River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-01-31
THE SILVER QUESTION FROM A
GREENBACK STANDPOINT.
BY P. D. PIERCE.

dollar Is one hundred cents no more nor amy
less" Is this true BY what law was the
silver dollar made to agree With or conform
to the copper coin of the country Was not
silver coined into dollars before copper was
coined into pennies Ii so the silver dollar
must have been made to conform to one hun
bred pieces of copper coin that had no exis-
lance at the time. In later article the same
writer states that the proposed dollar is not
the dollar OF our fathers. That, he says, was
an honest dollar; the proposed one is fraud
uleut dollar. Now in order to decide this
question it is necessary to know what the
two are made OF. We can know surely what
the proposed dollar is to be. The law de-
timing what it shall be, declares that it shall
contain 4124 grains of pure silver. VIII
Prof. E. please tell us how many grains OF
pure silver formed the standard of the dollar
OF our fathers, as he terms ii Z? Was it not
this same standard of 4l2k grains If this
be so why is not the one as honest as the 9TH
err And if the old dollar was an honest one
why was it banished from the land i? Was
it because the worshipers of the Golden Calf
could not endure its presence in the temple
OF their heather worshipg Ii it was an hon
est dollar why not recall it from e2ilea
1t cannot be denied that Congress has as
much authority to restore the dollar as it had
to take it away. Long after silver was coined
cents representing LOO part Off dollar i'll sill
verfor convenience of trade, half and quarter
dollars were coined and put into circulation,
and have continued as representing respec-
lively parts OF silver dollar. These are in use
and have been ever since introduced, ali re-
presenting parts of this same dollar. The
standard of all the gold coin OF the Nation was
gauged ana made by law to conform to the
silver dollar.
True, gold has appreciated in value. That,
however, furnishes no reason why the silver
standard should be changed, if so it might be
made necessary for Congress to be all the
time III session so as to be ready to change
the dollar to conform to gold, q commodity
that is constantly changing in value accord
ing to supply and demand and during the
last twenty years has varied in value forty
five cents on dollar. To use the language
of Prof E., "Was there ever a fraud more
shameful and bareiaced endeavored to be per-
petrated by a government laying claim to
common decency and responsibility p At
the same time he tells us that Judge Hum
phrey is supporting and abetting this shame
tul fraud in Congress. | have not the least
doubt but that should Judge Humphrey vote
for and by his influence sustain this bill te-
fore Congress his acts will be endorsed by
three fourths of his constituents.
The Professor tells us that a cheap
dollar means always less food and clothing
Then no dollar, by this logic would mean
plenty of food and clothing. And again it is
stated that the cheapness OF silver has given
birth to this cry tor the silver dollar of our
fathers. do not doubt but there are plenty
OF men who cannot see or would not if they
could, that the 200 failures of Manufacture
ers and business men in 1877, as against GOO
in 1875, and the general stagnation of busl-
ness for the want OF money, accompanied
with depreciation of property, together
with crippled enterprises over the entire
land, are all the consequence OF the greatest
fraud and crime ever perpetrated by free
government have bad all to do with this res
t0ration of the silver dollar to the commercial
transactions Of the country. The standard
OF the silver dollar has not been changed, u
proposed to be- 1t is the same it was when
the national debt was contracted and no one
desires to change it but those in the interest
OF gold who would make if they could moth
ing legal tender for debts except gold and
diamonds Should the standard be changed
to 400 grains, what would the silver coin Of
the country in She form of halves, quarters,
and dimes represent Certainly no equal
parts of dollar all this kind of money
would at once be deprecated in value and
finally have to be recoined. This would
furnish fine opportunity for the jews to
speculate ON money. What horrible out
rage not to let them do it.