The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-12-08
THE TREASURY REPORT.
Secretary Manning Recommends the
Payment Of the creenbacks, the
Suspension Of silver Coinage
and the Reduction Of
the Revenue.

The following are the important portions
OF the report of the Secretary OF the Treas
ury:
THE SILVER DOLLAR.
The mischief pregnant in Great Britain's
silver boycott of 1916 leaped to light when
Germany, in 1873, initiated that imperial
blunder. France, in presence of the silver
flood from Germany, distrusted the power of
her open mints alone to maintain the ratio Of
the two metals under free coinage of both, as
almost alone she had done during the i'm
mensely greater inundation of gold from the
new mines Of California and Australia; and
first restricting her mintage (which did not
defeat the purpose Of GERMANY as PROMPT
closure would have done) at last closed her
mints altogether to the further free coinage Of
silver for the public into money Of unlimited
legal tender; and thus, at last, was subverted
the monetary peace of the world.
since that date, nowhere in the world has
the mint Of any great government, which
coined either metal into full legal tender
money, coined the other metal into full
legal tender money at any ratio. Thus
was ended the prevalence of an ancient accept
able bimetallic standard and measure Of com
modify prices-the mass Of the two monetary
metals fused by free coinage, a fixed ratio,
and the full legal tender power, into one
metal money and price measurer. Thus be-
gan the confusion of two unconjoined mono-
metallic measures, throughout a world all
knit together in commercial unity. Thus
began the great monetary dislocation.
The essential conditions of the old none
tary order in their last analysis seem to be
these:
l. Mints open to the public for the free
coinage of gold.
2. Mints open to the public for the free
coin &c Of silver.
8. Coined gold full legal tender.
4. Coined silver a full legal tender.
). Rated equivalence of both metals in such
coinage, fixed by states powerful enough to
make and keep it prevalent.
Our whole monetary history may be COM
prised in four chapters:
l. 1892 to 1884, when we had a plenty Of
silver, but managed by act of Congress (April
2, 1922 to shunt all our gold into European
mints.
2. 1884 TO 1862. when we had a plenty Of
gold, but managed by another act Of Congress
(July 81, lS34) to shunt all our silver into
European mints.
3. 1862 to 1878, when, by three acts Of Con-
gress, February 25 and July IL, 1862, and
March 3, 1862 except the gold required for
customs taxes, we managed to shunt both our
gold and silver abroad.
4. 1878 to date, when, by act of Congress
February 2s, 1879 we have managed to dam
up the major part of ourssilver product against
the possibility Of expectation.
The enhancement in value of both metals,
due to their general employment as legal ten
der money, in large degree survives the mone-
tary dislocation which consists in the disjoin-
ing Of the two metals, one or the other OF
.t,b a1....l
try in the world. For while no nation OF
group of nations possessing a sufficient stock
Of both metals now conjoins the two moneys
into one common purchasing power and price
measurer, as they were long conjoined, silver
still has free coinage into full legal tender
money in India, Central and South America,
gold still has free coinage into full legal tender
money in Europe and here.
Not by our choosing, nor by anybody's
choosing, this is an international question
Nor can we safely shut from the range Of oul
scrutiny and reflection, besides the policie:
and interests Of foreign states the semi-civil-
lied and most numerous races Of men, whose
continuous absorption of silver for centuries
their more recent and increasing absorption Of
gold, (of which Sl25.000,0 900 have been re-
ceived and retained in India alone during
seven recent years,) are factors to be duly
weighed, and the chances of change. 1t ii
this monetary dislocation of the world il
which our own silver question is included al
an inseparable though fractional part, and il
which even our surplus problem is deeply
enmeshed.
Careful perusal of the instructive debates a
the last session of Congress leads me to review
the four policies which then received marked
| attention.
l. Free coinage Of silver.
| 2. Conferences.
8. Continued purchases Of silver.
4. Stopping purchases Of silver.
The free silver coinage prescription for tn,
monetary dislocation satisfies but one Of th
several indispensable conditions which | hav
set forth above in full detail. While il is al
indispensable condition of permanent rest 1ratiol
that the free monetization Of silver shall b