Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-05

Secretary Afann+ng's silver Policy
The communication OF the Secretary Of
the Treasury sent to the Speaker OF tine
House on Tuesday, in answer to the Bland
resolution calling FOR information relative
to .be past and future policy Of the Treas
ury Department on the silver question:
indicates very clearly that II tne silver
advocates want bl-metalIism they are not
pursuing the right course to secure it.
one OF their complaints is that the Secre-
tary of the Treasury has made no effort to
/ put silver in circulation, and that the
/ policy Of the Treasury Department has
always been hostile to silver. The Secre-
tary says that 30 far from this being the
truth he has lab0red with unremitting
energy to promote IT'S circulation. He
has done this, he says, at a constant ex-
pense to the Treasury, when other forms
Of lawful moAey would have circulated
without cost.
This statement certainly does not look
as if the people were eager for silver, and
it does not show that the policy OF the
Treasury is hostile to it; on the contrary,
1t shows that the people are hostile to il.
The silver men, however, in their argu-
ments ignore facts, and insist that the
people want silver when they refuse to
take it in all instances where they are
given their choice between it and other
lawful money. II, as the silver men
claim, the people are so anxious for it.,
why is it that it hnds its way back to the
Treasury almost as soon as it is issued ?
That is not the case with other lawful
money.
The portion Of the Secretary's commu-
nication, however. which viii perhaps
attract the most attention is that in which
be argues that there is no hope for BIZ
netallism as long as the compulsory sill
yer coinage law remains unrepealed.
There is, he says, zone way, and only
one, BY which silver can be restored to its
old ratio and value-namely: an interRa-
uonal concert upon a common ratio, with
open mints TO both metals at that ratio.
The Revised Statutes and Statutes at
Large direct the issue and prescribe the
more or less limited uses Of several kinds
Of currency. To but one do they assign the
office of a standard. They christened the
unit OF all these currencies and of our
money Of account with the name dollar.
70 but one dollar do they assign the func-
ton Of unit value. A concert Of Euro
pean powers without the concurrence of
the United States is impossible, for this
reason; The ratio to gold at which most
Of the European silver stocks have been
coined is 1851. Our ratio is 1911 A
concert OF the European powers to-
gether with the United States until
we stop coming silver is impossible
for the same and another reason. A con-
sideratiOn of these larger facts and the
still more controlling one to which / have
already referred, that mans Inventions
and industries are hammering down the
prices Of all the products of mans labor,
may well give US cOmpOsure and conf
denoe in joining with other nations to
open our minis at a common ratio to both
metals, but International concert we can
never have except by stopping our pres
ent coinage, and stopping it uncondition-
ally.'
AFbAg 0tnGob duNUCaNG VI the
coinage OF silver at the present rate of
coinage, admits that such coinage means
INSTRUMENTATION, and not bi-metal-
hsn. Thousands OF people, in all parts OF
the country, have been led by the speeches
Of the silver men to believe that We can
go on coming silver dollars al the present
rate Of coinage Indefinitely without dis
turbing the relations which exist At pres
ent between gold and silver money. They
will suddenly awaken to the fact one of
these days that they have been misled.
Those who want the coinage OF silver
stopped for the present are, as
rule, bi-metallists. They want an in
ternatiOnal ratio because il will in
sure the free coinage Of both silver and
gold aud the circulation of the silver dol
lar on an equality with the gold dollar.
Without an international ratio bi-metal-
lism is impossible. Ifthey cannot secure
an International ratio they want the coin
age Of silver so limited that 1t will circu-
late as a subsidiary coin as al present.
The silver advocates aim at making sill
yer the standard and the driving Of gold
out OF circulation altogether.