A Silver Symposium.
should be overflowing with approval by an alleged enormous appreciation in and enthusiasm for the cheapening of the gold standard do not indicate an the gold basis that has gone on. Yet, implicit faith in the controlling and neither he nor his friends appear to be eternal verity of the axiom, satisfied. Moreover, the axiom pro- A word is necessary with regard to duces a more remarkable result when the claim of "Bimetallist," that bonds we submit it to the test of world-wide can only be retired under the silver re- statistics. The world's coinage of gime. He asserts that if the old sys-, gold and silver for 20 years since the tern is kept up the debt must be main- alleged crime of 1873, is as follows: tained. This is said in apparent ignor- Year. Gold. Silver. ance of the fact that under the system 1873 $ 257,630,802 $ 131,544,464 which he says necessitates the bonds, 1874 135,778,387 102,931,232 more than a thousand millions of 1875 205,340,209 123,143,842 bonds have been retired. It is true 1876 213,119,278 126,577,164 that $262,000,000 of new bonds have 1877 173,675,555 78,402,648 been issued, under circumstances 1878 188,388,611 161,191,913 which make it past dispute that the de- 1879 90,752,811 104,888,313 crease or increase of the bonded debt 1S80 ....... 149,725,081 84,611,974 depends solely on whether the expendi- 1881 147,015,275 108,010,086 tures of the Government are within or 1882 99,697,170 110,785,934 in excess of the revenues. 1883 104,845,114 109,306,705 The assertion of our friend, "A Re- 1884 99,432,795 95,832,084 publican," of Alliance, that the farmers 1885 95,757,582 126,764,574 think gold means contraction and 1886 94,642,070 124,854,101 harder times is an evidence of the need 1887 ....... 124,992,465 163,411,397 of full and free discussion. If the far- 1888 '. 134,828,853 134,922,344 mers should learn from the discussion 1889 ....... 168,901,519 139,242,595 that the gold basis from 1879 to 1892 1890 ... 149,095,865 151,032,820 did not produce contraction, and that 1891 119,310,014 135,508,083 free coinage would produce contraction 1892 ....... 34,787,223 12,641,078 and loss of credit, their opinion and vote on the subject might be a little Total ....$2,787,716,679 $2,325,603,221 more judicious than it is alleged to be E e t, stock by our correspondent. 1892 3,711,845,000 3,939,578,000 To satisfy the demand of Mr. N The statistics in our possession on that we shall discuss what is the best this point end in 1892, so that the show- material for a circulating medium, we ing is for an even 20 years. Some al- must first distinguish between the cir- lowance should be made for recoinage culating medium and the basis for it. of gold, which might reduce the addi- The best medium, except for small tion to the stock of gold coin to below change, is a paper currency readily $2,500,000,000. convertible into coin. The question of According to this axiom, this enor- what is the best coin as a basis for that mous increase of the world's stock of circulation, and as a standard of values money must have cheapened the gold is what we understand our correspon- standard amazingly. If his axiom is dent to raise, and what is at issue in true the debtor has prospered by the this country to-day. The qualities reduction, and the whole course of which are necessary in material for events has been a gigantic satisfaction coinage are, first, as little fluctuation in to those who wish the standard lower- values as possible, and therefore even ed. Yet somehow the conclamations and gradual changes in production and of Mr. S and his associates, on the demand; second, ability to resist de- fact that the debtor has been oppressed sti action by corrosion and friction; 46
