The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 245: The Gold Standard (Part 2)
The subtitle of this chapter: Bad Money, Good Money, and Pretentiousness.
"You've memorized it all? Dr. Yuan, this..."
Professor Herbert J. Davenport couldn't help but frown, thinking that this Chinese man was really too boastful. However, he was a generous person and was prepared to laugh it off and pretend he didn't hear it.
"Wow, we all know that Dr. Yuan is a respectable gentleman. If he dares to say that, he must be able to recite it..."
Before the current AEA president could speak, someone interrupted.
The person who interrupted was about fifty years old and looked like an ordinary uncle, but his shiny half bald head was quite impressive.
He walked over with a smile, extended his hand and said, "Dr. Yuan, I've heard of your name a long time ago. Let me introduce myself. I am..."
Yuan Yan suddenly smiled and interrupted, "You are Dr. Jacob Harry Hollander (1871–1940)."
The other party was taken aback and blurted out, "Dr. Yuan, how do you know me?"
"Dr. Holland, the reason why I know you..."
Our Master Yuan said in his heart, of course it’s because of the Master Ball.
Our Master Yuan said, "Of course it's because I've read your recently published works, 'War Debt (European War )', 'Eradication of Poverty', 'Debt Report of Santo Domingo (the capital of the Dominican Republic)', and 'Study of Federal and State Taxes'..."
This half-bald doctor graduated from Johns Hopkins University, but he chose the path of academic excellence and then a career in government.
After receiving his Ph.D. in 1894, Dr. Holland served in the U.S. federal government, accepting appointments from the short-lived McKinley administration as Secretary of the Treasury for the U.S. trusteeship of Puerto Rico and Senior Financial Advisor to the Dominican Republic. He then returned to the U.S. Treasury Department as an arbitrator in labor disputes.
He will serve as president of the AEA for the 1921 term.
In fact, there is really nothing good about being a "chairman". Do you think you can make money from a society founded by a group of economists? One year is enough.
After hearing this Chinese man speak so knowledgeably, the next AEA president's expression became a little strange.
Doketuo Holland was not as magnanimous as Professor Davenport. He was a little unhappy to hear this Chinese man speak so arrogantly, so he jumped out to embarrass Doketuo Yuan.
But now it seems that I am going to be embarrassed.
Yuan Yan suddenly continued with great interest, "I particularly like the 1899 book 'The Financial History of Baltimore' that you wrote. By the way, you wrote it when you were secretary general of the Bimetallic Commission, right?".”
As the name suggests, the bimetallic standard is a system in which both gold and silver are used as standard currencies.
This monetary system actually existed a long time ago. In certain eras and regions, copper was a standard currency alongside gold and silver. For example, in ancient Serbia, starting from the Han Dynasty, gold, silver, and copper were all legal tender.
However, the bimetallic standard has a natural flaw, which is Gresham's law that "bad money drives out good money."
The United States in the first half of the 19th century provides an excellent example.
When the United States implemented the bimetallic standard in 1792, the legal gold-silver exchange rate was 15:1. However, in the 39 years from 1795 to 1833, the actual value ratio of gold and silver in the international market was 15.6:1.
As a result, silver coins became "bad money" in the United States, while gold coins became "good money." As you can imagine, silver flowed into the United States from abroad, while gold was exported from the United States to other countries. The United States became a de facto country with a single silver standard.
By 1834, the US had changed the minting rate to 16:1, while the actual gold-silver ratio on the international market at the time was 15.7:1. The transformation of gold and silver's status as good and bad money in the US put the country back on a de facto gold standard.
However, some people in the United States have been striving to restore the bimetallic standard.
Remember William Jennings Bryan, the "great commoner," three-time Democratic presidential candidate who passed anti-evolution bills in five states? He led the Free Silver Movement, which sought to cap the gold-silver ratio at 16:1, allowing anyone to mint unlimited amounts of silver coins.
This is because American capital controlled 66% of the world's silver production and 77% of silver smelting, so there was a committee to study how to restore the silver standard during the heyday of the gold standard. Moreover, silver production was indeed important for the seven western states of Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico.
Later, senators from these seven silver-producing states controlled one-seventh of the voting rights in the Senate. The so-called silver bloc was formed, with senators from these states, especially Democratic senators, as the core, and producers of copper, lead, zinc and other products that used silver as a by-product. That was why FDR came up with the famous Silver Act in the 1930s under the lobbying of the silver bloc.
"Hmm, I remember the beginning of this book was written like this..."
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Our Master Yuan's "crackling" recitation made the people around him look surprised and admired, and also drew the attention of everyone in the room to him.
"Dr. Holland, your first chapter... is it correct?"
"Hmm..." The next AEA president scratched his half-bald head awkwardly, nodded reluctantly and said, "Dr. Yuan, you remember it better than I do!"
“Snap, snap, snap…”
Hearing him say this, the others couldn't help but applaud and express their admiration. After all, a lively and handsome humanoid bookcase is still very rare.
Hearing such applause, Dr. Holland's expression became even uglier, and he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "What's so great about endorsement..."
"That's right, Dr. Holland. Endorsement really is nothing special!"
Yuan Yanshu's perception now reaches 13 points, which is much sharper than that of ordinary people. Therefore, he heard the words of the half-bald doctor clearly and immediately followed up.
He greeted the people around him with a glance and a nod, and said politely, "Compared to my not-so-remarkable memory, Dr. Holland's ability to clearly explain the origins and development of the gold standard is quite remarkable..."
"Hehehe..." Everyone chuckled. Some praised Dr. Yuan's gentlemanly demeanor, while others teased Dr. Holland for being so stifled.
"So, I have some questions about the gold standard that I'd like to ask Dr. Holland..."
He turned his gaze to the half-bald doctor's face and spoke eloquently, "I think this issue is also the one that we economists have been most concerned about in recent years..."
“How to restore the gold standard…”
Our Master Yuan noticed the arrival of a gaunt old man with a mustache and a middle-parted hairstyle. He nodded and continued, "Or how to replace the gold standard..."
