Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-02-12


Do you remember that a stupid
Congress put into our national stat
utes law requiring the Secretary
OF the Treasury to have coined net
less than 100000 of silver every
month ? This IS the law. 1t origi.
mated with the silver lunatics. Wis.
consin Congressman Republicans,
too) voted for it. Under that law
Government is compelled to buy ev.
cry month from two to four million
dollars Of silver bullion and coin it.
The consequence is that there are
now locked up in the Treasury vaults
s60,054 ,456 in silver. Silver weighs
about an ounce to the dollar. There
are in the vaults over 5000 avoir
dupois pounds OF silver. Suppose
some emergency should require the
removal of this silver. 1t would take
train of nineteen broad gauge cars
to do il at one time. Bat the law re.
quires the coming to 60 on. The
purchases must continue and the ex
pense of coming and the danger and
expense Of guarding the treasure
cannot be stopped without violatin o
law. In the face OF all this our Re
pGbican U. S. Senators and Repre-
senLatives passed that stultifying
resolution, that the currency" laws
as they are should be let alone Is
there any so blind he cannot see
where this is leading us =? And yet
is there no Republican in Congress,
not even from Wisconsin, who has
the courage to tackle it? We are
aware there are those who will saw.
Pay IF bonds with it. We do not
care, for the qualification of this class
OF we'll meaning citizens, to chase
that cat after it's tail; but who il
there who has to handle money now
a-days but what needs buck skin
pockets sewed with leather stitches
to take care of the silver forced upon
him, and ii there should come sixty
millions more, what thenP Every
man would have to carry burglar
proof safe in his hat. Pay bonds
with it? There are some hundred
milliocs OF 5 and 6 per cent. bonds
coming due in 81. If the silver
continues TO pile up, there may be a
hundred millions ready to take up
bonds with. We don't object, bur
how will the other four hundred mil.
lions he taken up? OF late the Gov.
ernment could borrow at per cent.
and thereby save two TO three per
cent, ON sums refunded. And these
A per cents. are now selling, when
sold at all, at over per cent premi.
um. But with the prospect that fu.
ture bonds will be paid with dead
loads of silver is there any hope that
the reminder of the debt can be re-
funded at reduced rates of interest ?
If the silver is to remain there in the
vaults what is the use Of coming it !?
Why the expense? Silver certificates
are as good on bullion as on coin
There is not even any necessity Of
paying freight on the silver from the
mountains TO the mints. Perhaps il
would do to build stone walls around
the silver mountains of Colorado or
Nevads, call them the Government
vaults, and issue silver certificates on
them But we forget. We are for
greenbacks aud as these certificates
would only be worth 90 cents to the
dollar in greenbacks, they could hot
circulate together. Thus our cat al
most has its tail in its mouth again.
Some way or other this stupenduous
and ludicrous folly Of coming mil.
lions end millions of silver more
than the people will take, should find
an end. Suppose the law al.o CON-
PEELED the Treasurer to coin two to
four millions of gold per month more
than the people will use. How abb
surd! and Shouldn't the law for
,oining gold be the same as the law
for coming silver?