, 1876-07-28
SILVER.
An Argument for lta Rcrnonati.
zation.
aou Debtors Will Lose 80, 900, 600, 900
II Such Measure He Not
Adopted.

Adopted.
~ M4 Editor AZ Ths T,toxns.
SALT LAKH Crrr, July 22.-In your issus Of
the 18th yon say:
The, propos'ton In The uouss Ia make silver coin
nteroat the public dcbt in silver II the rresent
standasd Of coinsgs, was ptopofy characterized ~
standard Of The American dollar il now nov worth not
u1ofe than 10 cents In tho gold dollar.
The san francisco Chronicle truly says: "Thc
[silverJ question s one Of the most complicated
and dii1lcult that ever addressed itself TO the
practical understanding; II Is hedgcd round with
parplcxitics; aud men who have devoted their
lives 10 the Investigation OF this class Of SUBJ
1ects deliver their opinions With cautious re-
serve"
do not prcsnmc TO know mnch about II, nor
do ask you TO discuss 1t at large; but should
like to have you show, Il you feel like 1t, what
there Is dishonest In the proposition 10 dis
charge tho indebtedness OF this country,
national, corporate, or individual, public or prI-
vate, principal and interest, in tue
sAME MONEY IN WHICH IT WAS CONTRACTED.
It inay bc dishonest; but, after aonc iuvestI-
CATION aud reflection, / confess cannot sec
wherein.
You say Il was always the habit Of the coun-
try, 80 long as the bi.,uctallic system was snan-
tanned, to cqualtzo the values OF tho gold aud
silver dollar.
Tho loyal relation OF silver to gold was
never changed except onco, iu 1884, and then
not by increasing tho weight Of the silver dollar
~ you eonditionally suggcat, but by decreasing
tho weight Of tho gold dollar.
The American silver dollar of 17O1 wna tho
same IN weight Of pure metal as the spantah
dollar then In circulation, namely: B714 grains
pure, or 4125 grains stanlard,-th alley being
Of copper to harden the coin. It was the dollar
In use In the New World,
AND PRACTICALLY THE oNLr ONE,
from tho tirne Of the Spanish conquest Of Mex
ieo. It became tho dollar Of the United states
by tho net OF 1709 md II Is the dollar of to-day
except that, BY the Mint net Of 1878, no new
coins Of this denomination can bc manulac-
tured, md that, by tic Revised Statutes OF 1874,
It cannot be legally rendered for more than IS.
No act OF Congress. since 1702 ever declared
tl,s payment of debts, until the law OF Fob. s5,
1862, was enacted. This law authorized the ID
sue, Ton tho credit OF tho United States" OF
united States notes "payable to bearer at the
Treasury Of the United States" and declared
debts, both public und private, except for di-
aes on imports and interest on cersain bonds
anH uuIssi ,rMasJ .o.r that N, ,,,, .,o,,ox ,,
been the exclusive measure e valno in this.
country, unless inferenttally anee the
asa'ntlrs$ Sas ss$ q = The sFs' yast n ,uasStsd
ness, ness Of e. the be patton, tho States, or the
the birth Of the nation to that time, 1924, the
gold mud allyer dollar wcrc
EQUALLY TILE UNIT or VALUE
on which all business vas done legally; although,
dollar, aud not the gold nor silver dollat, has
furnished such unit 1t was between 1903 md
ls7s-4 that tho great bulk Of our Indebtedness
The Coinage Committee Of tho New York
Chamber Of Commerce estimate and class this
indebtedness as follows, tD-wtt:
l. Donds and uthcr evidences of
tho public debt Of the United
Statcs the States, and Aftccu -.......
3. Rallwav.moFsxago bopd,..:.: 2,4oo, 100000
mortgasos held by banks and
4. X,aoant. iaaarci on lives, and o0o0o0''o0'
constantly failing due.......... 2,1Oo, 600, 600
.s1a, :.oo 600, 600
The passage Of o law nakIng the silver dollar
q iegaf-tendtr for all dues md amounts they
say, would reduce the value Of these securities
Is per cent or $l,Si5, ,O00, 900.
Now, Is 1t not true that most Of this vast In
on the average much loss than Is per cent less
than gold,-takinr IN tho whole period, worth
probably rs per cent less than goldl
And, II this Is true, who has just right
to demand the payment Of this indebt-
edneae III q dollar worth o5 pcr cent more than
tho dollar In WHICH It was contrautcd1 1t seems
to inc tue dishonesty Is on the part OF tllosu
VINO LOAN Is CENTS AND EXACT 100 CENTS IN
,s not deemed tlsat aIoSs Wi'sn this indebtedness,
was contracted, thu American silver dollar sucl.
as It tas been from the discovery Of America
down TO 1879, was alegal-tcndcr for al dues mud
amounts, equally with tho gold dollar.
As Senator Joucs says:
because that was tho dollar it, which dubts bad
been Incurred; We stuck to tue same dollar In 1851,
had been changed BY tho blundering and mtsch}oy-
Qua legislation OF England. and tho ylcsB!tudes Of
.appIy and desna; We stuck ta It eysn atfet ths
ssa.s H. ki:toty .. sSe void ] assS!sa ~ :.
would tise above The etlyef, onu, " never sur-
rendered tho option OF rendering whichever Of tlIc
ws aas tha, We sn9fs i wS tue
gat Into dobt TO each other and to iote!yners. This
promise to pay so many lolass, which 10 printed
on statc. municipal, and cooperative bonu.. either
grains e pafe .|lyer, 2 q 2a ~ gtalns e puIs
sse It has no reference 10 motal ii all, and means
20 many ..aoltars" Ia paper proml.e.. Thu Al.
ises, which snount IN the aggrcgats to several
Thousand millions. Into promises 70 pay gold dol.
lars. BY means Of the Mlnt act Of 1b73. and the
Revision act Of 1874, declare 10 be entirely i'm.
precsduntel and unconstitntonal,
II there Is any untsuih, or fallacy, or sophis-
try In that, cannot SEQ ". And, II there IL
not, then tho dishonesty y assttrcdly on the
part Of those who exact 100 cents In return for
76 cents, ulaklng differences 10 the debtors Of
THREE THOUSAND MILLION DOLLANsl
Talk about tic public credit anu tho national
thisl Ar0 debtors, then, tic uuly olrs who arc
bound by their contrar.sl Can creditors con-
servo the publlc csolit and uphold the national
honor by refusing to accept silver dotlars, when,
by the }erms OF tho contract, they agreed to
accept silver Or EoIdl Tho terms OF tho con-
tract arc found III tho law, and tho law certainly
WHY a. nboye stated.
1t 10 true that thu silver dollar has not been
tn circulation for the Last forty years: but that
10 because tho law Of 1891, clianglng The ratio
between silver and gold from Is 10 to IL for i,
uu1rrvalllol silver q murll ~ tho old rntlo
oyeryaluc1 II; and, therefore, 1t disappeared