The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-01-31

the Latin Union ana OF buCh oller EuEo
us,n nations us he may deem desirable,
10 ioiu the United States in conference
n ,dopl common ratio OF legal tender
"a between gold and silver, for the pur-
po.e Of establishing internationally the
nae Of bimctallic money, and securing
6.ity Of relative value between those
metals; such conference 10 be held within
ii, months and at such point in Europe
or tbe United States as may be Sgreed
upOn by the governments, or any three
Of them at the same time. The President
/, authorized to appoint three commits
.iouers on behalf Of the United States,
who shall make report for The informa-
,ion Of Congress, and be paid $500 each,
and their expenses.
The trouble about this movement, or
any similar movement, is that ii looks too
far into tile future. Those who are in
favor Of the Bland bill want it passed
right away, for the purpose Of arrcsting
The depreciation Of values and inspiring
such confidence in prices as will induce
capitalists to take hold OF property and
business and give employment to labor.
As showing what the much discussed
Bland bill really ia, and what its effects
are likely to be in the direction indicated,
we herewith reproduce it in our columns,
a. follows:
"An act 10 authorize the free coinage OF
the standard silver dollar, and TO restore
III legal.tender character.
"Be Il enacted, &C., That there shall be
coined, at the several mints Of The United
States, silver dollars Of the weight OF
four hundred and twelve and half
grains Troy Of standard silver, as pro.
Tidetl in the act Of January IS, 1887, on
which snail be the devices and superscrip.
lions provided by said act which coins,
together with all silver dollars hereto.
lore coined by the United States Of like
weight and fineness, shall be legal ten.
der, at their nominal value, for all debts
and dues, public and private, except
where otherwise provided by contract;
land any owner OF silver bullion may
deposit the same at any United
States coinage mint or assay Office,
to be coined into such dollars, for his
benefit, uron the same terms and
conditions as gold bullion isdeposited for
coinage under existing laws.) And the
Secretary OF the Treasury is authorized
and directed, ont Of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to
purchase, from time 10 time, silver bul.
lion at the market price thereof, not lesS
than two million dollars per month, nor
more than four million dollars per
month, and cause the same 10 be coined
into such dollars. And any gain or
seigniorage arising from this coinage
shall be accounted for and paid into the
Treasury, as provided under existing
laws relative 10 the subsidiary coinage;
provided, that the amount Of money at
any one time invested in such silver bull
lion, exclusive OF such resulting coin,
shall not exceed five million dollars"
1t will be noticed that the above bill
provides (1) that the silver dollar shall
only contain 4l2l grains, and (2) that
any speculator can bny bullion land i'm
mort IL for that purpose) and have II
coined to an unlimited amount, and (S)
that these dollars shall be an unlimited
legal tender. The argument advanced
in its favor is that these 4l2l grained
dollars were the dollars in use up to 1878,
or during the time when our bonds were
issued, and that the word coin wherever
used in any law authorizing the issue Of
bonds comprchended both gold and silver
coin, both being the money, aud the only
money, recognized by the Constitution Of
the United States.
This is all true in its literal sense. II
isalso true that our bonds arc not liter.
ally payable in either gold or silver.
Nothing is said in the several acts Nu'
thOriling their issue about paying them
in coin Of any kind. And because Of this
silence great many stump orators who
desired to'play upon the popular feeling,
have contended that they were payable
ingreenbacks, which Is about equivalent
10 saying that the bonded debt Of the city
Of Wheeling could be paid in her due
bills, or that a note on interest can be
paid off with a promise that does not
bear interest The greenbaCks are prom.
ises to pay dollars, and 1t ia NOT to be sup.
posed that the Europeans took these
bonds during the war believing that they
were payable in unredeemed promises to
pay dollars
Ills not stretch Of ofimagination to say
that those who paid gold for our bonds
during the war (ior that is what Euro.
PeAn investors did pay) expected to get
gold in return, knowing as they did that
the United States had never paid of her
former bonds in anything but gold. Con,
gres, as Iale as 1869, declared that these