The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-01-23


70 UuUO
1- asvO,VV
30, 80 900
~ V'vvy
S2,OU0UOJ
Estimating the production OF 1876 aud 1877
TIE same as 1875. and we. find that the entire
amount OF silver yielded by the mines o. the
United States since they began to pay for
working them, has reached but a trife over
the comparatively small sum of sol CO.., 900.
This Is less than one-half the amount of our
present volume OF currency; ct when those
VINO n are INTERESTED In making and Keeping
crease OF only Sl2,0O O0J from 1879 to 1872, they
took the alarm which resulted in the act OF 1873
prescribing and outlawing ii from the COM
partnership of gold as money, II Will not do 10
say that the demand for silver had failed.
Tor aside from what our own people needed at
nome. The demand from abroad was so great
that in the very act OF demonetizine it here
provision was made for the coinage OF dollar
r. we o1ar ne @ i9r our foreign trade
and the secretary OF the treasury, in his recent
report, says:
This provision was made at a time when
such dollar was worth in the market I02. II In
gold, and was designed for the use of trade in
China, where silver was the only standard"
The great demand for this coin especially in
our trade with China, is shown by reports
made by the two leading foreign banks OF
China, the Oriental bank and the Hong Kong
and shanghai banking cor oration. da ed re-
spectively January 81 and 81, 1877, and fur.
nlshed Dy the United States consulate at Hong
Kong to the secretary OF the treasury" find
these reports quoted by the director of the
mint, and extract from them the following
statements:
"rhe United States trade dollar has been
well r. ceived in China, and Is eagerly well
coined in those parts of The country where the
true value of the coin is known. 1t is legal
tender at the pos Is OF Foo-choo and Canton, in
China, and also at Saigon and Singapore; aud,
although not legally current in this colony, Ii
Is eagerly sought after by the Chinese, and N
the bazaars IT. is seldom to ne purchased. In
proof of the estimation In which the trade
dollar is held in the south OF China, we need
only state that he bulk of the direct excl ange
business between hong Kong and san
Francisco, which is very considerable,
is done in this coin, the ma,
tives preferring 1t to the Mexican dollar. Late
advices from San Francisco report that SO great
is the demand fur trade dollars for shipment TO
China that the California mint Is unequal to
satisfy requirements. . My opinion is
that ultimately IL will be current all over
China: 1t is the best coin that ever has been
imported, and, being produced at the fountain
head of silver, can be laid down more cheaply
than any other dollar. China requires
many millions of dollars annually, and while
the clean Mexican dollar will be imported for
the north of China, the trade dollar will be i'm
ported for the south. 1 would roughly estimate
four to six ;aes of trade dollars from four to
six hundred thoosand) each fortnightly trip
all the year round"
The secretary of the treasury also informs us
that since the trade dollar was authorized it
has been coined 10 the large amount Of $50 no.
40c, mainly to meet this and other foreign de-
mands for silver money. 1t is true, however,
that he further states that the expori demand
for the trade dollar has now almost II not quite
ceased. 1t is not st ange that this shonld be
so, when this government has done all in it's
power 70 dishonor it at home; first limiting 1t
as legal tender TO the insignificant
sum of S., and Fastening soon after
badge of respectability. Distant people
naturally suspicious of our institutions, would
necessarily reject a coin On which we our
selves have placed such a stigma of disgrace,
however great. as we have seen, may be their
dc m md Or ofl Nv In M
no cunning device HIS been spared TO bring
TIE silver dollsr into contempt and TO drive it
pie and the people of all lands and of every
form of civilization plead for its restoration to
favor and 70 an ample circulation.
If there are some, however, who still think
that these assaults on silver were inspired by
any other motive than the fear Of too much
money, allow me 10 recall an incident In
When the revelation = gold TOOK place in
California, and ION the other tide Of
the world In Australia about the same
progress of mans ind greater than has
| been produced by any other one event since
/ ColumD discovered America. 1t quckened
| every energy of labor, aroused all the great
industries every where into new and artlfng
| activity, revived the dropping sails OF COM
merce In every sea, and sent the loaded cara
| vans OF railroad transportation flying in every
direction over the face of the earth. The
IN w c, e1e %
looked on in sullen dislrust and dread. And
| in 1885, when the production OF gold had
supp sed that L Would Continue to Increase,
this class broke forth in the different countries
] of Europe in favor of demonetiZing gold.
plentiful. De Quincy, Chevalier and oFher
| writer's made earnest and elaborate arguments
was $50 so great that soon II wouia be within The
easy reach of all classes, and then its power
to purchase labor and property in large guam
titles for very small sums would be forever
gone. Germany and Austria and some other
European governments needed these argn-
ments and in 1857 actually demonetized gold
1 IN order to maintain the scarcity OF money.
The reason why this question did not seriously
| agitate the financial circles of the United
time we had no great creditor class in this
country; we had no stupendous national debt
such state municipai and CORPORATION d. Dts as
have since filed all the stock markets with in
| terest bearing bonds, and which are now a
OF the country. Had our situation been then
| as IL is now We would have seen the holders OF
\ government securities, and all other bonds
many to the few was nominst-d, as badly
| affnghted in this country at what was called
| an over production OF gold as the holders OF
| The laws which govern the human heart IN its
| love of gain are the same everywhere. The
creditor c ass Il not so much concerned what
| coin other material shall constitute money
/ as IL is that there shall be no redundancy after
| its demands are paid.
1 Inc report Oh TIE monetary COuItuIcciOu SUI
| mitted 10 this body i'm March last by the dis
| tinguished senator from Nevada (Mr. jones'
| comments on this fact as follows:
| "In al the European discussions, after 1888
| and prior to the German decentralization OF
| SILVER and its consequences, the point made
was not that either metal had deprecated
| relatively to the other, but that by reason OF
extraordinary supplies of gold from California
and Australia, supplemented, about sS65, by
new supplies of silver from Nevada, both
metals had deprecated relatively TO labor and
commodities, and that those having hxed in
So long SIS double standard existed, new
supply OF either metal was only an addition 70
and only affected the value of the general
mass of money and not the relative value OF
the metals.
"The fall in gold, which Chevalier lamented
in 1857, was its fall in relation TO property.
He pointed out how the double standard had
prevented any change from occurring in its
relation to silver and how Ii would continue
TO do 50 until the silver Ct double standard