54 



JV. G. Lanqn'ortJiy Taylor 



Symnietal- 

 lisnj, or gold 

 and silver in 

 one coin, 

 avoids the 

 principle of 

 substitution in 

 favor of that 

 of compensa- 

 tion. 



Joint-metal- 

 lism allows of 

 easy change of 

 ratio. 



that debts be paid legally with a coin which should consist of 

 gold and silver united physically at a certain ratio by weight — 

 say 32 to I. The coin would therefore be " a picture of gold in a 

 frame of silver." The result would be that, in paying a debt, 

 one would l>e compelled to use the two metals in that proportion. 

 The principle dit^Vrs considerably from that of bimetallism. 

 The latter strives, as the market for, say silver, goes down, to 

 create a new market for it so as to raise its value again ; and. 

 also, to restrict the market for gold, so as to lower its value in 

 order to bring the two to a " parity " again. This operation may 

 go on until the silver, in the case supposed, is entirely excluded 

 from the circulation. 



Under symmetallism, there is no attempt to influence the 

 market, there is no substitution of silver for gold. The equilibra- 

 tion or the making up for fluctuation here consists simply in 

 assuring the public that there is in the coin an amount of the 

 appreciating metal which, to start with, was equal in value to 

 that of the depreciating. The composite coin will obtain the 

 advantage of the appreciation of the gold in the open market as 

 well as sutler the disadvantage of the depreciation of the silver. 

 INIoreover, as the depreciating metal becomes cheaper, it will exert 

 continually less etTect upon the value of the standard, because 

 its value in the composite standard coin is proportionally less, 

 and a diminution of the smaller part makes progressively a less 

 contraction in the value of the whole. So bimetallism attempts 

 to maintain the standard by acting upon the market, but sym- 

 metallism by fixing the ratio physically in a self-compensating 

 bimetallic coin. It is not necessary that such a coin should circu- 

 late any more than coins do now. It could be held as reserve in 

 the banks and paper money could be " based " upon it. 



§ 18. Joint-metallism is the invention of 'Sir. Anson Phelps 

 Stokes.*' He proposed that the government mint silver and gold 

 coins in an exact ratio by weight, so that it be always possible to 

 make a pa>Tnent in one coin in multiples by weight of the other. 

 Without chansre in the coinage, therefore, one ounce of sfold 



Joint Metallism. 



168 



