Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-12-09

nanou as Is compelled oy tue sh'S
coinage act, is negstived by the tao
that up to the present time only about nifty
millions of silver dollars 60 coined hsV'
actually found their way into circulation
leaving more than one hundred and sixty
five millions in the possession OF the Gov
eminent, the custody Of which has entsiled
q considerable expensef for the construction
Of vaults for its deposit. Against this lat
ter amount there are outstanding silver
certificates amounting to 9~3,OOO,VOO OF
dollars. Every month two millions OF golc
in the public treasury are paid out for two
millions or more of silver dollars, TO DC
added to the idle mass already accumula'
ted. If continued long enough this opera
ton will result in the
SUBSTITUTION OF oliver FOR ALL H COLI
the Government owns, applicable to ito
general purposes. 1t will not do to rely
upon the customs receipts of the Govern
ment to make good this drain OF gold, be-
cause the silver thus having been made
legal tender for all debts aud dues, public
ana private. At times during the last SIX
months, So per cent. of the receipts for
duties have been in silver or silver certlh-
Gates, while the average within that period
has been 20 per cent. The portion OF sll-
yer and its certificates received by the
Government will probably increase as time
goes on, for the reason that the nearer the
period approaches when it Will be Obliged
to offer silver in payment of Its obligations,
the greater indncement there will be to
hoard gold against depreciation 10 the
value of silver or for the purposs Of specu-
This
BOARDING OF GOLD
has already begun. When the time comes
gold has been Withdrawn from circu-
lstion there will be apparent the difference
between the real value of the silver dollar
and q dollar in gold and the " coins will
part company. Gold is still the standard
of vssps and is necessary in our dealings
with other countries will be ar q premium
over silver. Banks which have substitu-
ted gold for the deposits of their customers
may a them with silver bought with
such gold, thus making q handsome
profit. Rich spectators will sell
their boarded gold to their neighbors, who
need it to liquldste their foreign debts, at
a ruinous premium over silver, and the Is.
boring men and women of the land, most
defenseless Of all, will find that the dollar
received for the wage of their toll has sad
ly shrunk its purchasing power. 1t may
be said that the latter result will be but
tenn and that ultimately the price of
labor will be adjusted to the change, but
if this takes place the wage worker
cannot possibly gain, but must inevitably
lose, slnce the price he is compelled to pay
for his living will not only be measured IN
a coin heavily deprecated and f~1ctustiDg
aud uncertain in its value, but this uncer.
tainty i n the value of the purchasing medi-
um will be made the pretext for an sd-
vance'in prices beyond that justified by
actual depression.
THE LABORER SUFFERS MOST.
The words uttered in 1894 by Daniel
Webster in the Senate of the United States
are true to-day. The very men Of ell
others who has the deepest interest in a
sound currency, and who suffers most by
mlschievous legislation in money matters,
is the man who earns his daily bread BY his
daily toll" The most distinguished sdvo-
cate of bi-metalisn discussing our silver
coinage has lately written: No American
citizens hand has yet felt the sensation OF
cheapness either in receiving or
expanding the silver act dollars and tho g
who live by labor or legitimate trade never
will feel that sensation of cheap
ness. However plenty silver dol.
lars may become they will
not be distribu' ed as gifts among the
people, and if the lsboring man should re,
ceivs four deprecated dollars where he
now receives but two, he will pay IN the
deprscisted coin more than double the
price he now pays for all the necessaries
and comforts of lite. Those who do not
fear any disastrous consequences arising
from the continued compulsory coinage
of silver, as now directed by law, and who
SUPPOSE that the addition 10 the currency OF
the country intended as its result will
be q public benefit are reminded 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 excel
lence when the better will cease to be in
circulation. The boarding of gold which
has already taken place indicates that we
shall not soaps the usual experience in
such cases. So if this silver coinage be
continued we may reasonably expect that
gold and its equivalent will abandon the
field Of circulation to silver alone. This,
Of course, must produce
A SEVERE CONTRACTION OF DUR CIRCULATING
MEDICM
instead of adding to it. It will not be dis
puted that any attempt on the part OF the
Government to cause the circulation OF
SILVER dollars worth eighty cents side by
side with gold dollars worth one hundred
cents, even with the limit that legislation
does not run counter to the laws OF trade
TO be successful must be seconded By the
confidence of the people that both coins
will retain the same purchasing power and
be interchangeable az will.
A special effort has been made by the
Secretary of the Treasury to increase the
amount of our silver coin in circulation
but the fact that 9 large share Of the linn
tied amount thus put out has soon return
ed to the public treasury in payment otdu
Ties leads to the belief that the people dc
not now desire to keep in hand, and thus
with the evident disposition to hoard gold
gives rise to the suspicion thai
there already exists q lack OF con
6dence among the people touching
our financial proves. There is certainly
not enough SILVER o in circulation t
cause uneasiness. and the whole amour
coined and now on hand might after {
time be absolyed BY the people without
~apprehension, but it is the ceaseless stream
that threatens to overflow the land, Whici
cAuses fear and uncertainty. What haI
been thus far submitted upon this subJec
relates almost entirely to considerations o
a home nature, unconnected with tn
bearing which the policies ot'other nation
have upon the question. Bu
it is perfectly apparent that
linz of action in regard to u currenc,
cannot easily be settled upon or persisted
in without considering the attitude on tn
subject of other countries with whom W
maintain intercourse through commerce
,rads and travel. An acknowledgment o