Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-01-02


unless that money be silver, as the
dollar gold coins on account of their
size cannot be brought into circula-
ton. Who is there that does not be-
lieve under that system we can circu-
late from one hundred to one hun
dred and fifty millions of silver dol
lars and maintain them at par with
whatever may be the gold coin in this
country or the standard of value?
Il A limited amount Of silver can
lsurely maintain itself at par with
gold coin as 1t does maintain itself at
par with gold coin to-day, in France,
in Belgium, in Holland, and in the
Netherlands. Seventy-two, millions
of people in the heart of Europe to-
day, active, energetic people. make
no distinction in their business tran
actions between silver and gold.
They are equally received as legal
tender; they are paid out by the
great banks on the ratio of l5h to l,
and not 16 to l, as proposed by the
silver bill.
| I assume, then, that Senators who
say we mean to establish debased
coinage simply because in some way
we propose hereafter to coin silver
dollar are assuming . material ele-
ment in the problem not yet shown to
be true. They are assuming that we
intend by our future legislation to
coin such . dollar as will be of less
value than the gold dollar. As I said
before, that depends upon SO many
questions to be settled in the future
that an argument cannot be based
upon it. For myself l am in favor of
limiting the silver coinage in this
country for the time being and the
bill which is now on your table, Mr..
President, with reference to silver
proposes to limit the coinage of sill
yer to $4,000, 900 90 the minimum and
"a, 600, ,00Oas the maximum per month,
so that the extent of the coinage, as
suming that the maximum will be
coined, could not exceed $50, ,OOO, 600
per annum, and most probably will
not exceed s30,0OO,O00 per annum,
and in the mean time I hope we can
secure an agreement of nations which
will justify free coinage Of both
metals at such fixed relations with
each other % will make them inter.
changeable without premium or dis
count, through the medium of . mon
etary conference of nations.
listened with interest to the state
ment made by the Senator from Ala
bama Mr.. Morganl upon this very
point the other day. He said that
silver was especially the favorite mon
ey of the colored race in the South.
Who does not believe that If it Is
made legal tender, or rather if sill
YER dollars are coined, these colored
people, like the people of China and
the East Indies, will hoard this mon
ey in considerable sums, so that we
shall be able to 60 on coming at the
rate of $30,OO0,OO0 per annum for
many years to come without disturb.
ing the relative value between silver
and gold2
But what has been necessary to re-
duce the price of silver2 Great Brit
ain circulates, as the Secretary of the
Treasury reports here, $90,OO0O00 of
silver. In order to keep that in cir
culation it debased it per cent. and
Ia fraction below the ordinary gold
coinage. So Germany by her coin
ago act of 1873, in order to keep silver
in circulation in that country, author
ICED q debased silver coin to the ex-
tent of nearly $l00OO00O0.
So it seems that, although silver is
temporarily reduced in price, all the
nations Of the world have found it
necessary in the past to debase their
silver below the ratio of 151a to l in
order to keep it in circulation at all.
i It is not my purpose to enter into .
discussion of the main question with
reference to the reconciliation of
silver, but believe (and it is only a
belief stated upon the best examina-
tion that can make) that with bill
for the remonetization of silver, with
proper limitations and conditions, il
can be maintained at par with gold
coin at the ratio of l6 to ! as now pro-
posed. And If the Latin Union (so-
called) will unite with US in favor OF
the double standard for q series OF
years, I believe we can maintain sill
yer at the ratio of 151a to l.
This brings me, Mr.. President, to
la consideration of the law Of 1870,
wherein is stated that these bonds
must be paid in "coin of the present
standard value" What did that
mean? That language was not put
In there without q purpose, because
} that was Q carefully prepared law,
It was inserted there because tor two
or three years before in this Chamber
there was an agitation favoring the
reduction Of the gold dollar so as to
assimilate 1t TO the five-franc piece
This Paris monetary conference
which Mr.. Ruggles attended, recon.
J mended an International monetary
unit of gold Of . value which should
be equal to the fve-franc piece con.
tanning Is grams of standard silver
. Mr.. Ruggles came home from tina,
conference and made q lengthy re.
port to the Secretary of State upor
the subject and he enlisted the ther
. chairman Of the Committee on Fl
} nance in the Senate and now the Sec.
retary Of the Treasury, Mr.. Sherman
who brought in bill here, which
will be found on the files, proposing
, IN actual reduction Of the. gold dol
!. lar 81 per cent.
: The now Secretary of the Treasury
> tho then chairman Of the Committee
on Finance, urged upon the Senate il
IN able report in 1868-'69 that the
gold dollar should be thus reduced
in order to assimilate it to the none.
tary system Of France. The theI
Senator from New York, Governor
Morgan, also member Of the Com
mittee on Finance at the time, intro
: duced minority report, in which HI
opposed any change In our system O
coinage. That bill was pressed her,
session after session and year aft
: or year by the chairman Of th'
: Committee. ON Finance, and il
: the debates and in his repor
I Ihe undertook to draw
distinction between the relations o
. olprivste debtors and creditors and tn,
relation Of government creditors ant
the government. He undertook Il
: exempt from the operations of his Law
: the government bonds Of the Unltet
Y States, but ct the same time, by tn
Z provisions of his bill, he was scaling
down all the other creditors Of thi
! country, to the extcnt Of 31S per cent
% our legislation in 1884 scaled dow
= all debts to be paid In gold, corporal
and private, 81 per cent. Yet MI
Sherman wanted to exempt the gov
! ernment from this debasing o
reducing the value Of the gold coiI
: He wished to exempt all the govern
ment obligations, IL remember tn
9 bill rightly have not looked at
q for some weeks. ! am very sure hi
o report made that recommendation.
: When the re-fnnding act Of 1S7
came to be passed the then Chairma
II of the Committee on Finance, th
It House of Representatives, and th
l. Senate concurring, thought it VIZ
I. necessary to incorpoRate in that law
1t provision whereby, If any fntur
II change should take place In our nor
. etary laws, either assimilating th