Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-03-03
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A Washington special 81 the lss
says: The friends Of silver IN the
House Of Representatives, while at
GSzt inclined TO aake formal reply TO
Nc letter Of prcsident-elcct Cleveland,
alncc Il had been given to the public,
dwwIed al conference held this eve
niug to reply openly to the parts Of the
letter with which they do not agree.
They say II was not sill II had
bsrome known that determined effort
was being mede to induce the President
eIcct 70 commit himself and his admin
usraticn in advance 10 the gold side OF
Ne currency question that they decided
Ncscly to ask him not TO commit hun.
self till his Cabinet was formed and
both SIDES Of the question could be con-
s;dcred, and sent paper with th's re-
guest. and signed by nearly one hun
drcd members of the present congress
md membcrs-clcct to the next Congress.
No reply was necessary, they assert
and none was expected.
They furnish the following a. state
pent Of their views: - In the letter no
aistinc,ion is made between silver coin
src and silver bullion. While II Us true
that that silver bullion which is ex-
slsded from coinage, and consequently
nom monetary use, is worth less I'm the
ratio OF l6 TO y than IS per cent. OF the
gold dollar, silver coins, which are adj
nitted to monetary use the same as
gold, arc equal in value to gold coin.
The silver dollar will exchange for as
much as gold dollar. IL will
even buy the gold with which a
gold dollar may be made. France.
with population Of 36,0OO.ooO
and territory not as large as Texas,
las in circulation 1900, 900, 900 ofsilver,
With ESQ, 000,O in gold, while We
have but 5000, O00, 900 Of full tender
silver to over 1900, 100000 OF gold.
Altogether 81, 100000, 900 OF silver
coins at the rate Of 49, TO l are held
m circulation in Europe, side by side
with 50. COO, 0u0, 200 of gold. or paper
and silver together, including silver
certificates. we have less than s75U,-
GOO. 900. which shows that in this coun-
TRY there is more gold than paper, and
nearly three times as much gold as sill
yer. With this proportion in our cur
rency. and with gold and silver equally
full tender for everything, il is diff
cult 10 understand why the Secretary of
the Treasury might not, if he chose to
DO so. pay out more silver and less gold.
or course, il, while receiving into the
Treasury silver and silver certificates,
gold or gold certificates, he pays ont
only gold, his stock Of gold would
diminish. IL, on the other hand. he
should pay out more silver and paper
and less gold, the character of the re-
serve in the Treasury would change. In
other words, this is matter entirely
under the control OF the Secretary Of
the Treasury. There will be no need OF
legal tender il the one who receives
money be permitted to choose the kind
he will have. .
"That silver and silver certificates
displace gold is true. but only as trea-
sury- or bank-notes displace it. The
withdrawal of hundred millions OF
bank-notes. or the issuance of hun
ired millions, has the same effect on
gold rs so much in silver or silver GER
iifcates. Why has it never been pro-
posed 10 withdraw national-bank notes
as a means Of preventing the expulsion
Of gold?
.'To the proposition that there now
exists. or ever has existed, under our
Constitution, obligations specifically
payable in gold. the silver men feel it
their solemn duty TO enter their most
emphatic dissent at the very outset of
the discussion of the question. No
such obligations exist or ever did exist.
1.-The 'act to strengthen the public
credit approved March Is, 1869,
solcmnly pledged the United States to
the payment Of the bonds in coin. The
rcfunding act of July IA. 1870, pro-
vided for the payment of all refunding
bonds in coin Of the then present stand
ard value. which is the same as the
present value. The resumption act OF
January IA, 1875. provided that from
and after the LIST day Of January. 1879.
the Secretary of the Treasury should
redeem in coin the outstanding legal
tender notes.
"By the act Of February %, 1878,
providing for the resumption Of the
coinage of the standard dollar, silver
dollars were made legal tender for all
debts and dues, public and private, un-
less otherwise expressly stipulated in
the contract. and there is not public
obligation outstanding, and never was,
containing a stipulation for payment i'll
gold.
" The friends Of silver concur in the
opinion that it is most desirable TO
maintain and continue in use the mass
Of our gold coin, rs well as the mass of
silver already coined. They agree, too.
that il is Of momentous importance TO
prevent the (coin Of the) two metals
from parting company. But the two
metals, as metals, have already parted
company under the influence of silver
demonstration in other countries and
the hostility of the Treasury and the
hanks to silver in this. But that the
continued coinage Of silver at the rate of
S2s, 000, 900 year will drive gold out
Of circulation in the near future. or force
il 10 a premium, does not to them seem
10 be sustained: ,by facts or sound rea-
soning. The total volume Of currency
in the United States outside of gold is
less than $3.50, .000.. II is believed
to be a principle Of economic science
perfectly well settled that if volume
Of $3.50, coo, 900 is not sufficient in itself
to maintain prices in this country at the
level of international prices, then gold
will come here and stay here in suth-
Gent amount 10 make, with the volume
already in circulation, what will
constitute our distributive share
Of the worlds money as deter
mined by our international trade. That
$3.50, 100000 is not sufficient volume