Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-28
THE COINAGE or SILVER.
rrs.isens.Eieet Cisvrsaoss letter 60 Iss a.
vscases IN rsnsrsss.

IBy telegraph 10 the DtspAtch.l
ALBANY, N. Y, February 27.-The
following Is the reply addressed by Pre-
sidcnt-elect Cleveland 10 the silyer-coin-
age advocates in Congress
To Hon. A.. Warner aud other Mem
Jsrso of the Foriy-Eishh Congress:
Gentlemen, letter which | have
had the honor to receive from you in
vites, and indeed obliges, me TO give ex-
preston to some grave public nccessi-
ties, although in advance OF the moment
when they would become the OBJ
lects Of my Official care and partial
responsibility. Your solicitude thatmy
Judgment shall have been carefully and
deliberately formed is entirely just, and
I accept the suggestion in the same
friendly spirit in whichit has been made.
1t is also fully justified by the nature OF
the financial crisis which. under the
operations Of the act Of Congress of
February 90, 1878, is now close at
hand. BY compliance with the re-
qnirements Of that law all the
vaults Of the Federal Treasury
have been and arc heaped full of silver
coins which are now worth less than
IS per cent. Of the gold dollar prescribed
as unit Of value in section Ia OF
the act of February IL, 1873, and
which, with the silver certificates rep
resenting such coin, are receiva-
bic for all public dues. Being
thus receivable. while also con-
stantly increasing in quantity at the
rate Of 100000 year, it has fol-
lowed Of a necessity that the flow Of
GOLD into the Treasury has been steadily
diminished. Silver and silver certifi-
Gates have displaced and are now dis
placing gold, and the sum OF gold in
The Federal Treasury now available for
the payment of the gold obligations Of
the United States and for the redcmp-
ton of United States notes called
'greenbacks," if not already en-
croached upon, is perilously near
such encroachment. These are facts
which. as they do not admit of
difference of opinion, call for no argu-
ment. They have been forewarned to
us in the official reports Of every Secre-
tary of the Treasury from 1873 till
now. They are plainly affirmed in the
last December report Of the present
Secretary of the Treasury to the
Speaker of the present House Of
Representatives. They appear in the
official documents Of this Congress
and in the records of the New
York clearinghouse, and through
which the bulk of receipts and the pay
ment of the Federal Government and Of
the country pass. These being the
facts of our present condition, our
danger and our duty to avert that
danger would seem to be plain. |
hone that you concur with Inc aud
with the great majority Of our fel-
low-citizens in dceming it most
desirable at the present juncture to
maintain and continue in use the mass
of our gold coin, as well as the
mass of silver already coined. This
is possible by the present suspension
Of the purchase and coinage of sill
yer. am not aware that by
any other method it is possible. 1t
is of momentouS importance, to pre-
vent the two metals from parting
company to prevent the increasing
displacement of gold by the increasing
coinage of silver to prevent the disuse
of gold in the custom-houses of the
United States in the daily business of
the people TO prevent the ultimate ex-
pulsion of gold by silver. Sucha tinan-
cial crisis as these events would GER
tainly precipitatc, were it now 10 follow
upon so long q period of commercial
depression, would involve the people of
every city and every State in
the Union in prolonged and
disastrous trouble. The revival of
business enterprise and prosperity so
ardently desired aud apparently so near
would be hopelessly postponed. Gold
would be withdrawn to it's boarding.
places, and an unprecedented contrac-
ton in the actual value of our currency
would speedily take place. The sad
est of all, in every workshop,
mill. factory, store, and on every
railroad and farm, the wages Of
labor already depressed would suffer
still further depression by the scaling
down of the purchasing-power of every
so-called dollar paid into the hand of
toll. From these impending calamities
it is surely the most patriotic and CRATE
full duty Of the representatives OF the
people to deliver.
! am, gentlemen, with sincere re-
spect, your fcllow-citizen,
GROVER CLEVELAND.
tJb0uy February "a 1885