The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-05-05
THE SILVER LAW.

Another covert attempt is being made
to demonetize silver, this time, as before,
the attempt being hidden under a seeming
ly harmless and innoxious bill. The scheme
is to have the secretary of tie treasury
given power to discontinue the issue of sill
YER whenever he deems it necessary" Now
as both secretaries, ever since the Bland
bill was passed, have considered it neees-
sary continually. the end of silver coinage
would be immediate. This measure has
been recommended by the majority of the
banking committee, but a minority report
has been submitted by Smith, of this state.
The secretary of the. treasury complains
that of the 100000 silver dollars coin
ed under the existing law only $34, 000,
900 has been asked for purposes of circu-
lation. while 500, 900, 900 remains in the
vaults of the treasury; but Mr.. Smith re-
plies to this that the people are unwilling
to circulate any large quantity of coin,
whether gold or silver; they prefer the
more convenient and portable form of eer-
rtifcates or bills to eithel They prefer a
silver certificate to silver coin, and they
prefer also gold certificate to gold coin.
But il is misstatement to assert that the
sc 600 600 silver dollars in the treasury
are out of circulation and idle. They are
virtually in constant use and circulation
in the certificates which represent them,
just as a national banks capital is in eircu
lation in the bills it emits The reason
Why a larger amount of gold is in actu-
treasury department. has ruled against the
unrestricted issue of gold certificates. The
people would rather have gold bills. than
gold coin, and but for this ruling of the
treasury they could return the gold and
ask for certificates in the place of it.
Another. complaint of the secretary of
the treasury is that "a continuance of the
silver coinage as at present progressing
will reduce US to an exclusive silver coin
age and to- a place in the commercial
nations I" by driving gold out of the eoun-
try. The minority report meets this as
sertion with the fact that more gold has
flowed to our shores since we remonetized
silver and resumed the coinage of it than
before. sas.=
The estimated amount of gold coin in
the country at the close of each fiscal year
since the act authorizing the coinage of
the silver dollar was as follows: ass4s
1873 $50 $50. 40 Sas
1880 3as, 95S, 691
This meets the claim of the fnonometal
lists. that the coinage of silver was driving
gold out of the country, showing that the
quantity Of gold in the country has nearly
doubled since the beginning OF the coinage
of standard dollars
In answer to- the statement in the ma
jority report that gold and silver will not
circulate side by side, and the coinage of
silver dollars has not added to the volume |
of the tools of exchange, the minority say
I'VE point to the fact that 100000. 900
Of gold is in circulation IN the country to-
day, side by side with the $4,000, 600 of
silver coin and silver certificates; and the |
silver dollars and silver certificates which |
are performing all the functions of the best
money have increased the volume of the |
tools of exchange to that amount In
addition to all this there is the consIdera- |
ton that ours is the largest silver produc-
ing country in the world; that to Danish it
from our coinage would be to degrade and
impair the value of one of our own pro-
ducts; and an intelligent regard for a lead
ing interest of the country conspires with
Of sound currency to main
tain the silver law and resist all efforts at
It's repeater modification.