12 Conservative *
OVOH then , practical bimetallism was
found to bo nn impossibility. When
the gold was xmdervnlued it went out of
circulation ; when the silver wns under
valued , silver wns exported. By law
there wns bimetallism in the United
States from 1792 until 1873 , when silvr-r
was demonetized ; yet in truth there was
not bimetallism , except at very short
periods , when , during the transition
period , the circulation wns changing
from one metal to the other. Great
Britain , one of the most advanced and
progressive nations on earth , has had
gold as a standard for nearly a century.
Germany changed her system from a
silver to a gold standard in 1871. Her
example was soon followed by Norway ,
Sweden nnd Denmark , and in a very
short period thereafter the United
States followed in the wake of these
other nations. But at the time the
United States made the change it was
not because of the decline of silver , for
at the ratio then existing the bullion
value of the silver dollar was greater
than that of the gold dollar , the country
being on a paper basis. Perhaps no
nation in the world tried harder to
maintain a double standard than France.
Her political economists , her political
leaders and her bankers had from time
to time advocated bimetallism. The
best test was made in the co-operation
of the nations composing the Latin
union to maintain bimetallism. Yet ,
France felt it necessary to close her
mints to the free coinage of silver in
1876 , three years after the United States
had taken like action. It will serve no
purpose to follow the changes of the
monetary systems of the nations of the
world. The suspension of the coinage
of silver in India in 1893 was followed
by the adoption of the gold standard in
Costa Rica , Chile and Russia , and by
Japan and Peru in 1897. All the great
nations of the earth keep a large amount
of silver in circulation as subsidiary
coin , but the United States undertook
the greatest of all burdens. While gold
is the standard of this country , it is
burdened with carrying enormous quan
tities of silver. It would have been
better for the United States if the silver
that is now piled up in the vaults of this
country had never been discovered , or ,
being discovered , had been left in the
mining states and countries where
found.
It is doubtful whether the passage of
the Bland-Allison act , or what is known
as the Sherman
SILVER SCHEMES
rf
THAT FAILED.
iu the law Of 1890 ,
so far as the maintenance of the price
of silver is concerned , wore of any bene
fit. This law gave an undue stimulu
to silver mining , and those who advo
cated the opening of the mints for the
free and unlimited coinage of silver
were encouraged in their agitation of
the question , They felt that these laws
were only passed to allay the agitation
for the time being of the silver question.
While it was predicted by those who
favored these laws that the price of sil
ver would be greatly appreciated there
by , ultimately lending to the return of
bimetallism by the great nations of the
earth , the contrary effect was found to
be the case.
For centuries , acting on theory only ,
there have been those who have insisted
that , by legist-
" "
is VILS OF "FIAT"
tioilSOmething
)
CURRENCY.
out of nothing. Many , many times hns
the experiment been tried , and as many
times have these experiments failed. It
cannot be claimed that the experiments
have not hnd fair trials , for the attempt
has been made to create something from
nothing by the law-givers of the most
intelligent nations which have existed
in modern times. There are those todny ,
and there were yesterday , who claim
that it is within the province of the gov
ernment to create money. This was
not tried in the United States previous
to the Civil War period , when , driven
by the urgent demand for currency to
pay the soldiers in the field , the congress
of the United Stntes resorted to the
doubtful authority of issuing legal-ten
der notes commonly known "
, as "green
backs , " first issuing $150,000,000 , and
again , under distressing circumstances ,
providing for the issue of $150,000,000
more , and still again , making a third
issue , or a total aiithorization of $450-
000,000.
This government did not profit by the
experience of England and France. To
remove the obstacles arising from sus
pension of specie payments it tried the
doubtful remedy of attempting to make
money , or to make a currency not based
on a metallic standard. Each step in
volved the country in greater difficulties ,
and postponed the day of the resump
tion of specie payments. It is difficult
to tell how much these acts cost the
taxpayers of the United States , It has
been even estimated that it increased
the cost of the war fully half , but
whether that be true or not , we know
that it , to a great extent , undermined
the credit of the government when
credit was most needed , and has given
the nation an unsatisfactory currency
system.
The successful close of the Civil War
the mustering out of a great army auc
the cutting down of the war expendi
tures soon placed in the treasury of the
United States surplus revenues which
became available for the payment of the
pressing needs and especially of the out
standing obligations. This soon led to
the passage of laws looking to the grad
ual retirement of greenbnclcs , but so
strong had become the idea that green
backs were money and that it wns only
necessary to operate the engraver's
tools and the printing press to create
nonoy in unlimited amounts , that there
grow up in the United States what wns
Iniowu as the "Greenback Party. " This
party numbered as its own thousands of
voters , and it decried any standard save
that of the paper promises of the gov
ernment.
Fortunately for this nation there were
those who believed in redeeming the
obligations of the nation in coin , and
that the currency of the country , of
whatever kind , should bo worth its face
representation in the coin of the United
States. In the trial of strength , those
who believed in sound money and in
the standard that had intrinsic value ,
won at the elections , and the green-
bnckers as a party , for the time being at
lenst , succumbed to inevitable defeat.
The issue of the greenback , unfortun
ately , created impressions and beliefs
that it looks as if
FALSE POPULAR it WQuld fake ft
NOTIONS. century to eradi
cate. The false education stands as a
great obstacle to the placing of this na
tion on a firm financial basis. So deep
is the impression that a mere promise to
pay is money , that there were those at
the Inst session of congress who advo
cated nud strongly urged that the expeu-
ditiires of our country iu its war with
Spain should be met with an issue of
paper money without a reinforcement
of gold reserve.
The opposition to the resumption act
of 1875 was intense , everything was
done by the opponents of the measure
to prevent the full realization of a re
turn to specie payments , January 1,1879.
I sometimes doubt whether it would be
possible , were the necessity here today ,
to now pass a resumption act , as it seems
impossible to secure sufficient support ,
in the two houses of congress , to reform
the currency legislation of the United
States initiated and forced upon this
country through the stress of war.
The time certainly hns arrived when
the gold standard should be accepted by
all the people and that the nation should
be placed on a sound financial basis ;
that its currency should be uniform and
that the nation should go out of the
banking business and not be hereafter
compelled to go into the market and buy
gold to maintain its established high
credit.
The great increase of revenues , since
the close of the Civil War , and the great
growth and development of the couutiy ,
and the shown ability of the nation to
speedily return to specie payments , en
couraged mnny to believe that it was in
the power , as well ns the province , of
the government to do anything that
might be desired. The sound sentiment
of the world hns again and again mis
trusted the ability of the government
under its present financial system , and
more than once has the treasury of the
nation been compelled to use its credit
to replenish the gold reserve to maintain