The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-08-03
THE SILVER DOLLAR.
An Explanation Of the Present
Demand for Its Restoration as
aLegaI Tender In Payment Of
all Debts Public and Private

Demand for Its Restoration as
u Legal Tender In Payment Of
all Debts Public and Private
tChicaso Tribunel
The silver question has evoked warm
protest 10 behalf OF "public morality"
the authors Of this protest assuming that
it would be dishonest for the United
States 70 coin silver dollars Of the stand
ard which prevailed from 1902 to 1873,
and use them in payment OF the public
debts. Among the more earnest OF these
is the New York Nation, which thus
speaks, ignorantly or overwhelmingly, Of
the "monstrous" thrust at the public
credit contained in the Silver bill now be-
fore Congress:
Aside from the Ina1tIou which the bill proposes,
Il Is the Laroe a. Il the Government should receive
any Other almost unlimItAble product Of the Coua-
fry and Issus nOtes thereon. The bill makes most
direct thrust aERinst the public credit. When our
londs we're Issued II Ws expressly stiPullted that,
70 guIrntse forever the payment ol the interest on
t6ese "a ~, The customs receipts should be p1yG-
" only "a go4 6ota. rhe BonanE1 bill removes, 20
far a. Law can, this safeguard, and p0Tmlts.the
customs 70 be ERld IA bullion ceTtAeItes - silver
bullion certificates sould BE- used, they q course
would oonElst Of oliver. This would compel the
payment Of the interest In Oliver, and the principal
when due As YELL and would drive gold INTO ds'ise.
The NaiiOH is'iD error in assuming that
in any OF the acts Of Congress relating to
the public debt there is any promise TO
pay interest or principal in gold. The
term used in every instance is "coin."
The act Of Feb. %, 1852, providing \
sinking fnnd, provides, Sec. shat all
duties on imported goods shall be paid in
coin" and the coin so received shall be
set apart as special fund, and applied,
!, 40 the payment in coin OF the interest
on the public debt 9, to the purchase OF l
per centum Of the public debt, So that
up TO 1873, The silver dollar was q legal
tender in payment Of duties on customs;
andeye now the debased subsidiary sill
yer coin is received in payment Of dnties
for all sums NOT exceeding S.. At no
time was there ever any pledge or prom.
ise to pay in "gold," the term used being
"coin," the silver dollar Of 4l2l grains
being then legal.tender for any amount.
The act OF 1878, SO far az it dropped
the silver dollar out Of the list Of Ameri-
can coins, and substituted the gold dollar
a. the unit OF value in the United States,
was both unwise and unjust. So far rs
the same was done secretly and without
the knowledge Of the public, il was 4
fraud upon the country, which should be
redressed by the restoration Of the silver
dollar as a legal-tender.
twill be difficult TO raise any serious
question Of moral delinquency in coming
the silver dollar and making il a legal.
tender. The facts all preclude any charge
OF want OF good faith in such proceed
ing. In1792 the.silyer dollar was made
iegal.tender. and, with gold, the silver
coin Of the United States was legal.
tender until 1858. At that time the rela.
tive value OF gold had declined. and the
American silver coin was worth nearly :
per cent. more "a bullion than 1t was
as coin; consequently our silver coin, as
fast "a il was issued, was purchased
at it, coin value and exported az
bullion. There was, therefore, q scarcity
OF our own silver coin, and an influx OF
the worn and deprecated coin, OF other
countries, especially from Spain. To
remedy this, Congress reduced the weight
OF the half.dollar groth 206t grains TO 1876
grains, and Of the smaller coins In pro.
portion. Their value rs coin was there
fore greater than as bullion, and they
ceased TO be exported, and ceased TO be u
legal.tender beyond S. The silver dol
lar, however, was not changed; the
weight OF that coin continued at 4l2i
grains, and Il continued 4 legal.tender
and the unit OF American values, as il
had been from 1892. The silver dollar:
piece was at that time worth lO1 cents in
gold, and, in consequence Of the high
price OF silver compared with gold, the
silver dollar was NOT coined 70 any seri.
Gus extent. In March, 1872, when this
act Of 1878 was considered in the House
Of Representatives, the silver dollar was
worth 1903 in gold.
Up TO 1s73-from lS5S-the silver dol.
lar and the American gold coin were both
legal tenders to any amount; under all
the contracts Of the United. States with
its creditors, 1t was stipulated that pay.
ment should be made in coin-the coin Of
the United stAtes-and the gold being the
cheaper and inferior Of the two coins, the
gold was employed to make all payments
OF interest, and was in turn used by the
debtors in payment Of duties on imports.
During these twenty years there was no
protest by the bondholders against re-
ceiyingthe inferior gold; no one pretend.
ed to demand that the Government must
pay It's interest in silver coin, which was
worth from three to seven per cent more
than the gold. No one ever questioned
the power Of the Government 10 pay the
interest in either gold or silver, or ques-
toned the morality OF The selection Of
gold when that coin was worth several
cents on the dollar less than silver.
Within year the relation between
silver and gold has changed. Fortwenty.
five yeats silver was at = premium in
gold; now silver Is at discount The