The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-05-03
THE PLETHORA OF SUBSIDIARY COIN.

THE PLETHORA OF SUBSIDIARY COIN.
The evils of our present system OF al
loyed subsidiary (fractionaD coin appear
to be manifold. AT present this is legal
tender only to limited extent and
hence is not received by the Government
for dues or by banks beyond the amount
that it is legal tender. The result is
that in cities where it is received in the
regular way of trade in large quantities
there is no sure way to dispose of the
surplus except to take it to the Sub
Treasury and exchange it for lawful
money. The tendency is all the time
therefore to flow to the money centers
and thence back into the vaults of the
Government, leaving the country where
it is always in demand constantly in
need of it for the transaction of busi-
ness.
The original abasement of the frac-
tional coins-that is, the fifty cent, quar-
ter dollar. ten and five cent tokens-was
planned at time when silver in this
country was scarce and above the par Of
gold. The tendency, therefore, was for
fractional silver to be bought up by spec
ulators and shipped out of the country.
To check this, and at the same time en-
able the Government to turn an honest
penny in the cheese-paring way, it re-
duced the weight Of the fractional coin
below the dollar standard, and has con-
tinued this economy since.
There is no valid reason why these
coins should contain less silver bullion
than the fractional portion of the dollar
that they assume to represent. Nor is
there any better reason to deny them
the right to be a legal tender for any
debt that an honest silver dollar is COM
petent to discharge. The price of silver
bullion is now cheap enough to enable
the Government to contemplate without
a nightmare the possibility of some raw.
enous foreigner stepping in and gobbling
up dray load or two of our neat new
quarter and half-dollar pieces for use by
the London, Paris or Frankfort silver
smiths. Moreover, we think it could
afford to place its fractional silver pieces
on an equality with the rehabilitated
Daddy Dollar, 50 that when one of the
sovereiens salts down in an old stocking
foot few dozen or a few hundred halve!
or quarters for rainy day he will no
have to submit to villainous shave wher
he brings out his accumulations for in
vestment some time in the future.
The House Committee on Coinage
Weights and Measures has prepared a re
port to accompany the joint resolution
adopted recently, authorizing the Secre
tary of the Treasury to transmit subsidi
airy coin through the mails. The repor
sets forth what amounts to this: tina
the fractional coin flows constantly from
the small country retail traders to tn
large centers, and that as consequence
coin is continually growing scarce in tn
interior, and 80 abundant in the grea
cities as to amount to nuisance.
The result is that there is at presen
accumulated in the Treasury vaults owe
$21 100000 in subsidiary coin. Th
Secretary and the Treasurer coincide i
, the view that the bill ought to pass a
recommended by the Committee, and
probably will; but we think the remed
ought to be more radical. By giving t
E this abased coin the intrinsic value
purports to represent and the same legs
= tender quality that is accorded to th
silver dollar, it would be boarded by til
people instead of flowing in constar
q stream into the vaults of the Cover
e ment, to be distributed thence, as nov
Y by surgical operation.
Editorial Spinnlugs.