Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-11
THURSDAY. =. ..DECEMBER II. 1884.
Sfiyer-Again.

The coinake Of silver. The foolish fears o
the New York editors are utterly ground
less, and the intelligent statesmen In Con
grcss cannot be alarmed by the outcries o
Wall street. nor by the threats Of the jour
malls Of the commercial metropolis. whe
the silver bill was before Congress six year
ego, the same prophets Of evil predlcte
that the most disastrous consequences wotil
forthwith result from it, passage; but all O
their predictions have been proved TO b
utterly untrustwortby.
II Is said that the people will not have tn
silver dollars. Upon what Is this assertion
bssedf Upon the fact that the silver Is de
posted In the Treasury, and silver certid
Gates accepted In lieu thereof. But this !
exactly what Is done with gold. There ar
silver certificates In circulation; but Their
are also millions upon millions Of gold Ger
tidcates In circulation. all based upon golt
now lying idle In the Treasury, and whIcl
the people absolutely refuse to have
wbyi Because everybody prefers a good
light, paper currency. Let paper dollar
fall five cents below par. and all Wal
street would take silver dollars In prefer
ence 10 them.
Get one Of the speeches made In Congress.
when the silver bill was up for discussion
and you will find that every prediction
then made by the monometallists ha'
proved TO be false. II 1t were not for III,
disastrous consequences that would 40.
from the decentralization Of silver. We
should be pleased to let this experimen,
be tried; for experience would soon
teach the country that single standard
is an imprscticsbility. OF course, In the
process Of time all business would adapt IL.
self to TO the new state OF things. Values
would shrink, and would remain in that
lean condition. But after a few years all
business would accommodate itself TO the
new state Of things. There is no doubt OF
this. We know 1t as well as Wall street.
But we don't want to pay such high price
for single standard.
We have said that Congress will not do
the unwise things which New York would
have II to do. We do not write upon the
subject 10 keep Congress from acting upon
Il. We have said that we would be willing
to see the compulsory coinage OF silver
stopped II Messrs. TUCKER, WARNER, and
BuCKSER were anxious to try the expert
ment. And SO we are. This would be
very different thing from establishing q
single standard, or again demonstrating sill
yer. But, as We have remarked in this
article, Congress is not going to listen to
Wall street. Therefore, we write only TO
quiet the apprehensions OF people here who
get their notions from men In New York
that have no time to study any question OF
governmental policy.
A gentleman in this city for whom we
have the highest respect has handed TO us
an article from the New York journal Of
Commerce containing the following para
graph:
CHOW any people possessed OF plain
common sense could get their own consent
TO issue eigbiy-fve cents worth Of silver
in large unwieldiy coin too heavy for the
pocket, make 1t legal tender for one dol
lar, and compel the mint to 60 on with the
work OF coming II for half dozen years
at the rate OF twenty-iour millions per an
mum, without the slightest demand for the
article thus produced from any quarter, is
a marvel most difficult Of explanation and
almost beyond human belief"
As we suspect that our good friend thinks
that men living In the North know more
about politico-economical questions than
men living In the South. we let the late
editor OF the New York Extra, a Republi.
can paper, and who Is now editor of the
leading Republican journal in Ohio. Mr..
MURAT IIALsTEAD, who would have been
Minister to France, II Is supposed, II Mr..
BLAINE had been elected, argue the point
for W.. Mr.. HALsTEAD says:
the whole case. IL would not be improper
20 add the information that the silver dol
lar IL the Oldest OF our coins, and the only
one never changed In the weight OF its
tine metal.
Also. that when the silver dollar was
dropped from the coinage OF the United
states II was worth more In the bullion
market than the gold dollar.
Then when the time was coming to re-
sume specie payments, II seemed right that,
rs we always had In specle-paying times
two money metals, both legal-tender, re-
sumption should not be in one alone.
Especially as that one (goldD had been by
the policy Of Germany especially and the
Latin Union made dearer than formerly,
while the other silver had been by the
same process cheapened.
II was true that the ratio which had long
been maintained between gold and silver,
with variations that were not material, had
been disturbed BY the depreciation Of sill.
yer.
I, was also true that our own valuation OF
silver by the old standard was per cent.
closer 10 the market than that OF France. q
country which maintains the standard IN
two metals, and has not lost gold by
doing so.
was that during our period OF suspension
the quanhty Of securities had been enor.
mously increased. and II was not iair
that the holders Of those securities should
realize their inflated figures by measure
ment In dollar dearer than had ever been
known.
Therefore, some held that II was OF vital
consequence to maintain the Integrity OF
the word "eoin." which In all the laws
and contracts bad been held 10 mean silver
o. well rs gold.
The celebrated coin act, which was the
FIRST law General Grant signed as Presi-
dent, has been cited In proof,
There were many persons who believed
" the people OF the United States were
forced 10 make choice between the payment
Of all "coin" debts N gold only or the
plan Of the In6atIonists TO Use paper only,
that the paper men would win.
Those persons. therefore. advocated the
use Of silver, that specie payments might
be resumed In the same metals that were
lawful when Suspension occurred. not ouly
- On act Of simple justice, but OF expe
diency.
The Jowrnai speaks Of the unwieidy sill.
yer dollai, and this complaint Is about
n important as that which We hear so
frequently Of the difficulty Of the storage OF
silver. :
The average New York editor has no
doubt that he has demolished any one who
pleads for the application Of the ancient
law to silver, and the use Of both metals.
when be tells Of the weight In tons OF one
hundred millions Of silver dollars.
Il does mot seem 10 occur TO him that
france n . smaller country han the United
Gisles, end yet does not sfsgger under the
weight Of four times the amount Of legal.
tendeY oliver fhe1 We have. and Goda uOcket-