Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-03-05

TIE time is evidently near when the
pockets Of the citizens will be again,
more or less, tensnted by actual money
instead OF promises to pay money, and
the musical cliuk Of silver will be once
more heard ia helsnd. a Washington
correspondent states that q resolution
from the appropriation committee will
be offered in the house TO the effect that
ia the opinion of The house the time has
come when the secretary of the treasury
shall commence to redeem the fractional
currency with subsidiary coin. The Sec
IetsIy has already full power in the pre-
misses conferred by the first section of
the resumption Rcl, but he hesitates TO
follow mis- instincts without sharing the
responsibility. The majority of the
congressional committee that have this
subject in hand have shown themselves
favorable to an early issuance OF
silver. The matter is necessarily
pressed upon their attention by the
want Of an amount Of three hundred
thousand dollars 10 go on with printing
new notss, if they, ard not silver, are
10 remain in circulation. 1t costs nearly
q million dollars year to print, count
and circulate the fractional currency.
As the silver necessary for the issue is
in hand, and in process Of coming, no
additional cost would be incurred by
putting il out. According to the reports
there is about fourteen millions Of silver
in the treasury. This, lying idle, at five
per cent would psy seven hundred
thousand a year, which is good reason
why we should circulate the silver we
have, instead OF appropriating three
hundred thousand dollars for more
notes. A dispatch to the Chicat o |
Tribune states that "for several days the |
treasury has been. busy sending silver |
coin to the different sections Of the couu- |
try to thesub-tressuries, postofhces, ETC., |
resdy for orders to pay out for fractional
currency. Even the order on the prop
er officials has bsen prepared at the de.
partment, ard nothing now remains |
bat for the secretary to afiix his name, |
aud fourteen millions OF dollars in silver |
coin go juggling into the pockets
OF THE people. There is ione thing |
that has taken place however, which is
troubling some minds on this subject. |
The value Of silver has been declining |
for some time, and when the coins are
issued they will be equal, dollar for dol
lar, % gold. A few days sgo the quota
lions showed the gold value Of a dollar |
OF silver coin to be eighty-three and |
three. fourths cents. The greenbsck |
value Of the same was ninety-flve and a
half cents. Il is well that the reader /
should bear in mind that the silver is
worth its weight in the market, the
greenback is worth only the weight OF
the paper. We are now speaking, not OF
the circulating value, but Of the actual
value Of the paper money. The New
York Times dispOses in the following
brief manner OF this state OF facts, it
says: How does this fall Of silver
affect the project fer replacing the frac.
ti1nal currency with the cid dimes and
quarters that used 10 be so common be-
fore the war? 1t simply guarantees the
Success Of that measure." The st. Louis
5e-Democrdt observes: "a silver
dollar, coin dollar a real dollar is worth
less in gold to-day than It's greenback
nsmesske, and If the government
mint would only fulfill the purpose for
which minis are established, and coin
the bullion Of the people into legslized
and guaranteed coins, there would be
no necessity for issuing bonds to accu- {
mulate silver hoard with. The silver
would How not only into the sub-tress-
uries, but into the bank vaults and mer.
chants tillE, into the fruit-seller's lestb-
err pocket and the capitalists bank bal
ance, and very few months would suf-
ice TO Insure the disappearance Of every
fractional currency note taken down to
the most ragged and greasy dime; and
1t u probable that dollar greenbaeks
would be obtsinAble only by paying q
premium Of one per cent, that being
the difference In value between them
and their discredited silver standard
This circumstance is 50 strange that II
will be doubted by many aud be under
stood by few; but the fact, which cannot,
be questioned, is easily explained. The
value Of an ounce Of pure silver, which
is fixed by the London quotations, Is
low fifty-four pence. But an ounce oil
silver, which, at the coinsge standard.