The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-08-24
The Silver Commission.

We're it not for the great decline in the
value Of silver the attempts to restore the
double standard in this country would not
be fraught with any serious mischief and
the use of both metals might facilitate the
resumption of specie payments. Gold and
silver were alike legal tender under our
laws previous to the civil war, and it would
be an immense gain to have our currency
restored to the same basis on which it stood
prior to the deluge of irredeemable paper.
There were always objections to double
standard, but so long as ten silver dollars
had pretty nearly the Same value as
gold eagle a paper currency could not
be very much debased while it was
promptly redeemable in either Of
course the banks will always redeem in the
cheaper metal if they have it ; but slight
variations between the two cannot cause
disastrous fluctuations in the paper money
of the country. We condemn the wild
projects for demonetizing silver which were
agitated in Congress during the latter part
of the session but if our silver coins were
readjusted to the value of gold we would
to their old function. We need to make
large accumulation of coin previous to re-
sumption, and we could procure it with
greater ease by using both metals as stand
ard, instead Of gold alone 1t is great mercy
that this ignorant and reckless Congress post
poned action on the wild silver bills. but it
did a wise thing in providing, near the
close of the session, for commission to in
vestigate the subject. We insert the con-
current resolution under which the commits
sion was appointed
Resolved, BY the House of Representatives ahe
Senate concurringl that commission is hereby au-
tborized and constituted to consist OF three Senators,
10 be appointed by the Senate; three members the
House Of Representatives, TO be- appointed by the
Speaker; and experts not exceeding three number
TO be selected by and associated with them, with au-
thority to determine the time and place OF meeting
and TO take evidence; and whose duty II shall be to
inquire
relative value Of gold and silver tho thereof
whether permanent or otherwise; the effects thereof
upon trade, commerce. finance and productive inter-
csts OF the country and the standard value in
this and foreign countries ,
Second-lnto the policy OF the restoration of the
double standard in this country, and If restored what
the legal relation between the two COINS silver and gold
should be-
Taird-Into the policy OF continuing legal tender
notes concurrenty with the metallic standards and
effects thereof upon the labor Industries and wealth OF
the country and,
fourM-nto the best means for providing Tor facili-
tating the resumption Of specie payments
And said commission is authorized employ a
stcnorrapher, and shall report before the 18th
day of January lsI with the evidence taken by them,
and such recommendations for legislation they may
doom proper
These inquiries are of large scope and
deep interest and if the three experts who
are to form part of the commission should
be competent and able men their work will
be valuable contribution to our monetary
knowledge and serve as useful guide to
legislation on very intricate and difficult
subject The Senate members of the COM
mission are Senator Jones, who possesses
great knowledge of such subjects, but is
under bias Senator Boutwell,, who passes
for sound hard money man, and Senator
BoSy, who has large acquaintance
with business, but is badly smitten with
the silver lunacy. The House members of
the commission are Randall L. Gibson, of
Louisiana, an inhexible advocate of hard
money h. p. Bland, of Missouri, of BLAND
Silver bilI' notoriety and George Willard,
of Michigan, careful, scholarly man, who
will bestow great pains and study on
the subjects of investigation. But the
efficiency Of the commission will de-
pend III great degree on the asso-
ciate experts, who have not yet been
appointed We rejoice at this evidence that
Congress has begun to discover It's own igno-
rance of this important range of subjects, on
which loose legislation would be great
public calamity.