The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-14
WHAT / THINK ABOUT SILVER DOLLARS.

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To the Editor Of she Indianapolis Journal:
Unjust be very much befogged on the so-caled
silver question. or somebody else Is. and 1t Is
very clear to my mind that it is the other fellow.
TO coin, or not to coin, that's the question: and
If not. why notl Let me premise by saying,
first, that it would be- easier to write o book On
the subject than ~ condense into the space OF a
newspaper article enough TO make the whole
fairly Ineligible TO the average reader; and, Sec
ondly, that / am not writing for the edificatlon
or direction of the professional hnancier-nrss
because he will not read me anyhow, and II ne
did he would not believe me, for he has eiao-
grated a theory from his inward consciousness
which he will not yield, even to the logic OF
events, without o growl. shall deal only In
plain common sense, for men CT common sense,
o class, by the way, that it might not De aniss
for statesmen to consult once in a while as well
as to consult specialists.
There are a few stubborn facts to begin with.
The silver mines Of this country are producing
about $50, 900. 900 annually, Of which about
ga, O00, 900 is annually converted into silver dol
lars of standard weight at our national minis.
TIE silver used for this purpose is bought in the
market at about $11 per pound, SO that the actual
cost Of the silver in each dollar is not far from
so cents. This much is, therefore, plain: the gov
eminent loses nothing in converting bullion
into coin. It is plain, in the
second place, that those engaged in
mining, thus find a home market for abont
one-half of their produce. Where they dispose
of the other half Is not material to this discus
sion. Whether the business of mining IS more
profitable than cattle, or hog. or cotton-raislng is
also immaterial; hence. the filings Of a class of
weaklings at silver kings" have no more sense
in them than similar filings at 'cattie kings" or
cotton kings" Silver mining is a legitimate
industry, as much open to competition, and as
much beset by difficulties, as the raising OF cat
tie or hogs, and presumably not any more profit
able.
This. silver dollar. against which so much is
said by professional inanciers-that class of men
who assume to know the science of money as
thoroughly as Professor Collett knows the
science of g~eology-has a history.
It has not always been what it is now.
Our government began to coin it nearly a hun
dred years ago. For more than half this period
all the metal used was of foreign birth and had
come with immigrants from Europe, in the shape
of numberless coins which had no currency val
ne with us. After nearly fifty years experiment
ing on other standards, Congress, in 1887, ordain-
ed that 25.8 grains of gold and 412a grains of
silver should constitute a circulating medium
ana q legai-ten0er 10 De caIou q QOilar, ana that
one-tenth, one fourth and one-half of 4l24 grains
should constitute dimes, quarters and halves. re-
spectively, and the business of the Nation which,
up to about that time, had been largely in
pounds, shillings and pence. began to be based
wholly on values represented by these
were bimetallists in theory and for
several years in practice. They were honest in
their convictions, and really meant that 25.8
grains of gold should be equal to 4l2a grains of
~s1-N~ hAk %Aa~ hal r~A zA~0 fAw bnErrn khAv
discovered their mistake. In less than fifteen
years silver was damonetized and gold became
the only standard OF value. Ignorant and dis
honest demagogues were wont, . few years ago,
to denounee Congress for demonetizing silver.
Congress had nothing to do with it but to recog-
niza it after the fact 1t had been demonetized
by a power greater than congresses, or cabinets,
or kings, or parliamentss The commercial in
terests of the world had decreed that 4l2a grains
of silver, whether in coins or in bars, was worth
more than 25. grains of gold; hence our silver
coin ceased to be measures OF value. and became
q commodity to buy and sch in the marts
of trade, and gold alone became the standard
by which values were computed, and silver coin
of every denomination were fast leaving the
country. What could Congress do to prevent
this2 Plainly, the government could not afford
to pay from 81. 03 to ST.. for 4l23 grains of
silver, and after coming it sell it for a dollar.
But one of two was possible; either to cease coiu-
ing or to reduce the size Of the dollar.
After mature elaboration the Congress Of 1853
resolved to suspend the coinage OF dollars alto
gether, and to reduce the half dollar to the
weight of 1872 grains. instead of 20644. and all
smaller coins in proportion. But silver dollars
of the standard weight were yet a legal tender,
and have so remained, although the Congress Of
1873 declared the gold dollar of 25.8 grains the
unit of American values, a very needless ana
foolish thing. for that had been true for twenty
years without such a declaration, but like many
a foolish thing, 1t resulted better than its friends
intended; it brought on an agitation which
resulted in the return to the coinage of silver
dollars. which has added in eight years more
than $i58, 900, 600 of coin to our currency, and
now the question is: Shall this coming continue?
On this subject there are a few popular falla-
cies which deserve notice. The first is that it is
possible by legislative enactments to maintain a
bimetaliic currency. Law may decree that 25. s
grains of gold and 412a grains of silver may
each constitute a dollar, and as such may be a
legal tender, but it cannot decree that these
pieces shall be and remain of equal commercial
value. Thirty years ago a silver dollar was SO
much more valuable than the gold dollar that
gold became the exclusive circulating medium.
To use a pat but very silly expression of those
who wish to stop silver coinage now, the cheaper
dollar drove out the better dollar. 1t is creditable
TO the good sense of the statesmen of thirty
years ago that no one proposed to cease coming
gold because it was the cheaper metal, nor to
make the gold dollar heavier SO as to be equal to
q silver dollar. We have now a bemetall;c cur
rency, not in law only but in fact; but who does
not see that in any emergency which would Gre
ate a large demand for gold in other countries
our gold would go. and silver would at once be-
come our only currency and the only standard of
valuea And this possibility. in the absence of
any more valuable argument against silver dol
lars, is urged as a reason why we should make
no more silver dollars. Again, who shall say
that in the very near future, if the new gold
mines of the world shall prove as rich as some
enthusiasts predict, gold may not become a drug
on The market, and again 4I25 grains of
silver be worth much more than %. s grains of
golds Bisnetalism is possible for limited periods,
but not permanently. It is liable to interruption
by forces net under the control cf legislatures.
Still, it is desirable while practicable.
Asother popular fallacy is that it is important
TO have the great nations agree upon common
standards as to the relative value of metals.
What possible good could come of such an agrea-
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