The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-01-30
Ynnuluna glspanh,
TUESDAY. ....... JANUARY 30 1885,
The silver Question.

NJ silver coin stored up in the vaults OF
the Federal Treasury causes much discus
sion as 10 tie policy OF continuing the COM
pulsory coinage OF that metal under the
existing law, which requires the Govern
ment 10 purchase silver and TO coin month
ly two millions OF dollars In silver. The
81. Louis Globe Democrat, one OF the Few
leading Republican journals which iaVor
double standard, declares its bei'ef 'ha'
athc enemies OF silver hope to create
a distrust OF silver, and thus force IL
out OF circulation" BrodStreePs replies
that 10 insure the entire exclusion OF one
Of the two precious metals from circulating,
NO more certain method can be devised
than 20 continue coming tl2A-grain silver
dollars at the rate OF two millions month";
Considering that this compulsory coinage
has lcen going on for nearly five years,
ant. that silver dollars are to-day worth eX-
actly as much rs gold ones for all purposes
for which money is needed in this country
there would seem to be some reason TO
donbt whether or not BrdGStreeFS is cor
rect in its assumption. We recall that
though we advocated in 1873 the remone-
tization OF silver, yet we were in FAVOR OF
puiting into the new coins silver enough
10 make them equal in the value oil the
metal contained in them to the gold dob
lars. expccting, rs we then did, that as
soon as silver coins became abundant they
would, as BradStrecfS still assumes, fall IN
value 10 that of their metal, and drive gold
out Of circulation.
WHY did not this result follow! Accord
ING "a long and very able article on the
subject which the Westminster Rec'eu
published some time ago, the failure OF Sill
yer coins to fall below the value OF gold
coins Is due to the fact that an act OF Con-
cress provides that dollar in silver shall
be received as equal to dollar in gold in
payment OF all dues to the Federal Govern
ment. This is at least the effect of the law.
BrodstreefS almost stumbled upon this
fact In the very article upon which we are
commenting. 1t says;
1.-The paper promise OF the United states
70 nav one dollar is 'as good as gold be-
cause the Treasury stands ready to make
good its promise with gold"
The strange fact Is here brought before
MS that BradStreefs apparently considers
"paper promises " better than real silver
dollars. Ii makes no objection 10 continu-
ing as a part of the circulating medium OF
the country grccnbackS and national bank
notes, although these two kinds Of cur
rency are absolutely without intrinsic
value, yet demands the cessation OF the
coinage OF silver dollars, which are worth
intrinsicaly more than eighty per cent. OF
their face value. Why should any man
under the sun prefer a nominal dollar
which is not worth one per cent. OF its face
value 10 real dollar which is worth eighty
two per cent. OF its face value? Brad
streets gives the reason in the sentence
which we have quoted from it above
namely, that the greenbacks are good be-
cause the Government stands ready to
make good with gold its promise to re-
deem them.
II would seem that here is room for
satisfactory compromise. Ii the Govern
nent viii only stand ready to redeem the
silver coins in gold, BrddStreePS will, it is
to be presumed, object no longer to the
coinage Of as many silver dollars as UNCLE
SAM may choose to put out. We ask our
learned and practical contemporary to say
why it would object to such compro-
mises
Undoubtedly, fiat money is humbug-a
snare and delusion. Whatever is TO pass
as dollar must be redeemable in something
which has the intrinsic value OF dollar,
or something else which is equivalent to
the something that has the intrinsic value
OF dollar. Like Bradstreers, we used to
leave out the latter half Of this proposition.
But we cannot overcome facts by argu-
ment. For five years we have seen SILVER
dollars, worth intrinsicaIly less than ninety
cents each, circulating side by side
with gold dollars, worth intrinSically
one hundred cents each. We know
that the one metal Is worth as metal Is per
cent. more than the other; yet there is no.
body i'm the United States who would sell
a hundred silver dollars for even ninety
five gold ones. Why not! There can be
but one reason. They are redeemable in
gold. How The Government collects
four hundred millions of dollars in taxes
every year, and receives silver, greenbacks,
and gold as OF equal value for its purposes.
Practically this is rcdeeming the silver dol
lars in gold.
Only one question remains: How long
can the Government insure to silver this
fictitious value? How many dollars in sill
yer must be coined before silver will be-
come less valuable than gold as circula-
ting medium! This question-for it is but
one--nobody can answer. Iii all the gold
were out Of this country, and we were COM
PEELED to send ten or twenty millions OF
dollars to England to pay our debts with,
it is certain, we think we may say, that sill
yer dollars would fall to their value as
metal. We cannot imagine how it could
be otherwise. But when will il ever hap
pen that this country, which produces
nearly or quite forty millions Of dollars
of gold every year, and sells cotton enough
abroad TO keep the balance OF trade always
in our favor, can be so drained OF its gold
as not to have left enough of it to keep our
silver coins at par?
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The Richmond Dispatch says the Post
I" is mistaken in supposing that the presi-
dcntial-succession bill now pending pro-
poses TO make Presidents OF foreign-born
citizens in case they happen to hold certain