366 THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 



"question of the day" is whetlier we shall change from the 

 gold standard to a silver standard, and even those who have 

 most faith in a rise of silver realize that they must defend the 

 silver basis in order to win. 



There is one alternative which may as well be mentioned 

 here. If the United States and the principal commercial 

 nations of Europe would agree to coin both gold and silver 

 freely as deposited, making both legal tender at a uniform 

 ratio, it is the concensus of well-informed opinion that the 

 two metals would remain at that ratio indefinitely, except in 

 the case of events not reasonably to be expected. There is 

 not, however, agreement that they could be maintained at 

 sixteen to one, some thinking that the ratio would need to be 

 as high as twenty to one, even if all commercial nations were 

 to unite. I know of no way of determining this without trial. 

 It is not likely, however, to be tried. Repeated attempts by 

 this country to induce European nations to unite with us in 

 remonetizing silver have made it evident that other nations 

 will not join unless England comes in, and that England, at 

 least for the present, will refuse. The reasons assigned by 

 Great Britain for her refusal to join in such a movement, are 

 those usually assigned by the advocates of gold monometalism. 

 The strongest reason, however, is believed to be one not offi- 

 cially given, which is the belief of a controlling majority that 

 Great Britain, as a creditor nation, is directly interested in 

 preventing money from being easier to get. A minority, how- 

 ever, even there, think that England's prosperity can best be 

 promoted by the prosperity of the world, and that, unless 

 prices begin to rise, the loss of debts by bankruptcy, and the 

 loss of trade, will more than offset any possible gain by the 

 maintenance of low prices, and so believe it to be in the 

 interest of Great Britain to unite with other nations in remonet- 

 izing silver. Besides, there are many debtors in Great Britain 

 itself. But for the present there is no likeliliood that Great 

 Britain will abandon her exclusive gold standard, and hence 

 no likelihood of international bimetalism. This is not, how- 

 ever, a "question of the day" in America. There is an over- 

 wlielming majority in favor of it. Its adoption depends upon 

 other nations. 



