Litchfield enquirer., 1877-07-19
.g7 7sa77s77 v 7-777--7
 THE SILVER QUESTION.
VIEWS OF DAVID A. WELLS.

cinnati G02aaaerciGL on the silver question. He beRins by discussing the practicability of using coin, arguing that its weight and bulk are alone sufficient to make it's use in this country undesirable, and saying:
 "As the force of the argument against the use of silver by reason of it's cumber- someness may be attempted to be met by assuming that it is proposed to use silver as basis for the issue of 8 (paper) circu- latIng medium, and not as medium dl- rectly. it is desirable to still further eluci- date this subject by illustration. Thus,f 1t reduires $5OO, O00, 900 to supply an ez-s cIusi7ely gold currency for this country, and silver is idepreciated ten per centum in comparison with gold,, twill require S550 ,0OO, 900 in silver to perform the same work; and it will require the same amount of commodities or embodied labor to buy the exclusively gold currency that it will to buy the exclusively silver currency. Whatever may be the dollar or the unit of coin adopted by any country, 1t will have no effect on future transactions, for prices will adapt themselves to the amount of labor embodied in the new coin; whether it be of great or small value, nominal or real. No one will be deceived by mere nominal dollan If it represents less en- bodied labor than the real dollar, it will depreciate just in proportion to the differ ence in the amount of labor embodied ill the real, nominal coin, and prices of eve- " kind will advance just in proportion to the depreciation of the coin unit that is used. If the gold dollar should be made to contain double the amount of pure gold contained in the present dollar, prices, measured in dollars, would immediately depreciate one-half, and it would require only mental operation to reduce the prices of commodities to the new stand ard. On the other hand, if a adepreciated silver dollar currency should be adopted, itiwould only require like mental effort on the part of the seller of property to ad- vance his prices in proportion to the de- preciation of the new coin, and no one would be deceived in either case" asssesf
 Of the present depreciation of silver he says:
 ''Silver is now depreciated undoubtedly by reason of temporary causes. The drift of opinion, with political economists and those who have made the subject study, is that the present depreciation is not permanent, and has been produced ex- cIusively by the action of certain of the governments of Europe demonetizing it and forcing it's sale as a commodity upon the worlds markets. (From 1861 to 1873, the years when the German government announced the demonetization Of silver, the variations in the market price of bar silver in the London market were between the limits of 60 Is and 61 11-86 per stan- dard ounce.) At the present time the an- nual production of silver is probably less than the annual product of gold, while the amount of silver in existence in the world is conceded to be greater, measured by dollars than the stock of gold. (For 1876 the product of the mines of the United States was SAG, $50, 900 gold and $38, ,5OO, O00 silver. From 1869 to 1876, inclusive, the total product of our mines was $766, TT, 900 gold and $289, ,854, 900 silver). All ofthe more productive silver mines are now producing from 40 to 46 per centum of gold in connection with silver, and the improved machinery for working ores is equally applicable to the working of of ores containing gold, while one new process, largely profitable for the working of gold-washing under hydraulic press- ure- is not at all applicable to the work ing of silver. Of course it is not possible to foretelI with certainty whether silver may not be hereafter produced more abundantly and with less labor than at present or. formerly, and less in propor-- ton than is-now required for the produc- ton of gold. But be this as 1t may, Athe amount of labor expended in producing either metal in the future must, as in the past, regulate the relative value of each.
 He sums up his views as follows:
 ''There can be no objection to paying debts, contracted prior to 1873, with the dollar of the fathers;' or, rather, in the mmodity-coin-in which they were contracted; but debtors generally will find that no advantage whatever will &C., cure to them from the privilege. There can further be no objection to the use of silver as subsidiary or token currency. not made legal tender, or legal tender in excess of small sum for any one specific payment, to any extent the people will desire. But when it is proposed to go luther, and require the sons to accept the dollar of the fathers for the payment of furture debts, then an answer to this proposition. simple and conclusive, is, that the dollar of the fathers is not on grounds of convenience, adapted for such use. The sons want something better the most improved tools of trade-as they want better methods of conveyance, of warming, of lighting, ventilation, printing and communication of news, than did the fathers. They want. as a condition for success in business, the coin receivable without discount by the great commercial nations with which the bulk of our for eign commerce Is conducted. And herein is another point that ought not to fail of re- ceiving full consideration, namely. that whereas, in most cases, the first cost of an improved tool is greater at the outset than that of poor and unimproved one, m this case the conditions are reversed. for the first cost of the good tool gold cuurency-will be no greater at the outset to the country than the first cost of the poor One-a silver currency; while in all subsequent respects the advantages are immeasurably in favor of gold We have, furthermore. no embarrassing antecedents in the way of our adoption of the best machinery of trade. We have an incon- siderable amount of silver in the country, and it would seem the height of folly to adopt e currency not receivable by the commercial countries with which we sus- tain the most intimate relations, and ob- lectionable on the score of convenience and the changed condition of the times. If we were overloaded and crowded with a depreciated silver currency, we might decline to abandon it; but having the op- p0rtunity to start fresh, and, as it were, from the beginning. is it not clearly the correct public policy to adopt a coin cur rency suited to our wants and the age Any way. the restoration of the old silver dollar to it's place as lawful money, with out qualification or limitation is some thing that can't be done by legislation, any more than stage-coaches and sailing vessels can be re-established in their former place and employment by legisla- ti0n."
 We frankly confess that when we read Seligman's letter to Judge Hilton, we Ahu...ul.A -. .l,-..lI ..oA 1;In A- nko.. .A ..