The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-12-16

important necessarles of life. w
thus directly lessen the cost of liv
ing in every family of the land, ant
release to the people in every hum
BILE home a larger measure of the re
wards of fugal industry.
| Nothing more important, th
President says. than the presen
condition of our currency and coin
age, can claim the attention of Con
gress. The very limited amount o
circulating national bank notes
compared with the amount the Law
permits them to issue, indicates tha
the volume of circulating medium
may be largely increased through
this ipstrumentality.
On the silver question he says tn,
authority to coin money given tC
Congress by the Constitution, t ii
permits the purchase of bullion fol
the coinage, in any event does noI
Justify coinage t. an extent beyond
the amount needed for a sufficient
circulating medium. The desire to
utilize the silver product of the
country should not lead to misuse
or the perversion of this power
The necessity of such an addition to
the silver currency as compelled
by the Silver Coinage act, he says. is
negatived by the fact that up to the
present time only about 50,000,000
of the 215, 100000 silver dollars COIN
ed since 1878 have found their way
into circulation, leaving more than
165, ,000,000 in the possession of the
Government, the custody of which
has entailed considerable expense
for the construction of vaults for its
deposit. Against this latter amount
there are outstanding silver eertifica-
ties amounting to about 500, 100000.
Every month 100000 or more of
silver dollars are added to the idle
mass already accumulated. If con-
tinued long enough this operation
will result in the substitution Of sill
yer for ali the gold the Government
owns applicable to its general pur
poses. 1t will not do to apply the
customs receipt of the Government
to make good this drain of gold, be-
cause the silver thus coined having
been made legal tender for all debts
and dues, public and private, at
times during the last SIX months So
per cent. of the receipts for duties
nave been in silver or silver certi-
ficates, while the average within that
period has been 20 per cent. The
proportion of silver and certificates
received by the Government will
probably increase az time goes on,
tor the reason that the nearer the
period approaches when the Gov
ernment will be obliged to
offer silver in payment of It's obli-
cations, the greater the inducement
will be to hoard gold against depre
citation in the value of silver, or for
the purpose of specuiating.
This boarding of gold has already
been begun, and when the time
comes that gold has been withdrawn
from circulation, than will be appar-
ent the difference between the real
value of the silver dollar and dol
lar of gold, and the two coins will
part company. Gold still the stand
ard of value, and necessary in our
dealings with other countries. will
be at premium over silver banks
which have substituted gold for the
deposits Of their customers may pay
them with silver bought with such
gold, thus making handsome prof
it rich spectators will cell their
boarded gold to their neighbors,
who need it to liquidatc their foreign
debts at ruinous premium over
silver, and the laboring men and
women of the land, most defenseless
of all, will find that the dollar re-
ceived for the wage of their work
has sadly shrunk in purchasing
power.
1t may be said that the latter re-
suit will be but temporary and that
ultimately the price of labor will be
adjusted TO the change but even if
this takes place, the wage-worker
cannot gain but must inevitably
lose, since the price he is compelled
to pay for his living will not only
be measured in coin heavily dep
recated and flucuating aud uncer-
tain its value, but this uncertainty
in the value of the purchasing me-
dunn will be made the pretext for
an advance in price beyond that
justified by actual depreciation.
Those who do not fear any dis
astrous consequences arising from
the continued compulsory coinage
of silver and who supposed that the
addition to the currency intended as
It's result will be a public benefit,a
reminded by the President that his
tory demonstrates that the point is
easily reached in the attempt to float
at the same time two sorts of money
OF different excellence when the bet
ter will cease to be in general circu-
lation. So if silver coinage be con-
tinued we may reasonably expect
that gold and its equivalent will
abandon the field of circulation to
silver alone, and this may produce
a severe contraction of the currency
instead of adding to 1t. The fact
that while there have been special
efforts of the Secretary of the Treas
ury to increase silver circulation,
large share of the limited amount
put out has soon returned to the
Trnasury in the payment of duties,
leads to the beliefthat the people do
not now desire to keep it on hand,
and this. with the evident disposi-
ton to hoard gold, gives rise to the
suseicion that there already exists
a lack of confidence among the peo-
pic touching our financial processes.
There is certainly not enough silver
nowin circulation to cause uneasi-
ness, and the whole amount coined
and now on hand might after time
be absorbed by the people without
: butt is the ceaseless
stream that threatens to overflow
the land that causes fear and uncer-
taintv.
Leaving considerations of a home
nature in the discussion of this SUBJ