The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-03-15
(For THE CoLUNBIAS.]
[For THE CoLUNBIAs.l
BY VIM. BRINDLE.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEGAL AND
COMMERCIAL DOLLARS.
March IL, 1873.

March IL, 1873.
Par money is what the law declares to be
legal tender for all debts public and private.
A dollar is what the law declares to be the unit
Of our decimal system of money or of Feder-
al money. 1t is composed of 100 cents, 10
dimes or 1000 mills /; the value of which is
arbitrarily established by law, by means of a
unit Of value, composed of some commercial
commodity, the demand for which constantly
exceeds the supply, and the supply or increase
is more steady and regular than any other
commodity. AS these two conditions aid in
rendering a unit of value steady and just
There is no such thing as 81 absolute, steady
or unchangable value or price in any CONNER
cial commodity whatever but grains of sill
yer come nearer to it than anything else Two
things make grains of silver a better unit of
value than any other commodity. First be-
cause silver has vein, while grains Of gold
has only place among other metals or min
erals. Second, because Of its lower specific
grarity than grains Of gold, the same amount
of commercial or legal value requires larger
bulk of silver than of gold consequently
grains of silver can be cut or stamped, coined
into pieces of smaller palue than grains of
gold, and as the mass Of persons have only
small amount Of money at any one time, sill.
yer is more popular metal than gold. The
supply Of silver is more regular than the sup
ply of gold, the latter being found only in
places and the demand for both being con-
stantly in excess Of the supply makes the
commercial value Of grains Of silver, achereper
both metals are used as money, more regular
or steady than grains of gold. Job in chap
ter 2S, verse says "Sarely, there is vein
for the silver and place for the gold, where
they find it" rendering any commodity in
payment Of debts by fixed Or nominal val
ue, instead of by ~eight or measure is relic
OF barbarism and trick of usurpers and ty-
rants and knaves Of the dark ages The
mode established by Divine y isdom of ten
dering grains Of silver and of gold was by
weight at their market values, As We have
not entirely freed ourselves from all the Gus
toms established by European Usurpers and
tyrants Of the dark ages it will take us some
time yet in our struggle for reform on the
money question, to arrive at a clear under
standing of the truth, as to law to make a
proper uuh of ratue, by which to calculate
our bond and other dollars, or our money of
account and contract and as that question
does not properly enter into the subject of de-
monstrat ion under the caption of this article,
it's proper to pass it by for the present.
The present Federal Government compos-
ed Of equal Statess Nations forms family
or COME deracy Of nations and not one consol-
idated National Government like Great
Britain, whose system of banks of issue,
suitable. only.to aprivileged class, we have been
following, ever since our independence of that
semi-monarchial governmental in 1892 adopted
37li grains of pure 'silver as the unit OF
paiue. The gold dollar of 24l grains of pure
or unalloyed gold 22 carats fine was made an
! equal legal tender for an unlimited amount
The coinage act of 1892 fixed the ratio OF
, relative difference in value between an ounce
of silyei and an ounce of gold at Is to /. IL
1884, '39 Congress continued the 3Tli grain,
! of unalloyed silver as the unitiof value, anC
made gold dollar of only 24.22-l0O grain,
of unalloyed gold, q 3-5 earats fine or 35 4 [
grains Of alloyed gold one. tenth alloy-ar
equal legal tender with the silver dollar O
! 27li grains Of unalloyed or 4l23 grains of al
loyed silyer-one-tenth part alloy, for unlim
tied amounts and made the ratio nearly l6 Il
l, The commercial ratio in 1892 aud and il
] 1884, '37, was about l5a to /. The ratio o.