Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1882-05-11
silver Certificates.

ohIeF OerHnchtess
The minority Of the sub-committee Of
the House Banking and Currency Com
mittee have made a report on the silver
question. and after quoting from the
Presidents message and the report Of the
Secretary Of the Treasury, the committee
say; -lI.
"The first reason given by the Secre-
tafy Is that, although the Government
has delivered the siver dollar to the peo-
pie in all parts of the country free Of ex-
pense, only $34, ,OO0, 900 Of the 500. 600, 900
coined have been asked for, while the
other $66. .000, 900 remain in the vaults Of
the Treasury. Our answer to this argu-
ment is, that the people are unwilling to
circulate any great quantity Of coin, eth
er gold or silver, and, having the privi-
lege of using silver certificates instead OF
the coin, they preferred the former to
the latter, and il the rulings of the Treas
ury Department were not against the IN.
restricted issue of gold certificates for
the deposit of gold coin, no greater pro.
portion of gold would be among the peo-
pie than of silver. Here the enemies OF
the silver dollar reply that therefore the
issue of the silver certificates should stop,
thus compelling the people to circulate
the silver coin itself. But to this we do
not agree, for we believe the conven.
ience of commerce should be subserved
by the Treasury and certificates issued if
they are preferred to coin. 1t is gener,
ally known that about the time the Treas
ury resumed specie payments the ruling
forbiding the unrestricted issue of gold
certificates for gold coin deposited was
adopted to facilitate and maintain such
resumption, and this practice yet main
tains. The nexttwo paragraphs of the Sec
retary's report have reference to the fail
ure of the International Monetary Confer
ence and the discussion of the subject of
bimettallism, which was considered by
that body. Perhaps one of the reasons
why SO little success has attended the
meetings of that conference is that our
own Government in its executive branch
seems SO half-hearted in its support of
the object to be reached by that confer.
ence. But he attempts to reconcile the
people of the United States to its failure
by saying I'VE need not appear anywhere
as supplicants when we clearly may be
the controllers, and makes the valuable
admission that we furnish the largest
portion of silver to the nations of the
world, and that silver coinage will large
ly increase the value of silver, the very
fact and conclusion upon which the
friends of the silver dollar base their
strongest argument. In order that this
silver of which our mines produce so
much, shall not be further depressed by
the action of Congress, we strongly urge
that the act authorizing its coinage into
silver dollars be not repealed. 1t is true
that our people are on the high road to
prosperity, but this road will also have q
turning, when, instead of the accumula.
tion Of the precious metals, as is now the
case, our stock of them may be depleted
by an adverse balance of trade, when il
will more fully appear that our supply Of
condemned silver will greatly assist ou,
Government in maintaining; its credit
paying its obligations in specie as it is
now DOING
The report further takes issue with the
assertion of the majority that the gold
and silver coin will not circulate side by
side, and claims that the $780, 900 of
silver coin and silver certificates now in
circulation, with the 100000 of gold
have added just that amount to the vol
ume of the tools of circulation. The re-
port concludes:
! "We believe the present laws are oper
ating to the best interests of all the peo-
pie Uf our country, and we would, there.
fore, respectfully recommend that no
further legislation is now required upon
the coinage of silver or the issue OF silver
certificates.