The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1878-02-07
THURMAN ON SILVER.
HIS SPEECH IN THE SENATE YEs.
TERDAY.
An Able Defence OF the Dollar OF
Our Daddies-Facts and Fig.
ures for the People.
WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 6.
SENATE.

Chicago in favor Of the remonetlza''on
of silver. Lsld on the table, the bill now
being before the Senate.
Senate bill to remit the taxes on in.
solvent savings banks was called up by
Mr.. Davis, of Illinois, and discussed
until the expiration of tie morning
hour, when consideration OF the silver
bill was resumed, and Mr.. Thurman
spoke IN favor thereof.
Mr.. Thurman argued that silver and
gold had been the metallic money of the
world for thousands of years; they were
also the money of the Constitution; they
were the metallic money of the colonies,
and afterWard of the United States from
the declaration Of independence till sil.
yer was demonetized by mistake, and
without the know ledge of the people, BY
the enactment of the revised statutes In
| 1874. Both metals are suited TO perform
the functions of money, and do perform
it among q large majority of the human
race. Silver is especially suited for small
transactions, and may therefore be
properly the money OF people IN humble
circumstances. 1t follows that the burden
of proof rests on those who insist that
silver should be demonetzed. IL Is
srgued that to rehabiitate the dollar OF
4l23 grains would detraud the public
creuitor. This cannot be true, for the
contract Is to pay in either gold or silver
of the standard value OF the United
States on July IA, 1870, when the silver
dollar of 4l25 grams was full legal tender,
with right OF unlimited COINAGE, and 1t
is simply impossible that the party per-
forming his contrsct (entered into by
both parties, bu! with full knowledge OF
It's terms and etiects) can thereby be
guilty of fraud or dishonor. Both houses
OF Congress have, by overwhelming ma
ioriGies, decided that no such fraud will
be pcrpetrsted by paying the public cred
tors in silver dollars of 4l23 grains. If
remonetizing silver will bring it
to par with gold, the public creditor
cannot lose. 1t is said that to coin the
silver dollar Of 4l2! grains and make 1t
full legal tender would detrsud the in
dividual creditors who loaned money or
sold property to other persons since sill.
yer was demonetized-ths is, since June
y, 1874. This IS q great mistake.
Every creditor Of the foregoing descrip-
ton is compelled by law TO receive
greenbscks in pay, unless his contract
expressly provides for payment in metal
lie money, and these exceptional cases
are not affected by the bill under consid-
eratiOn. Now no one, 1 think, doubts
that if the coinage OF the dollar of 4.21
grams be restored and its value be made
u full legal tender, its value would be at
least equal to that of greenback, hence
no possible injury to the individual
creditor, such Us that above supposed,
can occur. If, as has been asserted, the
average Aratiou of individual debts in
the United States is about two years Il
think it is less then it is easy 70 see that
the passage OF this bill cannot injure any
considerable number OF creditors, if in
deed, it should ipjure any, for it is GER
tain that in the next two years not over
fifty million silver dollars could be
coined, and nearly every dollar would be
absorbed by the payment OF customs
duties and would be used for nothing
else. 1t Is argued that II this bill psss
that silver will be less valuable cur.
rency than gold and will expe!l the gold
from the country in accordance with
what is called Gresham'5 law, namely,
the least valuable currency drives out
the most valuable, and hence several
amendments have been offered TO in
crease the number OF grains in the silver
dollsr so rs TO make it an equivalent, so
it Is said, of the gold dollar. This ob.
lection to the bill rests on the assumption
that the silver dollar of 4l2! grains, if
made full legal tender, will be OF less
value than the gold dollar. Mr.. Thur
man argued that this assumption was in.
correct, and said If the greenback, which
has nointrinsic value, no circulation out
side the United States, and is but lin.
tied legal tender even here, is yet within
less than two per cent. of psr with gold.
Why should not silver money, which
has intrinsic value and which clrculstes
over the greater portion ot the globe, if
endorsed with the full legal tender
faculty, rise to par with gold, especially if
we raise the metals at 1898 10 |, while
most other nations using both give but
1850 for one2 One reason why green
backs have been and are deprecated is
the tact that they have not been receivs-
bic IN payment of customs duties or o. in
terest on the pubic debt; but make
the silver dollar OF 4l24 grains full
legal tender, and 1t will be receivable Tor
both these purposes, and it must closely
approximate il il does not reach par with
go!d. | believe it will reach II. But
suppose it does not, and suppose G-es.
hams law 10 have its effect, to what ex.
tent would gold be expelled from the
country by silver. Manilestly ouly so
far rs silver supplsnted 1t. Three hun
dred millions in gold could not be driven
out BY sn issue OF fifty millions in silver
The utmost etiec: could only be to
expel fifty millions of gold, the
plsce of which would be taken
hy silver, and the volume Of metallic
money be the same. But would the fifty
millions OF expelled? Not unless three
hundred millions WAS sll the metallic
money that the country needed. Il it
needs three hundred and fifty millions,
and It needs more TO safely and cer-
tsinly maintain specie payments, the
gradusl addition of fifty millions Of silver
TO three hundred millions of gold would
not drive out gold. But in truth We have
not the half OF three hundred millions Of
gold. and when We consider how slow
will be the process Of coming silver do
lars, we will fnd We sre in no in nediste
danger Of losing our gold. /!
gold be expelled, it will no;
be so much by silver currency
rs by our small notes. Whether
the people OF the United States would
ever give up the use of small notes he
would not venture TO predict, but if they
would not they must agree with us that
metallic money be shorn of one OF its
functions. that of circulating medium.
Another set Of ressoners argued that the
silver would 20 out OF the country should
the dollar of sl2! grains be coined; that
as silver was underyslued in dollsr Of
4l2l grains as compared with It's vslus.
tion in the States Of the Latin Union, it
will leave here snd flow into those Statss.
And SO il would undoubtedly tend to do,