New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-09-21
THE SILVER QUESTION.
ACTUAL AND LEGAL STANDARDS.

ACTUAL AND LEGAL STANDARDS.
FAILURE TO DIsCRIMrNATr BETWEEN rhEM-SoT
Always TIE sAME-1HE ACTUAL STANDARD TIE
sAMR IN his COUNTRY PoK FORTY YEARS.
tFRoH TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT oTTHB TRiBrb-i
WASHINGTON. Sept l0.-The coinage legislation
OF 1873 which omitted TO provide for the issue OF
silver dollars, was not revolutionary, as many OF
those who advocate its repeal 80 often assert. inc
old money unit, established contemporaneousiy
with the Government of TIE United States,
and which always contained 31lA graihs
of pure silver, no matter what cniiit''
were made in the actual weight OF the coin and the
amount OF alloy used" say the men VINO no" aSf :,
Congress- to remonetizc the Dollar of our Fathers
twas stealthiy destroyed, and new one previously
unknown TO the people, and of different value from
that in which debts had been contracted was SUD
stituted it, This legislation. wholly in the inter
est of bondhoders and foreign capitalists, has un-
iustlv increased the burdens Of all debtors ana Ought
to he Immediately repealed. 1t was one OF the YAM
able rights of every American citizen TO pay MS
debts in the cheaper of the two precious metals anu
that right Congress has uniustly taken away
These ideas are very fairly presented III me ocago
Ttjh,pe one of The abost advocates OF the uoupie
standard IN the West, in the following words:
II viii not do TO assert that standard for the
Inessv i !" The act of SD prohibited the coinage
~ t silver dollar. thai OF 1874 made the gold collar
fbe nit Of American money IN the place OF The SILVER
dollar which had been such mutt from 1893 Ihe siVer
dollar Of 81 4 grams OF pure silver Was lhe Aucl.an
Doiarp II Was inmaterial whether there WAS ever
dollar coined or not; 1t was not essential That there
should be; the object and purpose OF me Jaw anu t,e
y pY"J pure S' silver saouid at all times aud under
all circumstances be the "Doliafi mat Will
gy sGo oe or eo M enacd $71a grains Of pure
silver was 20 be the measure Of a" Dollar aud, what
ever The number of dollars to be paid, each adi
~ j
yer. This changed in 1871; 81 = grains OF sI
yer are no longer the equivalent of dollar nor ~ any
other weight of silver the standard, or Legal d"lid Is
$3.50 grains OF gOid. MhtIcNti, III ~, IL
countries the two metals have been egal-tcDder, the
rhf of me Government and Of individuals to use the
cheaper metal always been exercised and has never
been dcued This right the legislation OF 1881 mas
taken away from the Government and the people
The fatal defect of this particular line of argu-
ment in favor of the silver dollar is failure to dis
criininate between the legal standard for the meas
ure Of values and the actual standard and loose
and essentially incorrect statement OF the erect OF
the laws of the United States relative to coinage ana
lega-tender in force before 1873 The actual stand
ard for the measure of values III any country Is the
unit of thc commodity actually used as money! ana
through the agency of which exchanges are enected
The legal standard is the money unit fixed by law
These two may or may not be Identical FOR
example, the legal and actual money unit IN
Great Britain is the pound sterling, represented
by the sovereign. which contains 1l3.OOl grains
of nure cold. The word pound" in all commercial
accounts and in all business transactions, when ap-
piled 10 money! means the same. The legal standard
for the measure of values and the actual
standard are the same. But in the United
states while the legal money unit is dollar con
tanning 2JSlo grains of standard gold, The actual
standard by means of which nearly all domestic
values are measured. and according 10 which ac-
counts are kept is paper dollar worth or per
cent less than the gold dollar When the Western
farmer buys clothing or groceries or tue services oil
a hired man. he measures the value Of lis purchase,
not by asccrtainiug now many times the legal
money unit Of the United States "a dollar containing
25slo grains of standard gold, is contained in the
price he agrees to pay but how many Of the actual
units paper dollars it Will take to make up the
price.
Numerous illustrations of the truth that the actual
and legal standard Of measure, not ONLY OF values
but Of quantities, is not always the same, might he
given. but single one Will be sufficient. few
years ago milk was measured ard sold in the New
England States bysbccr measure, each quart con
tanning 7Ol2 cubic inches but in order to establish
uniformity in the measure Of all liquids the lcgis-
Iatures Of the several States passed acts making the
wine gallon the standard, and providing that
quart Of milk should contain only 5Gl4 cubic inches
For years after these laws passed many Of the
old-fashioncd farmers Of Massachusetts and Rhode
Island continued to measure and sell their milk in
Che old wav BY an understanding between them
and their customers quart of milk 70i2 cubic
inches and not 56la cubic inches fixed by statute
Now IT, while these farmers continued 10 use the
beer quart The Legislature had repealed the oct
making wine quart the standard the actual unit
for the measure OF milk, far these people
concerned would not have been changed, while the
legal standard would have been altered twice
Now the advocates OF the reconciliation Of silver
say that ''i will not do to assert that stand
ard for the measure Of values established by the
legislation Of 1873 and 1874" and that previous TO
those dates the policy of the Government that
81 Il grains Of pure silver should at al times and
under all circumstances De the dollar that when
ever debts were contracted, and payments to be
made or equivalents estimated 81 a grains Of pure
silver was 20 be the measure Of dollar, and what
ever the numbers of dollars to be paid, each adj
ditonal dollar to he equal TO 81 4 grains of pure
silver" This is by means a correct statement of
tho pohcyOf the Government prior 90 1873. The laws
II the United States never required debtors in dis
charging their obligations to make each additional
dollar they paid equal to 37ll grains of pure
silver" Our monetary system before 1873 was
based on what is called - the double standard y
that is the Government, instead of saying to the
debtor, as many seem to suppose you must make
each dollar yOn pay equal TO 371l4 grains of pnre
silver" actually gave him the choice of two ways
of dischargug his obligation IL said to him: Two
separate and distinct dollars have been established
by law, one containing 37lA grains OF pure silver
and the other 2}22lOO grains of pure gold; now you
may pay your debt in either of these and receive
full legal discharge" Everybody knows that from
1897 10 1873 all debtors. exercising their legal
rights elected to pay their coin obligations in gold
dollars, and everybody Knows, too, that they were