The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-01-04
The silver Question.


The abundance Of silver dollars, fearing, as
they do. that the day viii soon arrive when
The business Of the country will settle down
upon the basis Of valuing all silver dollars
at shout eighty cents to the dollar. or non,-
ina''y raising the value Of property about
20 per cent. That would simply be infla-
lion 20 the extent 81 shout 20 per cent.
Some persons, especially real estate dealers
and the debtor. class, would Ese to see
little Of what they call " healthy innation "
81 the business Of this country. They
think Il would make things lively and run
up real estate, TO the great advantage Of the
entire country.
But we have no fears and ne hopes Of
any such imitation. All such apprehensions
may be dismissed. The quantity Of silver
money In the United States Is ncf one third
rs large as the quantity Al paper money.
Aud 1t is passing strange tha. profcsscd
students OF political economy saould worry
themselves about few hundred millions Of
silver dollars which they admit TO be worth
infrinsically in gold tlye-sixths OF their
nominal value, whilst the same persons are
not az all disturbed because there are more
than seven hundred milliens OF paper dol
lars In the United States, which are in
tEinsicaliy worth nothing
But 1t viii be said that the paper money
Is rcdecmabie in gold. 80 1t Is. But If,
as these prophets OF evil predict, we are
going to have the gold only few years
longer, or until the country is "looded
with silvcr,v II is clear ease that WHEN
The silver has driven all the gold ont of the
country there will bc no gold wherewith
to Dedecm those paper dollars; aud there
fore, rs there are 80 many more paper dol
lars than silver dollars II necessarily follows
that the paper dollars, which are not worth
intrinsically per cent of their face value,
must be more dangerous currency under
the circumstances than silver dollars. A
hundred millions Of silver dollars would
then be worth say eighty millions Of gold
dollars even in England. whereas the pa
per dollars would be worth nothing in that
country.
We quote few OF the oracular utterances
OF the Providence Journal on this subject
1t Is supreme folly to underestimate or
ignore the danger that results from the
presence OF large amount Of currency in
ierior in value to the real standard. This
actual standard Is now maintained by the
good sense Of the people, who refuse to
use the deprecated currency TO an en-
tent that makes it harmful. But this
Is only because money Is plenty and
the balance OF foreign trade IL in our
favor. Let there be commercial crisis
or stagnation OF industry. resulting from
speculation or oyerproduction, or let the
balance of trade turn against us, draining
the country Of gold, and this deprecated
currency would at once fix the standard at
eighty-three cents instead OF the dollar, to
the utter confusion and unsettlemont OF
values and general loss and damage. The
money, which is seventeen cents less in
value than gold or greenbaeks, so long as
the latter are payable in gold, would az
once come into use ms a basis OF currency.
and gold would disappear as completely as
in the days OF the depreci;ded greenback
currency
II will be seen that the Journal hasn't
the least fear Of the greenlacks, though
these are worth inhinsically, not simply
seventeen cents in the dollar less than gold
bat one hundred cents in the dollar less.
They arc not pronounced deprecated cur
reDcy. II the mere fact that graenbaeks
are redeeGable ~ gold has bnni,bed all
the Journals fear OF a currency yaluelcss
in itself, then it Is plain that the easy rene
dy fer the evils it deprecates is 10 make
the silver dollars resleemablc in gold. II
the fact that the Government premises to
redeem greenbacks in gold makes green
backs a better currency than silver, our
statesmen at Washington viii be guilty of
a crime against their county Il they do
not hasten to make silver dollars redeema-
bic in gold.
The truth is, however, that practically
SILVER dollars are redcemable in gold. The
Government collects three hundred mil
hons Of dollars Of revenue annually, and.
IN collecting it, takes silver and gold as Of
equal value. II thus provides that silver
shall be as good as gold-that Is, as yalua-
BILE as gold--to the extent OF three hundred
millions OF dollars annually; and the eN-
portation Of gold can never destroy tkat
fact, nor diminish the value Of silver dol
lars so long as there are gold dollars enough
in this country to fix the standard Of val
ues.
But the Journals fears are totally I'M
founded. There is nothing upon which TO
bottom them. a few figures will show
them to be as baseloss as the fabric OF a
vision in dreams. Recolect, it Is the
"vast" amount OF silver which is being
annually mined In this country that cxcites
the fears OF our Providence contemporary,
and then ask Mr.. SPoFroRD, and he will
tell you that the total amount of silver of
domestic production deposited at the
United States minis and assay offices from
their organization In 1893 to the close of
the fiscal year which ended June 80, 1881,
was only
s225.S0S,G72;
That the total silver production Of the
United States during the fiscal year 1881
was only
S42,100, 600;
and that the total amount OF silver money
In The United States November 1, 1881, was
estimated by the Director Of the Mint to
be only
1 siS1 100000;
pr, say one-iourth of the amount Of the pa
per currency. which Is entirely valueless in !
itself, and little over one-hali the amount
OF silver which the Government itself is
willing annually 10 receive as the equal in
x,.I,t, cf f,olI xroodar flat a.