The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-02-25
SILVER MEN.
MANIFESTO OF VIEWS OF
TIE ADVOCATES OF
SILVER COINAGE.
REPORT OF TIE MINORITY OF THE
COINAGE COMMITTEE BY
MIR. BLAND.
MINORITY SILVER REPORo.

WASHINGTON, February }O.-Chairman Bland, OF
the house committee on coinage" weights anu
measures, has prepared minority Icp0II on ul'
bill 60 provide for free coinage winch was re-
ported adversely from his committee, ana whlch IL
now on the house calendar. The report IL signed
by Messrs. Bland, Lanham, and Byhum ana
starts with the declaration that the volume oi me
talc money Il not subject 10 the control OF legls-
lation but il regulated by nature Recognizing
the principle that nature should supply the Vol
ume of money the only duty that devOlyes upon
the legislature IL to re-cstabsh by law value Tor
the coinage of the two metals, and PROVIDE inr ilh
limited, or free coinage, at the ratlo esta3hsh',I
In 1893 under preteXt of amending the mint, 81
yer was demOnetiZed, and tins was IN CONNECT WIN
the constitution. II, under the constitution, con
grese has power to prohibit or limit the coinage OF
Silver so II has that Of gold. II compared with
gold silver il now deprecated II II therefore claimed
that IL will not be In good faith TO our pubic cred
tors 20 pay them with silver dollars.
without going into facts and figures It If general
liz admitted that the bullion contained IN the slNer
dollar will purchase a. many of the neCessarles OF
life AT this lime and more than II would have done
when drOpBed from coinage, and NOR" than III 800
or 1870 All the interest bearing obligations OF the
Government now outstanding, we're Issued by vIr-
tue Vt the act of 1870, except per cent bonds L.
sued under the act of 1881, or since silver coinage
was resumed and all payable in either gold or sll-
yer coin. Therefore, 10 restore the silver dollar
and compel its payment in redemption Oi lhese
obligatana would be- no violation OF the contract
or good faith ON the part OF the government To-
wards its creditors. -
The restoration OF silver mere Will necessarily
give demand for IL that has not existed since lsI3
and have tendency 10 restore II To a parity with
gold and II il believed to be so restored. But
whether it is or not, It II insisted that we owe no
debt that II not legally and morally payable In sill
yer, and even should we 60 to the single silver
standard no harm could come OF IT,
The report quotes from NJ ChernusChiO in his
"Tbe Great Metallic Powers, IN W zen he says,re
ferring TO the free coinage of silver: "Nery ven.
turesOme would be those who should recommend
the United States of America to undertake, single
handed, what France Will only undertake Triple
handed" and comments upon II by remafklng THIS
pamphlet WIS evidently Inspired by Mr. MantOn
Marble, who was sent by the government to inNes-
tgate the subject In Europe and other countries AS
10 the views of gold mealists, AZ the pamphlet
seems To have reached every member "t congress
with the compliments of Mr.. Marble. The report
proceeds 10 discuss the question AZ to whether 1t
would be safe for this country to coin silver Tree,
in the event of no change being made
in the monetary policy Of Europe, and
expresses the belief that European countries cannot
further demonetiZe silver without great disaste to
themselves, while the tendency was toward res
tOraton of that metal
Another question which must be considered In
connection with the coinage of silver was, with
what the vacuum created by the retirement OF ma
tional bank notes was to be supplied, that the
payment Of the public debt was going on, and
would soon wipe out the foundation of national
bank circulation. The government must either is
sue legal tender notes to supply It, or provide for
some other system, or else give unlimited use 10
silver. The question must be- fairly met. Shall
this supply 90 coin circulation, or shall II be
credit money!
The minority had always supposed the gold
mono .metaliss were the plurality advocates of
hard money and SOnest money. The idea OF Ia
suing paper elal tenders of any sort, was dan
gerous theory 10 them. If they are sincere and
honest In their convictions, then they should
Join with those who favor Il
restoration Of silver, and demand that such paper
certificate shall give way to the unlimited use of
silver and gold
a silver supply being discovered by which S6OOOOO,-
900 Of silver would be dumped down upon the
United States, and our SGOONOOO of gold displaced
and dumped down in European countries, and con
cludes that such an ocCurrnncc would be great re-
lief to both hemspheres. The result, 1t says,
would be an increase in the monetary supply in the
European countries of gold, that would set the
machines of industry In motion, giving the starving
abOrers in these countries employment and en-
able them TO purchase our commodities, The
silver placed in circulation here would place us
upon q sound metallic basis, revive industry, and
put millions Of laboTing men now out of employ
ment TO work, giving them bread. Our
revenues would swell, although taxes
would he lighter per capita apon
the people, because q greater number OF them
would he enabled to pay taxes, In this way our
national debt would soon be thing of the past II
may be said those owning fixed incomes, govern
ment bonds. or state railroad mortgages, and
others who have incomes from those liens, would
not receive the same amount of labor or products
Of labor for u dollar they are now receiving. But
what they lose in that regard they would gain by
sharing In the general prosperity of the people,
The money will be eagerly absorbed by our incus-
trial classes The gold certificates and silver GER
tifcates now circulating side by side will continue
to do So Should silver certificates Gsplace the
bank note 30 be IT, The national debt ought to go,
and with IT, II necessary, the bank note, Let all
yer and silver certificates take the place of ma
tonal bonds and bank notes
We will thus substitute good money for bad, and
rid ourselves of an interest bearing debta debt
over which all this controversy ensues: u debt, the
manipulation of which has cost us half a billion
dollars. II ia at the bottom of all our financial
tricks and monetary legerdemnine; Il constant
source Of corrupt legislation and downright swind
ling With this debt and the banks on top of II out
Of the way, the money of the constitution will re-
turn To bless u.s. II the minis of the country were
open TO silver the same as to gold, silver would not
he as IL il how, subject to the adverse whims of
treasury officials who heretofore have tried TO keep
II ont of circulation.
In conclusion, the report says the most important
function of money in modern trade and commerce
Is its legal tender power. II gold only is legal
tender for debt. and We depend upon this one metal
10 pay debts, all the silver and other products of
ChristcndOm, except gold, would not pay dollar
of debt unless they could be- exchanged for gold
Should the world come to gold unit rs the sole
legal tender that metal might become
50 valuable ~ compared with other commodities
and scarce in proportion TO the enormous de-
mand made upon II, that the money bar ms of this
and other countries, controlling a few hundred
millions of gold, might control the destnes of ma
tons and absolutely dominate the welfare of man
kind. Believing that the unlimited coinage of sill
yer IL the solution of the silver question, and since
gold and silver seem To have been the constitutional
money intended for us and for other reasons .pre-
in stated, and yet others that might be urged for
restoring silver to where Il was before IL was de
mOnetiZed hy the act of 1893 We recommend the
passage of house bill No $500, which aims at that
result.