San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-01-07
SILVER COINAGE.
An Interesting Interview With
Hon. A. ]. Evans.
The Bland BiIl-Uncle Sam a Forced
Purchaser OF Bullion -"Siyer the
Money OF the Laborer,"

commercial one, and rs You know,
am not commercial man. Yet have
very decided opinions in the matter.
The question has been precipitated up
on the country by the operation Of What
is generally known Ms the Bland bill,
passed by Congress on February 2> 1873.
think that time has demonstrated that
that act of Congress is q decidedly per
niCiOus measure. and il moi spec dIIy re-
pealed or greatly modified mus , AS it
has already done. work jury to every
interest in this country.
R.-What are faults in that act?
A.-They are manifold. The first is
that the bill directs and requreS the
Secretary of the Treasury to purchase.
from time to time, silver bullion, ut tue
market price thereOf-not less than two
nor more than four millions per month
and to coin the same into standard sill
yer dollars, of the weight OF 4l25 grains
troy, as provided in the act Of January,
1887, thus adopting for the period OF
it was IL years ago. The next fault is
that this purchase and coinage of not
less than 1000, 900 annually. is never
10 end. Imagine 100 years of this coin
age, and the United States carrying
silver coinage OF $2.i00,OO0 900? The
next fault in the bill is. that the bullion
is to be purChased-tbat is, the United
10 I,rf
purchaser constantly on the market
for supply, with no option us to the
amount she mnst pay, but must pur-
chase at the market price thereof. The
next great fault in the bill is. that it's
friends, seeming to recognize the fact
that these standard dollars were not de-
manded by the people Of the
United states rs a circulating medium
Of values, after making the dollars Il
legal tender at their nominal value for
all debts and dues, public ana private.
proceed to provide for the storage of
these standard dollars in the Treasury
of the United States. and that silver
certificate shall circulate as circulating
medium, Of values instead of these
stored dollars And lastly there is
fundamental error in the bill. because BY
its very terms, in two distinct instances.
it declares that these standard dollars
are not equal in value as a circulating
medium of values to the standard gold
dollar of the United States. I'm the bill
this is done by indirecliOn, but it is there
all the same. BY careful reading Of
the bill it will be found that where par
ties choose to do so, they may contract
to pay gold" dollars. and in such case
Bland dollar will not discharge the obi
cation; and in the last prOvisO TO Sec
ton | of the Act, ii is provided that
these standard dollars" shall not pay
gold certificates Issued by the United
States under act Of March 3. 1873 II
these two fatal provisions had been left
out of the Bland bill, it is possible that
all the other obnoxious features could
have been borne, but when the bill pro-
vided vast coinage, and admitted that
such coinage was not equal in value to
gold in every particular, the evil was
planted.
R.-What effect, in your Judgment,
has these errors in the bland bill had
upon the country?
A.-They have increased the quanti-
ty of silver coin far beyond the demands
OF our people, and filled the country
with coinage that is not equal in value.
either to gold coinage or paper cur
rency. These are evils sufficient; of
course there are others.
R.-Are you gold bug"
Al am not, but | am what you may
call silver man, that is. favor the free
use of legal tender silver dollars. Sill
yer is the money of the labOrer all over
the country, and of the small traders and
Of the large trBders in small transac-
actions. 1t is for such purposes
the most convenient currency; but
In large commercial transactiOrs
ii is utterly al fault in its bulk and
weight, compared with iTs money value,
make it iuconvenient and expensive to
use, whilst the United States may pos
sibly need 500, 100000 of legal tender
silver, or more. This is sufficient and
not the vast millions that the Bland bill
has given, and will give If not repealed.
At the passage of the Bland bill we had
about all the silver coinage needed for
our judiciOus wants. The Bland bill
has had the effect TO constantly cheaper
the purchasing value of silver coin and
to snhance the purchasing value of gold
coin. TO this date this loss o purchas-
ing value in silver coin, has been borne
by the government, but it must sooner
or later fall upon those who hold and
must use the silver, to-wit: The laborer
and the small traders. In the very ma
ture of events the silver certificates now
in the hands Of the people. must be re-
tired; and the millions Of standard Sill
yer dollars" now stored In our treasury
vaults must go into circulation dollar
for dollar on the certificates. thus each
man having n $40 silver certificate must
take therefor 10 standard silver dollars.
worth in the world oftrade now 50 cents
on the dollar; and if the Bland bill shall
survive 10 years, worth 80 cents on the
dollar in gold. The shove must result,
or the United States must treat the
stored standard dollars, as so much bull
lion and proceed at enormous expense to
recon the same, putting into such coins
enough standard silver to make each
coin worth In the commercial world in
gold what ii claims on its face. The
above Is the dilema into which the
Bland bill has driven us. and is still fur
Their driving us each day. 1t is plainly
TO be seen by all that this state of affairs
ia surely and rapidly driving our silver
coinage to the wall, and soon, yea, very
soon If things go on, our silver certiti-
Gates will be discounted in all our
tradings, and our country filed with a
deprecated currency, to-wit., silver of
lSnt MelsHt anu silver CtFtlnChles
R.-Cannot Congress declare that
standard dollar having 4l24 grains troy
shall be legal tender for all debts aud
dues. and thus keep our silver at par?
Ayes; 1t is within the power OF
Congress to take piece Of standard sill
yer and place upon 1t the stamp of the
Government and denOmnste it dollar
or 100 cents: and go farther, and declare
the piece legal tender for its nominal
value. But here Congress must stop,