, 1876-02-26
nnr Three Cnrrencies.

Ths Pacific coast has now three currenoies
! gold, silver and green backs Uoid Is lOO
cents 10 the dollar, silver about 94 and green
/ backs S. The latter currency causes niue
confusion. as il Is not in common use, and
I beiug cheaper than silver, dealers who Pur-
cha-e coods in the East with greenbacks and
sell in California for silver, generally gain
! some advantage. In the East there are but
/ two standards Of value-gold and greenoacks.
Silver in New York Is merchandise Very
little Is seen except IN brokers windows,
aud II rises and falls in the markets accord
ing 10 demand and supply
Most Of the fnanciers who have expressed
opinious on the silver problem as presented
on This coast. agree that it is beyond the
power Of government 20 determine the reia-
tive value of gold and silver. This Is regu-
lated by law that pays very little atten-
ton to Congressional enactments. But there
IL one thing which government can do; II
can refrain from legislation designed 20 FIX
an arbitrary value on either OF these metals.
Our present difficulty with silver arises from
the fact that government undertook to make
IS cents equivalent 10 100 cents II took IS
cents worth of silver, stamped at the mint,
and declared it equivalent 10 100 cents IN
gold. The higher law which regulates
things utterly ignored this legislative enact
ment, and fixed discount upon the coin :he
government had debased. 1t wonid seem,
therefore, an act of wisdom for government
to revise it, action, and recognize the'relative
value of the two metals as the laws Of trade
have established them. If II will do this,
the difference between the two currencies
will rapidly disappear The proposition to
establish silver currency of a lower stand
ard than that of gold will not be entertained
for moment. 1t viii repeat in a worse form
all the trouble arising from a depreciated
paper currency. NOnatiOn can have two or
three kinds OF dollars of different standards
of value The silver dollar and the gold
dollar should be made unit in value, and
then well-secared paper may be issued as a
matter of convenience. But each and every
kind of a dollar should be eJchangeable for
each and every other kind, as it would be if
all haG uniform value
A disposition il manifested in some quar-
rers to let this silIer problem regulate itself.
1t Is claimed that government cannot control
the law of demard and supply, and that no
good will result rom an attempt to do so.
! This reasoning Ii correct to an extent, but
does not relieve government from an OblI-
CATION to adjust is laws to those of demaud
and supply. Whatever may have been the
actual value of our silver dollar in gold at
the time It's weight and tineness were fixed,
at present in the markets. OF the world sii-
yer dollar mas lss value as bullion than
gold dollar. 1t would seem TO be the duty Of
government, therefore, 10 conform 10 this
new valua ION. The present condition Of
things cannot continue any length of time.
The principal los falls on trade and class
that cannot affud II. The retail dealer,
whose receipts are mostly IN silver, cannot
turn that silver into gold except at II Tninous
loss. The day laborer. whose wages are
paid in silver, cannot afford to buy gold TO
pay house rent or any debts he may have in
Cured The Whole debtor class will suffer
by currency which Is not legal tender for
| all obligations. The capitalist, whose receipts
are in gold, will not be greatly incOnven-
inced, except by the partial dIsarrangemeut
of business which will be one of the results of
unequal curreneies. We trust, therefore,
that the lawmakers who are inclined 10
think that the silver problem will ad Just
itself will see that government ceases It's
futile attempts 70 make silver coin, worth
IS cents as hullOu, of the same legal value
a. a gold dollar worth 100 cents in bullion
S. T. Call