We will next consider the experience of the United States. At the
beginning of our career as a nation we adopted the double standard
of gold and silver. This was in 1792. Our statesmen followed in this
matter the example of the older countries of Europe. Alexander
Hamilton was the Secretary of the Treasury and the ruling spirit. At
his instance the ratio of 15 was adopted, and there is no room to
doubt that this was very close to the true market ratio at the time.
The English ratio of 15⅐ ceased to be operative, as we have seen,
because it was too high. France was at that time under the régime of
irredeemable paper. Consequently nothing could be learned from her. The
discussions and writings of the period show that there was an honest
and earnest effort to adopt the market ratio as the legal ratio, and
that the result reached was as nearly true as possible. Nevertheless,
gold began to grow scarce in our circulation as early as 1810, and had
wholly disappeared in 1817. One ounce of gold had come to be worth
as metal something more than fifteen ounces of silver. It was worth
while for bullion brokers to collect gold coins and export them. The
testimony is emphatic and is not disputed, that after 1817 and until
1834 our metallic money consisted of silver exclusively.