Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-28
THE CURRENCY Thinkers,

mas Deen prepared ana WILL be introduced as
soon as Congress reassembles, to increase
the intrinsic value of the standard silver dol
lar to four hundred and eighty grains, and
make it a legal tender exchangeable for gold
coins. The proposed coin is to be cast from
a modified die of the trade dollar. The bill
provides that whenever silver dollars shall
be presented for exchange in such sums as to
show amounts outstanding to be redeemed
the secretary of the treasury may diminish
or discontinue the manufacture of such coin
age until otherwise ordered by him. It also
provides that any owner of silver bullion
may deposit it at any mint to be formed
into bars, as now provided by law, or dol
lars of the weight Of 480 grains troy, as des-
| ignated in the act. 1t also authorizes the
secretary of the treasury to discontinue the
receipt of such bullion when the dollar shall
become redundant, and that trade dollars of
the United States shall be received by the
government for all debts and obligations due
it, to be recoined into dollars of 48O grains
troy, which shall hereafter be the only au-
thorized silver dollar.
Such a measure we have no doubt is de-
sired by few alleged fnanciers, among
whom are Messrs Hayes and Sherman, but
we are much inclined to doubt it's expedi-
ency The standard silver dollar as at pres
ent issued, answers every purpose for which
currency is used in this country. To be sure.
it cannot be exported at its face value, but
~ e.
other countries, and if double it's present
weight would be no more available for pur-
poses of export. All of our silver that finds
it's way to foreign markets is exported in the
form of bullion, and the stamp of this gov
eminent upon coin will not give it far
things additional value outside of the juris-
dction of the United States government
Then, the change in the weight would inev-
itaoly result in the depreciation of the
standard silver dollar now in circulation and
cause a not uncomfortable loss to the hold
ers for, be the provisions for their redemp-
tion or exchange ever so thorough, bankers
and brokers would universally charge com
mission for attending to the wants of Gus
tom srs in this respect. which would, in the
aggregate, amount to a large sum, all of
which would come out of the pockets of the
people.
These so-called fnanciors who are SO anx-
ious to tinker the coinage laws of the coun-
try are singularly short-siyhted and ignorant
of the past history of the currency. Before
the suspension OF specie payments in 1861
no one thought of regarding the gold dollar
as the standard of value. It passed current,
but its value in bullion transactions was
gagged by the silver dollar then in circula-
ton. The increased production of silver of
late years mas, however, deprecated its value,
aud at present the rarer is the most valuable
metal. But how long it will remain SO no
oae can tell. BY the time the proposed dol
lars of greater weight than the present ones
are authorized and coined, there will no
doubt be a change in the market price of
silver. Perhaps it will have deprecated still
further than at present; perhap, it will have
increased in value. In the latter case silver
would be of greater value as bullion than
az coin, and would consequently be with
drawn from circulation entirely, leaving the
community suffering acutely from lack of
currency of convenient denominations
Silver has no fixed and invariable market
value. 1t may be far more costly to.
morrow than it is to-day; hence the only
safe method upon which to base the coinage
OF the country IS to coin dollar that con-
talns just that quantity Of metal which shall
appear, from comparison of it's value for
several years, to represent dollar in value
at average market prices. This has been
done in determining the weight of the present
standard dollar. 1t contains 41215 grains of
pure silver, which is equal in value, at
average rates, to dollar in gold, presuming
gold to be the measure of value It is not
probable that the product of silver in the
future will be sufficiently large to depreciate
the intrinsic worth of the dollar to any
great extent, nor is 1t probable that it will
appreciate sufficiently to drive the coin from
circulation, 70 attempt to change it ct