The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-02-13

the contract is to pay in either gold or sill
yer of the standard value tof the United
States on July 18th, 1870, when the silver
dollar OF -4l2% grains was full legal ten.
der, with the right of unlimited coinage, and
il y simply impossible that party peform-
ing his contract, entered into by both par
ties, with full knowledge of it's terms and
effect, can thereby be- guiltyof fraud or dis
honor: Both houses Of Congress- have by
overwhelming majorities decided that no
such fraud would perpetrated by paying
the public creditors in the silver dollars of
4l23 grains. If remonetizing silver will
bring it to par with gold the public credito
cannot lose. = ICJ -1 X =
It's said that to, coin the, silver dollar, of
4l2@ grains and make it a full legal tender
would defraud individual creditors who have
loaned money or sold property to other in
diyiduals since silver was demonetized, that
is, since June 622d, 1874 This is a. great
mistake Every creditor of the foregoing
description is compelled by law to receive
greenbacks in payment unless his contract
expressly provides for payment in, metallic
money, and the exceptional cases are not iaf-
fected by the bill under consideration Now,
no one, think, doubts that if the coinage Of
the dollar of 41211a grains be restored and it
be made full legal tender. it's value will be
at least equal to that of the greenback.
Hence no possible injury to Individual
creditors, such as that above. supposed, can
occur, If, as has been asserted, the average
Duration of individual debts in the United
States is about ten years, q think it is less.)
Then it is easy to see that the passage of this
bill cannot injure any considerable number
of creditors, if, indeed, it should injure
any, for it is certain that in the next two
years not over 5O,OOO,OOO silver dollars could
be coined, and nearly every such dollar would
be absorbed by the payment Of customs du-
ties, and wonld beused for nothing else.s:
It is agreed that if this bill pass, silv +
will be less valuab let currency than gold,
and will expell gold from the country, mac
cordance with what is called Gresham's law
namely, that the least valuable currency
drives out a more valuable and hence,
several amendments have been offered to
increase the number of grains in the silver
dollar, so as to make it an equivalent, as it
is said, of the gold dollar. The objection
to the bill rests upon the assumption that
the silver dollar !; Of 4121H grains, if
made full legal tender, will be of less
argued that this assumption was incorrect
and said:' "If the greenback, which has no
intrinsic value, no circulation outside of the.
United States, and is but of limited legal
tender even here, is yet within less than two
per cent. of par with gold, why should not
silver money, which has intrinsic value and
which circulates over the greater part of the
globe, if endorsed with the full legal tender
faculty. rise to par with gold especially if
we rate the metals at Is $500 to i, while
most other nations using both. give but 1515
for 1 Z? z +. g
One reason why greenbacks have been and
are deprecated is the fact that they have not
been receivable in payment of customs du
ties or of interest on the public debt, but
make the silver dollar Of 412115 grains full
legal tender ~andit will be receivable for
both these purposes and.it must closely APP
prOximate if it does not reach par with gold.
I believe it will reach it, but suppose it does
not, and suppose Gresham's law to have its
effect to what extent would be- expelled
from the country by silver? sManifesty only
SO far as silver supplanted it. Three hun
dred millions in gold could not be, driven
out by the issue Of fifty millions in silver.
The utmost effect could only be to expel fifty
millions of gold, the place of which would
be taken by silver, and the volume of metal
lie money would be the same. But would
the fifty millions be expelled? Not unless
three hundred million was all the metallic
money that the country needed. If it needs
three hundred and fifty million, and it needs
more to safely and certainly maintain specie
payments, the gradual addition Of fifty, mill
ion in silver to five hundred million of gold
would n0tdriye gold out. But in strnthE We
have not the half Of three hundred million
in gold, and when we consider how slow will
be the process of coming silver dollars we
will find we are in no Immediate danger T
losing our gold. -
If gold be expelled it will not be SO much
bysiiver currency as by four small notes.
Whether the people sof She United States,
would eyer give up the use Of small notes he,
would not venture to predict, but if they
would not they must agree with the United
States that metallic money shall be shorn of
one of it's functions, that of a circulating
medium. IS SIAyh EC, JEy0}E, aS.y, ,S{t
Another set of reasohers argued that silver
would 60 out of the country should the dol
lar of 41211a grains be coined; that as silver
was undervalued in the dollar of 4121s
grains, as compared with its valuation in the
states Of the Latin Union, ittwill leave here
and flow into those states, and so it tends to
do were those states to open their minis to
Oh SOAAo5O u AS0-A4oAAS| eA6CeSs DuI
he thought they would not do so.
Another objection to the bill was, if it
tsh0uld become law NE would be; flooded
with slver-that Germany would pour her
surplus silver, on us and ours mines would
produce SO much that we would have more
than we knew what to do with. He had no
fears from Germany. It was said she had
$3.50, 100000 to spare. Suppose it was all
poured into the United States. We could
absorb II oil without injury. BUTT would
not bee poured into this country. Ger
many could not spare her silver; but if she
could, the greater part of itwouid be much
more likely to go to Asia and to Russia, Aus
tia and Spain, TO Say nothing Of the Latin
States, than to come to the United States,
who undervalue silver as compared with the
rest of the world. We did not think we
had anything to fear from an excessive pro-
duct of four minis. He was considered an
infationist; but he knew of no valid reason
against enlarging our specie basis and if we