The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1889-12-14
THB PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

The first message of President Har-
rison to Congress is long and very
weak document. We have only room
for that portion of which treats of the
silver question, aud if our Republican
friends who, last Fall, proclaimed
from every hamlet in this State that
if Harrison was elected, silver would
bound up to par and the dead mining
camps of Pacific Coast would spring
into new life and activity, can find any
encouragement in the Presidents
views, as expressed in his message,
they must be sanguine indeed. OR
this subject, the President says:
The law requiring the purchase by
the Treas ury of two million dollars
worth of silver bullion each month 10
be coined into silver dollars of
41215 grains has been observed by the
Department; but neither the present
Secretary nor any of his predecessors
has deemed it safe to exercise the
discretion given by law to increase the
monthly purchase to four millions.
When the law was enacted (Feb. %,
1881 the price of silver in the mar
ket was 81 90 4-l0 per ounce, making
the bullion value of the dollar 90
cents. Since that time the price has
fallen as low as o. cents per ounce,
reducing the bullion value of the dol
lar to 700 cents. Within the last few
months the market price has some
what advanced, and on the first day
of November last the bullion value
of the silver dollar was 70 cents. The
evil snticipations which have accom-
panied the coinage and use of the sill
yer dollar have not been realized as q
coin. 1t has not had general use and
the public treasury has been compell-
ed to store it. But it is manifestedly
owing to the fact that its paper repre-
sentative is more convenient The
general acceptance and use of the sill
yer certificate shows that silver has
not been otherwise discredited. Some
toNbIaOtG i0NC
to the maintenance of this practical
equality in their commercial use be-
TWEEN gold aud silver dollars, but some
Ofthese are trade conditions that statu-
tory enactmeDts do not control, and
ut the continuance of which we can
mt be certain.
think it is clear if we should make
the coinage of silver At the present
ratio free, we must expect difference
in the bullion values of gold and sill
yer dollars which will be taken &C.
count of in commercial transactions,
and fear that the same result will
follow any considerable increase of
the present rate of silver coin
age. such result would be discred-
liable to our financial management
and disastrous to all business interests.
We should not tread the dangerous
edge of such peril, and indeed moth
ing more harmful could happen to the
silver interests, and safe legislation on
this subject must secure the equality
of the two coins in commercial use.
l have Away been an advocate of the
use of silver N our currency. We are
large producers of that metal, and
should not discredit it. The plan
which will be presented by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury for the issuance
of notes or certificates upon the de-
posit of silver bullion 1T its market
value / have been able to grye only a
hasty examination, owing to the net
that it has been SO recently formula
ted. The details of such law require
n careful consideration, but the gen.
eral plan suggested by him seems to
satisfy the purpose to continue the use
OF silver in connection with our cur
rency and at the same time to obviate
the danger of which l have spoken,
At a later day l may communicate
further with Congress upon the subject,