Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-11-17
THE SILVER QUESTION.
I-HOw silver Ceased TO be Money

From 1892, when our monetary
system was first established, to 1878,
silver was money in this country. !
In 1873 it ceased to be money. AS
a preliminary to several articles we
expect to write from time to time on
the present state of our monetary
system, we propose to investigate
the history of this monetary revolu-
ton; for, quietly as it was done, it
was a revolution and the most i'm
portant one that has happened since
the war.
But, before this question can be
intelligibly discussed, we must give
a short attention to the definition of
terms.
What then is meant when it is
said that certain substances are
money? We answer, three things.
First-Guarantee on the part of
Government of the quantity and
quality of the substance to be used
as money.
SecOnd-The making it a legal
tender for all debts, public and pri-
vate.
Third-The right of citizens to use
any quantity of that substance as
money, subject only to the guaran-
tee above mentioned, which is not
to be refused to any one bringing the
substance in any quantities.
These three characteristics of
money were, prior to 1873, accorded
to gold and silver promiscuOusly;
they have since that time been with
held from silver and assigned ex-
clusively to gold.
All these characteristics are, it
will be at once seen, the results of
legislation and this must needs be
the case. For certain rough ways
of estimating value many other
things can be used; thus, in Homer's
time when two warriors propose to
exchange armOr each man values
his property as worth so many oxen,
the iron armOr twelve oxen and the
golden armOr two hundred.
For all that, oxen could not be cor
rectly spoken of as money because,
first, they could not well have a
Government stamp of value, and,
secondly, they could not well be
made legal tender. Thus, if Glau-
Gus is indebted to Diomede it would
not be reasonable that Diomede
should be obliged to receive a GER
tain number of oxen in liquidation
without the valueOf the oxen being
first ascertained, all oxen not being
of equal value.
Now, gold and silver are substan-
ces the exact value of which can be
ascertained by first assaying and
then weighing them; they canthere-
fore conveniently be guaranteed
by the Government whose only
function is to ascertain and guaran-
tee the weight and quality. When,
therefore, the United States cOnsti-
tuted the silver dollar its unit of
value, it simply did this: it said to
the people, bring to us any silver
you want to use as money and we
will weigh and assay it and stamp
our guarantee upon it, so that any
one will take it for what it claims to
be.
Itwas the peoples right to use any
quantity of silver they had in this
way and the Government was bound
by law to assay, weigh and stamp
all that tcas brought them. Hence
the silver dollar. 1t was simply a
piece of silver alloy which the Gov
eminent guaranteed to contain 37ll
grains of pure silver and lilo that
amount of baser metals. But this
alone did not make it money; it had
to be made a legal tender for
debts public and private. In other
words, if A owed B any money
and rendered him that much in
silver dollars before a witness $50
that the tender could be proved in
COURT, and if then B refused to re-
ceive it in payment, he could not
afterwards sue for the money. In
like manner the gold dollar was
monetized, the guartee being that it
contained 243 grains of pure gold.
In all the above specifications the
gold dollar continues to be money;
the silver dollar has ceased to be SO.
First-It is not allowed to be
coined.
Second-It is not a legal tender,
except liz small amounts.
Tbird-As a consequence of the
first, citizens are not allowed to use
their silver as money.
Some silver, it is true, (theamOunt
being limited by the discretion OF
the Treasury offices) is coined in
half and quarter dollars; none in
dollars. 1t is not a legal tender in
payment of any debt over five dol
lars, and no citizen can go to the
mint and demand the coinage of his
silver spoons and teapOts.
The strangest thing about all this
Is that, when the change took place
nobody seemed to know that it had
taken place for long while after
wards.
1t is shown by Mr.. Jones, of Ne
Vada, from a published letter that
President Grant himself was ignOr-
ant of the decentralization of silver
eight months after he had signed
the act by which ii was done.
Those were the palmy days of the
Republican party. The party had
more than a twO-thirds majority in
both Houses, and could set aside the
rules and pass measures over Presi-
dental vetoes at pleasure; and as the
party was supreme in Congress, that
of the party leaders was undisputed
in the party. 1t is certainly a queS-
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