The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-01-18
/. .wnEELlND. ". VA, JANUARY IL. 1854.
An ltien OF silver

. T. 3D..
Our noghbor, the Register, In It's issue Of
yesterday discusaing the Democratic policy
at Washington, said:
K To meet and defeat the raid that is 10 be
made upon the silver currency 10 also an I'M
portant Democratic duty. Every depart.
ment OF commerce Is interested In maintain.
ing the purest relations OF our metallic cur.
rency. Tampe,ing with the coinage would
unsettle values. impede important industries
and set US back In the march Of prosperity
for many years. The annual production oil
silver In the United States Is worth 00,000.'
, 600. There are but few other interests which!
exceed Il ID Importance. There Is nont
which has more Intimate relation 10 the
general prosperity. There Is none, indeed,
to which the interests Of the people are 80 I'M
itersally committed. 4N
Wsmay consider first the question o.
fact; afterwards the matter Of policy. The
annual production Of silver in the United
States is not worth s9OOOO,00O, unless the
production oi1SS3, Of which the returns are
as yet not presented. shall have largely ex
ceeded the estimate. The silver production
/ has not been worth s00.0O0.00O In any two
consecutive ytars. The production OF 1875
and 1852 together was something in excess
Of that amount, but the product OF nc
other two years will equal it. Silver pro
duction in ten years, from 1873 to 1883, hos
been from $50, 900, 900 to S45,0O0,0OO q year
and is not steadily increasing production
The yield in 1880 was less than that Of either
Of the three preceding years.
There are many other interests which
exceed this in importance. The value OIL
the silver product Of this country since
mining the precious metals began here
and including the silver contained in the
gold ore, Towering a period OF thirty.Gve
years, is less. by Sl5O00O,0O0, than the
money value OF the corn crop for the bad
crop year Of 1881. Barley, which stands
fourth in the cereals, and buckwheat,
which Is lowest, together about balance the
average silver production for ten years.
This country never saw 80 bad year for
potatoes as 1881. The yield fell of 70,0O0,.
0o0 bushels from that OF the previous year,
yet the crop sold for nearly round $780,
900, O00-more than double the value Of the
silver product Of that year. The hay crop
OF 1881 was worth nearly ten times the sill.
YER Of that year. In any year the products
OF the farm, exclusive Of cotton, sugar,
wool or live stock, will largely exceed in
value all the gold and silver this country
produces in the same time. Silver is in
market value among the least important Of
our productions; and gold is like unto it.
What is meant by "the raid which is to
be made upon silver currency?" Public
sentiment demands that the misleading
trade dollar" shall be swept away; but
that token is not currency. Public opin.
ion is against the standard silver dollar, as
witness the increasing millions stored in
the Treasury at increasing expense. Up to
November l, 1888, there had been coined
under the act Of ls7S,sl56. 52O,049, at
which date Sll6,3SG.000 were in the Treas
ury because the people did not want them.
In the year s2s,39l, oG9 had been coined,
but the amount in circulation in the came
time had increased only S4,13Gs2l. The
people have not tho ught enough Of stan.
dard silver dollars to keep in circulation so
much as one Ct them for each one OF the
population. This is sufficient. but not the
only evidence Of the great unpopulari,y
Of that coin.
Protests are heard on every hand against
q policy which continues to pay out money
for carrying and storing what the people
do not want and will not take. But the
law is mandatory, and while it stands the
folly OF ono year is repeated in the next.
The question involves also matter OF in.
ternational policy, to which Of course our
neighbours attention need not be called.
II to defeat the public demand for
IN abandonment Of a course which no
business man could pursue in his own
business be IAN important Democratic
duty, the country has greater need than
ever to beg to be saved from tho Demo.
cratic party. We had hoped that this mat.
ter Of the silver dollar might by common
consent be classed among the questions not
political.