The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1878-01-24

bringing ruin on the people. Nh'a the
DELEGATES met and formed the present
Constitution Of the United States, they
Incorporated in the Constitution 'hepro-
hihition that no state should coin mon>
ev, emit bills Of credit, or make any
thing but gold and silver coin tender
in the PAYMENT ofdehtS, and TO enable
congress- 10 furnish this legal tender coin
and circulating medium for the people,
il is declared that congress should have
the mower 20 cum mouc, regulate The
value thereof and Of foreign coin and fix
the standard of weights and measures,
AMER the adoption ol the Constitution,
the congress Of the L. :, l.91-9l, IN
fixing the standard Of money in the lni-
ted States. aud finding that silver coin
was the only circulating medium, de-
clared that the dollar of the United
states should contain 55ll grains ofPurr
silver, and this was the standard accord
ING 10 which all contracts had been en-
tered into. IN fHriherance OF carrying
ont this provision Of the Constitution IN
1872. Congress established the mint oi
the L :. and fixed the gold dollar 10
contain 24i grains Of pure gold, and the
silver dollar to contain as we have stat
ed, S7ll grains Of pure SILVER, both 10 be
struck atthe mint; and fixing the Fela-
tive values ofthe two metals OF | 20 10
was considered TO be the ratio which
would establish an equivalent currency
circulating indiserimiuaiely and they
should be "a legal tender in payment Of
debts. Provision was also made for the
circulation, value and re-coining Of for
eien coins. Large impor;a.ions of for
9rn coins were continually arriving in
the United States and became part ofonr
circulating medium, giving TO the people
silver and gold currency Of intrinsic
value at all times and under all circum>
stances-thus establishing the federal
money standard Of the United States.
viz 10 mills one cent, 10 cents one dime
10 dimes one dollar, 10 dollars one
eagle placing the currency of the coun-
try in a sound and healthy state and es-
,ablishing an immGta Die eQuivaleEcy be-
tween gold and silver for the purpose OF
increasing the specie circulation. We
lind in the report Of K, b. TAHey. Secre.
tary OF the Treasury of the L. : under
President Jackson, dated Is April 1884,
he recommends "that foreign 81 and
silver coins be made q legal tender in
the payment ofdebts, according TO their
intrinsic value-that the laborers would
be paid in gold and silver as they are
most apt TO suffer from waFth.ess or de-
preciated paper" &c. And Secretary
Tauey further says, 1T is apparent that
gold and silver com can be provided for
the ordinary circulation below ten doll
lars, Il would be advisable to extend the
restriction to bank notes OF that denomi-
nation, for we can never be safe from the
tluctuation or the currency. until all
notes below ten dollars are banisAed
from circulation" rs silver was better
known TO our citizens than gold, espe-
cially 10 the great body OF the laboring
people, was more convenient for small
payments, and was less liable 10 be Coun>
terfeited, it would be unwise and unjust
now to enact law, the effect Of which
would be to further eKpel all the silver
coin from the country or debase il of its
relative value, when the American cur
rency Of gold and silver have circulated
interchangably. In our former article
we referred to the act Of Congress con-
cerning the gold coins Of the L. :, ap-
proved % June lSJ4 this is the frs; act,
as far as we can ascertain, that oyeryal-
ued gold and underyalued silver and
what was the effect? here we have IL,
four months after the approval Of the
act, The y. Y. Advertiser, Of the 80 Oct.
1854 says, This gold bill IS beginning to
work. one hundred thousand American sii-
rer half dollars rtrr purchased At per c..
premium for c1Dgrtatiop, this is probably
the first movement of the 0ufruri tide /;
the inward current Of gold has stopped" :"
We thus see that the regulations OF gov
ernment have an influence upon the
relative market value Of the two metals,
and may drive either metal out Of circu-
lation, and this soveryaluation ofgold has
driven the silver coin out ofthecouutry,
and inflicted upon US a food Of one dol
lar notes and fractional currency. This
insidious scheme@ establishing a gold
standard by undertaking. the silycrcoin
and driving it out of the country, has
been on its march since 1858, until We
have seen in 1862 the fuctnation and
speculation IN our gold coin; gold dol
lar was quoted at S2,sl, being one 8aliar
and eighty one oy1tfs above its real stand
ard value, cUr the American s'irsr dollar
which had been exported from this
country to Europe where its intrinsic val
nc as billion was at premium; and 50
congress will find that it is better to
leave the relative yalIe Of the two met
ais to be adjusted by competition Of the
market. than to attempt to fix them by
law, as no human law can establish
any fixed proportion between any two
commodities in existence LoHE as tho
financial and commercial situation Of
our country since 1872, from a state Of
prosperity and activity in all branches
Of domestic industry, at one fell sw0op
we find ourselves in a more deploTable
situation, manufacturing establishments
and other sources Of industry forced 10
suspend operations, thousands Of labor
ers thrown out OF employment, real es-
tate reduced nearly one half in value,
the public press groaning with Sherif's
sales all over the country, money at
usurious interest, and ruin and bank
ruptcy staring every one in the face.
The passage of the resumption act to re-
turn TO specie paymets and make gold
the legal standard, give the impetus TO
this premature move, aggravated by the
calling in, cancelling and destroying the
legal tender, greenback and other paper
currency. Until the people cry aloud
for a repeal ofthe Resumption act, re-