The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-01-09
"a Good Example to FOLLOW. ;,
New York Graph,

lNCW 1Olh
In France silver is a legal tender to any
amount.
In France silver is at par in gold-that is,
the five franc piece, containing less silver
than our silver dollar, will buy gold piece
of the same weight as the American gold
dollar.
In France specie payments will be resumed
on New Years day.
1t might be profitable to put this and those
together. And Washington correspondent
of the Tribune does try to put them together
under the above head, and a pretty mess he
makes OF it. This correspondent alleges that
there is no silver to speak of in France, and
that resumption will be, 'of course on a
gold basis. He might have spoken more
intelligently if he had before him the follow.
ing official statement of the amount of gold
and silver in the bank of France on July 10,
1871:
Gold coin, francs m L O6S $50 eco
Gold Ingots and foreign gold coin. Sls 100000
Total gold coin and ingots ......l, 1856 7SO, 600
Silver five franc piec s, lawful mon
ey without l1mit.......-....--.-.-..- 49, 1000
Silver change in 5U.5O0, 600
Total silver. in francs......... S2S 1000
Total gold and silver in the bank
OF France in PA 10000
That is, there is more than eight hundred
millions of silver in France-twice as much
as is possessed by all the rest of Europe. In
the face of these figures the Tribune of this
morning says editorially:
The Tribune's special dispatch, given below
shows that the facts in regard To France
not as represented by the silver men. the
total ams unit of silver coin in France is ex-
tremely limited. being less than the amount
proposed TO be issued in this country in the
next year, and that there is practically only
one standard in France.
Extremely limited is the phrase the
Tribune selects to describe the sum of $685.
$50 600,
Its correspondent acknowledges that
In France silver five franc pieces Ceoins cor
responding to our silver dollars, but some
public and private, and are exchalgeable for
the gold coins of the republic at the rate of
fifteen and a half ounces of the one for one
ounce of the other.
That is, France gives three per cent. less
silver for a given amount of gold than the
Bland silver bill offers, yet gold flows into
France like a swollen river, and her bank
contains more gold than the national banks
Of England, Germany, Austria and Holland
all put togetherl Why does not gold rush
out of country where silver is held so dear?
The correspondent says that France coins
only $40, 600, 900 year, while the Bland bill
allows the coinage of $4S, 900, 600. This is
true; but France has eight times as much
silver on hand as we have, and at this rate it
would take 20 years to Overtake her.
In this country we offer 16 ounces of silver
for one of gold, and it is called reputation;
in France they give only 15k of silver for
one OF gold, and are able to resume specie
payments, with more gold and silver on hand
than all the rest of Europe put togetherl
The correspondent thinks that
II congress, IN its legislation on the silver
question, would be- content 10 follow the ex-
ample of France, comparatively little mischief
would be done by the reintroduction of the
old silver dollar into our currency.
We think so, too.