Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-06-16

Nh. LONG, of Massachusetts. in the be-
ginning of a recent speech in the House OF
Representatives, is reported as saying:
"Let US admit at once that we are all bi-metal'
lists in the sense of desiring to retain both gold
and silver as bases for the currency of the coun'
try, and hat we do not propose to demonet1ze
either, even If we stop the coinage OF one OF
them, Let us admit that our immense territory,
population, business and commercial interests
require the service of both metals, and that 10
abandon either would be q source Of contraction
and disaster. While by no means certain thai
gold might not. as practically now for years it
has done, perform the mere functions OF a sole
and sufficient metal standard Of our coinage, l
appreciate the argument in fav. + of the service
of both gold and silver. In the interest OF o1-
metallism and in the interest of the largest basis
of our currency "a basis commensurate with our
immensely expanding national interests-1 am
opposed to the continuance of the present policy
Of coinage of silver indefinite and unlimited IN
time, and therefore in amount which, unless we
check OF set some limit to it, will as surely ex'
currencise or expatriate gold as the sun will rise
tomorrow"
To this statement the Financial and Min
ing Journal takes exception in thefolowlng
vigorous language: Now, we propose to
make it as plain as the path to a parish
church that Mr.. Long had no historical
warrant for thus asserting, in effect, that
the monthly coinage OF even four million OF
standard dollars by the mints OF the United
States. much less t e materially smaller
amount now coined by those mines, must
inevitably expatriate' the gold we now
The fact is his declaration is the
result of an utter ignorance OF the none
tary history OF his own epoch, which has
led him to accept blindly the u~nscrupulous
balderdash of the doctrinaries of his W
immediate section. The ignorance OF cur
rent monetary history a very few irrefuta'
BILE figures will suffice to demonstrate:
In the FIRST place, the total coinage oil
standard dollars up to the close OF June,
1886, has not exceeded 1924, 900 900. As
sunine that all of them have remained in
the country, our people have barely four
of these dollars per head. Continuing to
coin these dollars at the same monthly
rate as at present, there will have been
added to the aforesaid present stock of 81
per head, but so cents per head by the
close of May, 1857, with but 48z cents pei
head during the following year and so on
until the 1st of April, 1891, when for thai
year the coinage will not have exceeded
ASK cents per capita Of the population
the sum total OF standard dollars minted
to that date, willnot be greater than $500,
600, 900 in the United States which would
amount to q per capita circulation OF lega.
tender silver of but $500 atthe most!
To fancy that so small a circulation al
$500 per head of the population spread
over our imperial domain, the area O.
which in square miles is equalto that OF al
Europe, exclusive of somewhat less thar
half of European Russia, would necessarily
serve to expatriate gold from within oul
borders, is a sheer chimera that shoulC
not be entertained by Mr.. Long, as he viii
find that whensoever he sets to work tc
studiously read monetary history.
For example, after paying to Germany
more than one thousand millions Of dollars
between 1871 and 1875 largely in gold and
silver as a ransom for the evacuation o
their Territory, the French people have
recovered such a stock OF gold and silver
that ut this time they possess a per capite
circulation Of $22.5 Of gold with $14 o
legal tender silver five franc pieces. Thus
while in the United States We have but
234, OOO, 900 standard dollars coupled
with not SO much as 50 per head OF gole
for a population Of more than ffty-eight
and a half million souls, the French, witt
about thirty-eight million Of souls, have
$40, OO0, 600 OF silver and at a legal tender
valuation coined at which the 412A grain!
in our standard dollar would be worth
over 103 cents! Instead OF being expatri
ated from France since the depreciation
OF silver began in 1873, by the possessio,
OF so much silver, gold has been steadily
attracted to that country since the first o
January, 1874, to such extent that tn
imports of the metal by that people hav'
exceeded the exports no less than $272,
600. 900, while for the same time Grea'