The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-06-17


kept up without much intermission since
Congress assembled in mid-autumn. The
Western charlatans and fanatics have done
their worst, and the mischief perpetrated is
less than the country had reason to fear
The Resumption law, though threatened,
has not been repealed (; the proposition tor
the unlimited coinage OF silver on private
account has been defeated; the wild
schemes for suppressing the bank note
circulation and making tho whole
paper currency consist of greenbacks
has not had support enough in either
house to render it dangerous. These are
points for congratulation. On the other
hand, silver bill has been passed which.
while giving the profits Of coinage TO the
Treasury makes the silver dollars an unrc-
stricted legal tender; the gradual curtnil-
ment of the. greer backs down to the limit OF
three hundred million dollars has been
arrested; the payment of the interest on
the public debt in gold has feen rendered
impossible beyond a brief period. The bill
passed last week authorizing the Secretary
of the Treasury to receive grecnbacks in
payment Of the four per cent bonds and
for duties on imports after October
is rather helpful than hurttul. 1t IS
partial antedating of the resumption
fixed for the 1st Of January, 1879. II we
are to have successful resumption ut that
date it will thereafter make no practical
difference to the government whether it col
lects its revenue in its own notes or in coin,
CT which OF these it receives in further sales
Of bonds. II resumption is genuine one of
these will be inst as good as the other, and
it will be Of no consequence in which OF
the two any public or any private debt is
paid. If the Silver bill had not introduced
confusion and uncertainty there would be
absolute indifference between payments in
coin and in redcemable paper, because If
anybody who preferred gold was paid in /
greenbacks he could at once present the
greenbacks Tor redemption and procure the
gold which he wanted
But the Silver act destroys this intelliei-
BILE simplicity, and scasts ominous conjec-
ture" on the practical operation OF the Re-
sumption law. Let us try to hope for the best.
We are aware that there are two sides to this
question: ard that plausible arguments can
be adduced in support Of either But it
seems TO us that the financial Cassandras
who predict that the Silver act will make
resumption o sham and failure, on the
ground that it will be merely re-
sumption in silver, evince singular
lack Of discrimination. Their areu-
ments would be perfectly sound if the
legal tender notes were to be redeemed in
silver bullion instead Of silver coin. Silver
bullion is indeed worth only its market
value; but if you reason on the false as-
sumption that the coined metal must neces-
sarily be at par with the same amount Of
silver bullion. you will 60 astray
In order to form o correct Judgment on
this subject we must keep equally clear OF
the delusions OF the Western fanatics and
the crotchets Of bigoted bullionists. The
bullionists are quite right in maintaining
that money ought, as far rs is practicable,
TO represent the market value Of the un-
mintel metal of which it is composed
But they are wrong in surprising
and arguing that the commercial price of the
metal measures the value OF the coined
money. In England. which is the model
gold country, there are e19,00O,000 silver
coin in circulation at constant par with the
same amount Of gold coin, although the bull
lion Of which it is composed is worth ten
per cent less than the same amount of gold
bullion. This is q considerably larger
amount of silver coin than wo shall have on
the LIST Of January, and there is no reason
49, -
amount rs England nor why England could
not maintain at par larger amount than
she has in circulation. The value OF money
depends more on the laws which make it
tender than on the material Of which it is
composed.
For several months our greenback cur
rency, though irredeemable, has been nearly
at par with gold bullion, and nine per cent
more valuable than silver bullion. II its
amount were diminished twenty or thirty
millions it would be fully ut par with gold,
even without any provision for its redemp-
ton, and yet the material OF which it is
made is worth nothing Now, il the gov
eminent can take paper, whose commercial
value as mere paper is destroyed by passing
it through printing press, and make three
hundred millions Of it equal to gold in
virtue of its legal tender quality, what
impossibility is there in putting a consider
able quantity of the standard silver dollars
at par by the same method? The green
back dollars derive their whole value from
an act Of Congress. II an act OF Congress
can make small oblong pieces Of paper,
properly restricted in amount, equal in
value to gold dollars why may it not sue
cessfully 10 the same thing for metallic
pieces containing 4l2i grains OF silver? In
the ono case the whole value Of one hum
dred cents il conferred b. act OF Congress;