The daily gazette., 1877-12-27
SILVER soPHIsTRIEs.

Perhaps no subject-matter which has
been agitated during the last decade has
presented so many phases of unmitigated
nonsense as the decentralization and re
monetization OF "the dollar of our fathers"
If the advocates of the demonetization of
silver had gone one step further, and de-
manded also the decentralization of gold,
they would have been in a position not
only to be logically sustained, but they
could have demonstrated its correctness by
an appeal TO history, as in the experience
OF Venice, which virtually demontize1
both metals, when, amid great and unin-
terrupted prosperity, her paper legal tend
ers rose some thirty per cent higher in
purchasing power than the coin OF the for
eigner.
That such q possibility suggested itself
TO our Congressional Monetary Commis-
sion is evident from the statement on
page 43 of their report, which says:
off the world, or any considerable por-
ton of it, should follow the teachings of
this new school of economists 1.-THE de-
monetiEersl, and discard one metal and
one-half Of the II theory, it need
not surprise them if the resulting finan-
cial and commercial disasters should
teach and enforce the policy of "discard-
ing the other half of the theory" and the
other metal, and of establishing some
system of money, under which
"an classes and interests could at least
have an equal chance Of protection
On page 100 the committee says:
"Those who accepted the bonds took
the risks of an increased production of
either or both of the metals by the dis
covery of new gold and silver mines, or
by the more vigorous working of old
mines, or that commercial countries
"might demonetize one or both of the
metals" And on page 106 they say
1.-THE question, therefore, seems to be a
serious one, whether "both the metals
together" are not inadequate for the ad-
vancing wants of the world"
That such demonetiZat1on of "both
metals" would result in no injustice to
the bondholder is apparent from the fact
that the Congressional resolution of
March, 1869, construed all existing bonds
with the exception only of those issued
for naval pensioners and to the Pacific
Railroads) as payable, not in legal money,
but in coin thus taking from them the
positive character of monetary promis-
sorry notes, and endowing them with
only the attributes Of a contract for
future delivery of merchandise, subject
to all fluctuations of the market AS this
change of contract was made only at the
pressing solicitation of the bondholders,
they, surely cannot justly object.
The Observation-Disclosures have been
scarcely less deficient in logic, their prin-
cipal stock-in-trade having been the eulo-
gy Of the silver dollar as "the money of
our fathers" The same argument would
point to the Redistribution ofslavery; of i'm
prisonment for debt of the whipping
post ; of whipping Quakers of drown
ing witches and scores of other cruel
absurdities, which, in their day, were
deemed as vital adjNncts of good society.
That the characterization of silver
should have been effected in the interest
of any one class is surely, of itself, cause
for the recent popular evaporation and
emphatic demand that Congress should
retrace its steps. But when we consider
the lnsidious means by which that de-
monetl8ation was effected, the cause of
the people being SO indignant at the be-
trayal of their trust is yet more appafent.
Yet, as the old adage says, "it is poor
policy to bite ones nose off to spite his
face" and no betterment of condition is
obtained by jumping "out of the frying
pan into the fire."
We will briefly summarize the "hedg-
ing" processes by which certain Interests
have attempted to enhance the value of
their securities
When the 5-20s, which constituted the
bulk of our national Indebtedness, were
issued, the "interest" was payable In
coin (gold and silver, but the "prlncipal"
was payable, at our option, either In
greenbacks, gold or silver.
The pretended legislation of March,
1869, purpor ed to take from use the pow
er to pay in greenbacks, thus reducing
the liq1idating factors from three to two.
The Coinage Act of February, 1873 was
intended to take from us the power to
coin any dollars of the old standard, and
declares silver coins to be money or legal
tender to the extent of five dollars only.
The purpose of all this was to leave us
with but one factor for the liquidation of
our bonded Indebtedness, where three
existed at the time Of its creation.-True
Citizen.