedy de- cision, have induced thls magazine to gIye many pages to the views of writ CTS on silver money. It is not, howev- CT its province to act as advocate upon one side of the question upon which there are honest differences of opinion. Ii can more properly let arguments for and against it rest on their own merits and allow its readers to draw their own conclusions and form their own opin- ions. As the silver question is to many new one, we give statement of some of the important facts for the intorma- ton of those readers who cannot de- vote time 10 a general study of the question.

 Silver has not depreciated except when measured by gold. Measured by general commodities, silver through out the world has not lesscned in val ue. The able report of the British Sil- yer Commission fully shows this.

 The chiet cause of the fall in the prices of silver measured by gold is its characterization by Germany and the United States and the limit of coinage by France and some other countries in Europe

 Legislation affected the relative price of gold and silver. If the civilized world used silver and gold at fixed relation of value, say fifteen and half to one, the ratio would not alter from change Tn the cost of produc- tion or in the amount of production of either metal.

 The annual production of gold with i1 this century has varied ten fold, silver two fold Silver is the metal of greater stability of production. The use ot silver or gold, or ot both, as money, is properly a question of ex- pedlency. and not of honesty, A sil- yer dollar on its own merit is as honest money as a gold dollar.

 i In the arguments as to the merits Ot silver money, hard words convince no one, and the advocates of gold money make little headway by applying the epithets inflatiOniSts " and dishon- est" The right of a debtor 10 pay a debt in either silver or gold Is an old | one.

 As to the best time to remonetize sil- yer, we have the argument on one side that it should not be done until some agreement is entered into by the prin- cipal commercial nations of the world, and that to ObtaIn this common agree ment a congress of international scien- tis,s shall meet and discuss the ques- ton and agree upon the best plan. On Ithe other side there is the strong and l likely to be convincing argument that to remonetiZe silver before we resume specie payments is the best way first, that we shall receive the threatened in- | fluX of silver in exchange for merchant disc, golG being an article of merchant | dlse before specie resumption; so that if we loose our gold in exchange for silver, it will not be on fixed basis, ! but on respective valuations; second, | the statement that debtors have rights as well as creditors meets with popular recognition, and also that 1t is due to | debtors to restore silver at once, and III more prosperous times discuss none tary changes al our leisure, when hay ing both silver and gold as money, ne cessity or choice may decide upon a single standard, provided the single standard becomes necessary CT advisa- | ble.

 The fact that silver has been in use as money in two,thirds of the world, and having been so for 4,000 years; the comparison of the condition of Ger many gong through bankruptcy on a gold basis, and France growing rich on bImetalic money; the evident ad- vantages of abundant metallic money, of using the metal mined so largely m this country-all these have effect, and while only in each one partial truth, yet they are forcible arguments in the aggregate. Certainly the drif( of public opinion is in favor of silver