The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-08-04

Iject of an international c0lnaye," the
same law provides for the coinage OF
silver half dollars OF 1929 grains; two
of these halves make 38j.S Sgrains,. where
las the legal tender dollar up to that
time was 412H grains. This diminution
of our half.dollar's weight was, under
Comptroller Knox's theory, in order to
make it conform to the value OF the
French half-franc, the five lire OF Italy,
the five peseta of Spain, the i've Grachma
of Greece, and the silver form of Aus
tria. Such was the silver theory OF this
John Jay Knox; and TO please him, Con-
gress enacted his whim into a law that
lrevolutionized our metallic currency,
unsettled our standard OF values, and
crippled the nation in its capacity for
Ipaying its debts. All this was done
without consultation with the people,
without seeking the advice of fnanciers
liconversant with economic science, with
out any sanction higher than the au-
lthority of a clerk called JOHN JAY
KNOX.
| Whatever notions the financial genius
OF John Jay Knox may have impaired to
Congress ON the subject OF our national
coinage and constitutional legal tenders,
we may not venture TO surmise; but cer-
tainly the idea OF an international
coinage" was as remote as possible from
the declared purpose of the law. Yet
| that was the fundamental idea that LED
| to the dehasenlent and demonetization
of our silver by virtue of that law.
What cared we for the peculiar silver
coinage of remote nations, that we
should reVolutionze our monetary sEs-
tenn to conform TO theirs? Why not in
vite them to come to ours, decimal
system, and the simplest for all arithmet-
| ical use ever known, instead of taking
ours TO them?
But we are told, and Wall street
''bondsmen" exclaim, that silver is too
fuctuating to serve as standard OF
value. Some declare that 1T is like an
elastic yard-stick, or distensible peck
measure, not to be relied upon. VIII
those gentlemen tell the world what
there is in nature, usable as money, tha
is not fuctuating? At present they say
tits gold. We say it is not. Whoever
knows financial history knows that gold
has been repeatedly demonetized for
| precisely the same reasons now urged
Tor the decentralization of silver. Alter
the discovery of the vast gold mines OF
California and Australia became known,
the political economists OF Europe pre-
dicted a material decline in the value OF
gold. In 1859 Mons. Chevallier wrote an
elaborate work upon the subject, show
ing the unreliability OF gold as a stand
ard of value. This work was translated
into all European languages. Its effect
was to produce, measurably, a panic on
the subject of cheap gold, precisely as
we are now alarmed at the prospect Of
cheap silver.
Under the impulse Of these doctrines,
which took such lively hold upon the
public mind, Holland, Belgium and
Germany demonetized gold, making sill
yer their standard Of value and legal
tender as money of account. Two
years later, at the earnest solcitation Of
her commercial representatives, Bel
gium remonetized gold in defiance Of
| the theorists of the school OF M. Cheval-
lier. Holland, Denmark and Sweden,
did the same; and in 1874 Germany also
remonetized gold and demonetized sill
YER, except as a subsidiary coin.
These instances show that gold is not
free from temporary fluctuations 'any
more than is silver. In TACT, the very
year before the enactment of this Knox
law of 1873, in 1872 the silver dollar act
ually reached 122 as compared with the
gold dollar, and at the time Of the en-
actment of the law, silver was up to 1903
as against gold.
But will it be said that this proves its
changeableness? But there was no
change until this law of 1873 made silver
no longer legal tender, demOnetized 1t,
converted it from money into commod-
ity. That it should not be "demoral-
lied" worse than it is under such ad-
verse legislation is surprising, and a
proof that the people are attached to the
money adopted by the Fathers, enjoyed
by the Sons, and recognized by the Con-
stitution.
EXPLORING HELL(GATU.)