Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-11-16
THAT HALF DOLLAR OF YOURS.

FRIDAY MORNING. NOV. 16, 1877.
THAT HALF DOLLAR OF YOURS.
The silver half dollar which you have in
your pocket this morning, unless, indeed,
YOU have already surrendered it to the
butcher, the baker, Oh the candlestick ma
ker, to whom it is due, is a subject OF dis
cussion in the highest law-making body Of
the land to day, and is likely to be talked
about for many days to come. 1t is not so
much that it is your half dollar thatmakes
people talk, because you may be one of
those fortunate persons who often have
them, but it is because it is made OF silver.
Statesmen and politicians are talking about
YOUR half dollar under big names that
would make you very proud if you could
hear them, and if you could understand
them after you do hear them. They speak
of it as being Demonetized and Remone-
tized, and Monometallic Currency, and that
YOU may understand what their designs are
on, perhaps, your only pocket piece, we feel
it our duty to expose them little.
Directly after the world got SO many
people in it that it was too crowded to ad-
NIT of bartering products with each other,
civilization established a currency that
would represent values, and could be carried
about easier than the OK or the wheat it
represented. The representative might be
one thing and might be another. 1t has
been iron or brass, which must have been
Joni fO Ioy1 rOhhprS
has been shells and calico; but as civlllza-
ton grew, the world finally settled down on
what are called the precious metals gold
and silver, and the former being the most
portable has always been considered the
most desirable. In some countries they
are both made the lawful money, and in
others only one. The lawful money is that
in which debtor must pay all his debts, I'M
less his creditor agrees to some other. In
Germany, under late law, you can only
pay in gold, though sixteen years ago that
government made silver the legal tender;
in Great Britain, gold, in India, silver
must be rendered; in Belgium, Italy and
other states gold is the tender. The pro-
portion between the silver dollar and gold
dollar is in weight as 16 Is to one-that is,
your silver dollar must weigh sixteen times
as much in pure silver as your gold dollar
weighs. The silver dollar weighs 4l23
grains, and is nine-tenths or 81 and three
tentbs grains, of pure silver. This is the
purity of the old Mexican dollars, which
were once so plentiful in this country.
This rate rules in the United States, but
in France, Switzerland and other states
there is only 154 times as much pure silver
required to make the same value in gold.
The standard weight of the gold dollar is
Is and eight-tenths grains. In Il country
where only one of the metals is held as le-
gal tender the Mono-metallic system has
prevailed to the adoption of single stan
dard, and in a country where both metals
are legal tenders the double standard is
said to- rule This thing of being legal
tender is the lynch pin of the whole ques-
ton. seeing that a metal that is made by
law receivable for all debts is Invariably
held higher in the markets OF commerce
than one which, though possessing the
same purchasing power, is not receivable for
dues. So that bond holder of the United
States, who holds bond, the interest and
principal of which is payable i'll gold is,
if gold is the exclusive legal tender. a good
per cent. better off than if it were payable
in gold and silver both. By crowding sill
vel out of the market gold becomes more
valuable in view Of the greater demand for
it to pay debts with, and it ''goes up'' just
as -four or any commodity does when in
demand.
The bondhollers of the United States
are to be paid in ''coin,'' so specified by
the claw to protect the public credit"
passed by congress March Is, 1869, and
solemnly pledging the faith of the United
States to the payment, in coin or it's equiv
alent, of the $40 bonds. 'Coino at that
time was gold and silver as both were Of
standard value by the U. s. law. Again
in 1870 July IA J a law was passed making
all bonds thereafter issued payable, not in
gold but, sin coin of the standard value of
thaUnited States" Gold however. being
the single standard of Great Britain and
Germany, Mr.. ERNEST SEYD came to this
country as the agent of the British and
German bondholderS to get law passed
making the U. S. bonds payable in gold.
The thing was too bold to be done Openly
so it was done secretly-so secretly that 50
prominent member as Gen. GARFIELD.
of Ohio. admitted in a speech few weeks
ago that he did not know when it was
passed OF whether he voted for it or not.
It was accomplished in February, 1878, by
d law. revising the laws relative to minis,
in which the dollar is not named as one Of
the silver coins of the country. This
passed unnoticed and the next year the Re
vised Statutes of the United States in
which the gold dollar is made the unit
of value, were approved. The silver dollar
was thus fairly filched out of lawful stand
ing. Then to clinch the work came the
Resumption Act Of the year after. This
demonstration of silver was well worth
fighting for by the English and German
bondholders for it was equal to Al per cent
1.-THE difference between silver and gold) on
5000, 900, OO0-or $40, 100000 in their pock-
cts.
To undo this work and allow the people
the use of the silver in this country as
money-to remonetize it, the House of
Representatives last week passed bill to
that effect by tremendous majority.
This action has instantly aroused the
bondholders who do not propose 10 let
their advantage so quietly gained slip with
out struggle. Already the syndicate for
negotiating the new government loan have
announced that they cannot obtain furth
er subscription, unless gold is retained as
tho standard rrhe Sonata has not acted