Show A PEW QUESTIONS TA I That the Tribune Economist is Invited to Answer I RELATING TO SILVER COINAGE A Republican Wants to Know Whether the Government Cannot Make Silver Worth 5229 as Well as 129 To the Editor of THE HERALD Will you kindly allow a simple country lad of Republican proclivities and with a keen interest in the momentous question of the day viz sound elastic money basis of sufficient volume to transact the business of the nation toask the astute editor in the political department of the Tribune a few questions through your columns the answers to which if he will answer consistently and without allowing his genius for finances to seduce his pen into a discussion of International Inter-national balance of trade the relative value of the total production of precious metals as affecting the consumption of saur Kraut in Bolivia or lead him by any other road to one of those seas of vacuity into which he is fond of plunging when he finds himself closely pursued and likely to bring up in a blind alley will solve a riddle which puzzles me and which doubtless other country lads find equally difficult of solution As a preface tho writer will say that he firmly believes that the currency of the nation should be in some manner expanded either on a basis of gold silver wheat copper kettles tenpenny nails or some other commodity of value provided it can be with assurance of safety now and security secur-ity in the future and silver seems to be the most available commodity and the best on all accounts if rightly used Now will the political economist rise and answer IIs gold a money metal otherwise than by virtue of its value as usod in the arts and sciences and its universal recognition as money and could it be money except under both the above conditions 2If it could which is tho unnecessary condition 1 318 silver a money metal or can it ba made such otherwise than under exactly the same conditions as gold 411 It is or can be made money without reference to its intrinsic value in the arts and sciences then of course lead bismuth antimony or any other substance can ba made money without reference to its commercial com-mercial value 1 5U cannot then does it not logically follow from that admission that silver can have no value outside of its commercial worth and consequently its value if used as money must be exactly the same as its values in commerce tiCan i Congress or any other power short of a general agreement on the part of all nations to accept and exchange tile one for the other at a fixed ratio on call determine deter-mine the relative commercial values of gold and silver for more than a day at a time 70n the contrary does not the fluctuating inequality in the relative production of the two metals cause the commercial value of each in terms of the other to fluctuate and since each separately depends upon its commercial commer-cial worth for its money value would not their relations thus vary whether cast into stove lids or coined into dollars SIf they were coined into fluctuating dollars how could it be otherwise than disastrous dis-astrous for this government to recognize the two coins as equally valuable at all times which any other government and people would recognize and exchange among themselves and with us at different values at different times 1 9Is there or has there over been any I reason other than the mutual agreement of I silverconsuming nations now done away with for fixing tile ratio of silver at 129 rather ra-ther than at 130130 or any other figure 1 10 If not and the United States government govern-ment can by its fiat raise silver from its present value to 129 and thus increase the wealth and prosperity of its people why stop there Why not touch a match to the 35i9 fetish it is old enough to burn well and raise the limit to 229 or 1029 for that matter and thus produce a deluge of prosperity pros-perity which would enable everyone to live on his income or at worst only work two days out of the week Think how the poor farmers those objects ob-jects of the dear Tribs solicitude would join hands and dance in merry glee upon the village green They would have to raise a crop only once in two I or three years and the government might easily make their wheat 510 a bushelpst 1 legislate and it is done Picture the universal uni-versal happiness the feast of leisure with but a passing shadow The breaking off of an old habiteatingwhich the government govern-ment could also render comfortable and easy by a decree that everybody should gain L29 pounds per day on a simple nutri tous diet of atmosphere JOSEPH CHADBOGRXE |