They, therefore, demanded that the Republican
Party should plant itself squarely on the gold standard; should
announce its purpose to make gold the exclusive legal tender
for the country, and appeal to the people for support in the
Presidential election, standing on that ground.
To them their antagonists answered, that the true law was
stated by Alexander Hamilton in his famous Report, accepted
by all his contemporaries, and by all our statesmen of all
parties down to 1873 or thereabouts, and recognised in the
Constitution of the United States. That doctrine was, that
the standard of value must necessarily be fixed by the agreement
of all commercial nations. No nation could, without infinite
suffering and mischief, undertake to set itself against the
rule adopted by the rest of mankind. It was best, if the
nations would consent to it, to have two metals instead of
one made legal tender, at a ratio to be agreed upon by all
mankind, establishing what was called Bimetallism. If this
were done, the Gresham law could not operate, because there
would be no occasion for the cheaper metal to flow into any
one country by reason of its having a preference there in
the payment of debts; and nothing which would cause the more
precious metal to depart from any country by reason of its
being at a disadvantage.
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