New-York tribune., 1882-04-10

culation as many dollars rs 1t has colned'
The process is this the silver notes come BACK
to the Treasury almost exclusively in payment
of duties, and therefore prevent the payment
of the same amount in gold. During the iirst
quarter of this year the customs receipts at
this port alone consisted Of $29, 796,ooo IN solo
coin, s2,299, 900 in legal tenders, T39,OOo IN
silver dollars, and just $S,00O,OOO IN SILVER
certificates. If the ;SS,OO0,OOO had not peeh
paid in silver notes it would have been paid
in gold. and tvo-thirds of the whole amount
of gold lost by the Treasury would have been
recovered at Ncw-York alone
But there is absolutely nothing to prevent
a general return to the Treasury of the
S59 OOo. 600 of silver certificates outstanding
in precisely the same way, ana as Iast as
they can be employed in the payment OF du-
ties. Let there once arise slight market
preference for gold as against the silver notes.
and the latter viii he rapidly turned into the
Treasury. The $59,000,OOO thus turned III
would virtually take just that amount OF goId
out of the Treasury, because the gold must go
out when demanded, i'll payment Tor bonds or
interest whether any is coming in or not. If
this should happen before Congress can act
next January, and if the exchange of goi1 Tor
silver should continue at the present rate,
the reserve would then consist, not OF
$137, 100000 gold and $40, 100000 silver,
but of $7S,000,00 gold and $l4O,OOOoOO
silver. Does not every practical man know
that in that event there would be run on
the Treasury to get gold for legal-tender
notes 2 If it should attempt to pay gold the
banks alone could draw from il more than 1t
would then have Oh hand, and if it should re-
fuse to pay notes except in silver, the collapse
of public credit would bring incalculabe dis
aster to all trade and industry.
Is it not clearly the duty of Congress to
guard against this possible calamity by taking
immediate action to authorize suspension OF
silver coinage? The continuance of this coin
age, after more coin than can be used has
been supplied, is of no possible use to any
body, except as bounty to the owners OF
silver mines. But ought the Government
to run so great risk of causing disaster to all
industry. in order to help the owners of one
kind of property Some advocates of the COIN
age seek to Justify ii as Il protection OF the
silver-producing industry. But can 1t he sad
with truth that the Government incurs such
vast risk of disaster to all interests by any
form of protection that it gives to any other
producer? If one industry is to be favored to
this extent, others have a right to equal favor;
but what would bc thought OF the man who
should propose that the United states should
buy and lock up two-thrds of the whole crop
of cotton or wheat Out of SO, 100000 sill
yer produced by the mines, according to the
Mint reports, $27 100000 was coined-over
G5 per cent. What lunatc VIII advocate the
purchase by Government of 100000 bales OF
cotton, or 1000, 600 bushels OF wheat, or
100000 tons of iron ore, in order TO help
those industries ? The truth is, that the step
which Government has taken and is taking
have no excuse whatever, after he.silver coin
needed for use has been supplied. The sooner
Congress suspends the coinage, until the coin
now on hand can be used the sooner it will
save the country from great waste, and
guard it against great risk.