Morning journal and courier., 1886-02-05
NEW HAVEN CONN.,, MORNING. FEBRUARY
COMMUNICATIONS.
A Farmers View of the Silver Ques-
 ton.

To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER: ''One of the people" in reply to late ar ticle in the Palladium, says money is 'Egold silver, copper, paper or whatever nation adopts and coins into money and making il legal tender, the wealth of the country back of it for it's face value." I was reminded or reading this definition of money of the story of two boys driving COW to pasture. One contended the COW had five legs, the other couldn't see it, and dispute arising, the boy was asked to explain. We'll! there are one, two legs forward! Yes, that's all right Then there are one, two, (and pointing to the tail between them) three, behind. No! no, that's not legs But it's as long and hangs now, you may call it leg, but calling a tail g leg don't make it so. Congress may say that gold, silver and copper shall be coined o1 equal weight and accepted of equal value and pass as legal tender and call it all money, but would it be wise for our people to permit such course and accept them as equal representatives of value fol the products of our labor, manufactures o1 farmss
 Now, Mir. Editor, would define money as the representative of value of anything and everything in the way of necessaries or luxu- ries transferable between individuals or na- tions, and used as a convenience in the room of transferring or exchanging the articles in kind. Your correspondent calls paper print ed in certain characters, and issued by gov ernments legal tender, money. Now, should call this ''currency," and simply an obligation for money for the convenience of circulation; and, if so enacted, pledging all the values of the nation for their redemp- tion under restrictions, might form a very convenient currency and be accepted by the people a circulating medium; but the ipoo ,irrhf Jyha he found not to represent money in the hand, and foreclosure becoming necessary, individ- ual property be levied on, the people respon- sible and repudiation follow. Nations as we'll as States have repudiated, and the same thing may occur with us.
 Gold, silver and copper have been adopted as money by all the nations of the earth from the earliest times until the present, and gold and silver valued according to the ratio of each procurable for circulation. Our coin, or the relative value of each metal, was es- tablished long since and upon the same, or nearly the same, basis of valuation of all the leading commercial nations of the earth. but recent discoveries of the precious metals have greatly changed the available propor- tions, and consequently the relative value of each. Now, what shall we doa Looking to the future, is this condition of things likely to continue so as to render it eXpedient o1 necessary to incre ase the quantity of silver in the dollar to correspond with the relative available amount of golds Or shall we con- tinue coining a. falsely valued dollar and compel its circulation by enactment, hoping that discoveries of gold may soon occur to re- store the original ratio of valuation! To repeal the law compelling the further coinage of the silver dollar on the present basis of valuation would seem to be not only the prudent, but most wise course.
 Why should the producer of silver be en- 1a1 foc 5o1 of his product more than the producer of rye, wheat or corn? Why not establish by legis- lation the permanent valuation in market of bushel of the above products, regardless of supply and demand? Why should the pro ducer of silver, when selling an article used as representative of value and in the manu- fracture of articles for ornament and fashion, be entitled to more protection than the pro ducer of grain, meat, cotton or wool, which constitute part of the absolute necessities of 1ifea
 The value of all products of the earth is regulated by supply and demand. As an evidence that the product of silver is great CT than the demand look at the enormous amount on storage in the government ware. houses or treasuries of the nation. Why would it not be equally proper in view of the present low prices and large amount of grain on hand, for the farmers to demand that the government should build warehouses, employ agents and store the surplus products Of the nation for higher prices Or to bring all the grain and cotton to be stored and paying for them in silver coin, then placing the sil yer in circulation and relieving the govern ment from the responsibility of its care, and Congress from further discussion of this in tricate and perplexing question. This would place plenty of money in circulation and fol a time would circulate as freely as the holder could get rid of it.
 Would it not be a wise solution of the whole question to leave the further coinage of silver to the discretion and judgment of the President and his advisers, and if they see fit to do so authorize them to re-coin all the silver on hand making the dollar of such weight as to render it of equal relative value with gold, based upon the available supply of each. This would adjust the value and enable us to buy our goods in all nations having 8 bi-metal currency with silver, and on better terms to both seller and buyer thar those nations having only gold currency Could we not then build up a large and profitable trade, buying for silver and selling for gold, and leaving a good profit in oul hands? Would not tn tendency be that England and Germany would either have to recede from the position they have taken and adopt a bi-metal currency and make as good 8 dollar we do, or allow the center of com merce to shift from the old country to the newa Thus it looks to
 "A COUNTRY FARMER"