Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-27

The Silvnr Question.

but thought i would be best TO increase
the weight of the silver dollar. so as to
mako the bullion in it worth as much as
cold dollar. We no longer favor that
scheme. Mr.. royal writes as follows:
10 ne Editor ofdte LHsTd'c';
Your prcss dispatches from Washington
this morning contain the following
"The Director Of the Mint WAS questioned 10
sav With rerari 70 the recent heavy cxIorta-
lions Of gold from New York, and he SAID lhey
we're caused by demands from France, pre-,
MUM having been offered by me bahk oi
Franco. About tho LIST Of june eaid h", mo
RanE ~ England raised BY ball penny an
ounce the pri-e at which 70 would ron french
gold COINS, and recourse has been hal 10 mo
/ nitoc Stalos, where under Inc Ia" oI hAy -
lss2 ctld coins can Dc exchanged al the
coinage MINIS and assRy ONCE al Sow 1ors ma
sums 81 1900 and upwards free q charge ana
without los on scHOunt OF wear OF tic CON-
whtrh - suffered whore cotn ~ place OF pate ~
dealt Win The Director thinks This laH should
lse repealed or else amended 80 ~ 70 allow OF
bar charge, and SAYS: Al present the STOCK OF
lars az TIE Assay once ~ New YORK Is the most
available supply"
If understand the matter the Director
of the Mint Is very far from giving an ade-
clate or the true reason why Europe IS
iuaking a steady drain on Us for gold. The
true reason Il tina the laws OF the United
States Government attempt 10 perform an
iupossibiiity In trying 20 make 81 yer dol
lar of the present standard equal IN value
10 a gold dollar If the present standard.
The gold dollar Of the United states con-
tains twenty-five and eight tenths grams OF
gold nine tenths fine-that Is, 1t contains
nine parts Of gold and one part OF alloy;
The silver dollar contains four hundred
and tygsslve and half grains Of silver nine
-uths fne-that is, nine parts OF pure sli-
Yer and one pant of alloy. The Govern
ment enacts that each of these siai nave
the same paving power rs the other. But
ii Won take q piece II gold weighing
% $40 grains 40 1ne and piece OF SILVER
weighing 4l244 grams 9-lO tne 20 q JcWeurf
he viii give you twenty-five cents more Tor
the gold piece than lac VIII Tor the SILVER
piece. What results
We sell vast quantities Of grain, meat,
cotton. and other things 70 Europe. wheat
Is worth. We VIII say, one dollar buSnei;
An Enehshman brings one hundred GOA
dollar, here 70 buy one hundred bushels OF
wheat. As he can pay for IT IN either gold
or silver he naturally sells hls gold dollars
for one hundred and twenty-five silver dol
lars and uses one hundred of them IN pay
ing for ms wheat lie then takes his wheat
ID England and sells II tor one hundred
and twenty-five gold dollars and be mas
thus made the difference between the two
dollars and the legitimate prOht On the
wheat also.
Tut Won will say this viii finally end in
Europe depositinS all lis gold here. Not
SO. Ne buy vast quantities Of things IN
Europe, and We must pay for these IN gold,
SD that "a, soon a. the gold Is left here We
must Immediately return 1t there 90 make
our payments. This must inevitably re-
suit in all the gold going TO Europe anu
all or currency being silver. Now, IT. one
,f our merchants buys "a hundred yards OF
cloth ia London for one hundred of our
goll dollar, COR for one hundred and
fwcAty-hyc Of our silver dollars, winch Is
the same thing) he must OF course sell II
hero as though he had paid one hundred
and TWENTY-FIVE dollars for IT, and any one
Will be able to STE, with very little reiioc-
tl,n. how much all of US that consume
European products must pay for the luxury
OF having two CONS of different actual
value, but of the same legal value.
You arc no more Of a blmetalllst chan l
am. | care not how many metals You
make coin Of. But # YOU want 10 trade
upon an equal basis with the rest Of the
,erld, YOU must make dollar Of one
coinage as valuable at The jewellers a. a
WILLIAM /. ROYAL.
June %, 1850.
1t Is surprising that 1t never occurred 10
1lr. ROYAL that if his assumptions Were
tue silver dollars would be worth only IS
cents each here in richmond. His whole
letter is based upon tnc false assumption
that asilyer dollar is worth no more IN the
market than 4lz4 grains Of silver bullion.
But the fact is that silver dollars are every
where in this country at par with gold dol
lars. and if Mr.. ROYAL viii try 10 tuy sill
Yer dollars at the rate Of IS cents each in
,old he Vill soon learn that the bottom has
cropped out Of his theory. Things
that are equal TO the same thing
arc equal 10 one another" and by law a
silver dollar is equal 10 gold dollar at
every custom-hotse and every internal
revenue Office in this country. We enture
ID say that if Mr.. ROYAL had a thousand
collars in silver he would not sell them for
zine hundred and uinety-nine dollars in
rold 10 any jewas or anybody else under
the sun.
Ne fought the greatest contest Of our
lie in 1878 against the Gat-money hercsy
Ne have no patience with fat-money- or
creenback-luuatics. And We do not wish
osay word that would cOuutenance their
decisions. But hat-moncv IS paper cur
yeucy for the redemption Of which no pro
vision Is made by law. IL the Government
makes It's notes redecmable at the pleasure
of the holder. and is able 70 redeem them
and does redeem them whenever and as
soon rs presented for that purpose, those
notes are not fat money properly 50 called,
lut are evidences of debt which Will con-
tinue at par with the gold IN which they
are redeenable. In popular phrase, they
are as good as gold" The United States
Government collects SS79. 10000 annually.
and thus provides fund of S379 900 900 for
redeeming greenbacks and silver dollars.
But We shall be told that the bullion in
a silver dollar is worth only about seventy
Eve cents in gold. True; but this argu-
Inent proves too much; Tor the paper in
tem-dollar greenback is not worth five
cents. Can MIR. ROYAL or anybody else
cents each z He cannot. No more can he
purchase silver dollars al the price Of the
bullion IN them.
In the city Of New York last Mon
day trade dollars were quoted ct zoe. (bid),
Mexican dollars at NJ, and fye-franc
pieces at %; but not one dollar OF the
daddies was offered for sale at any price.
Why not2 Because UNCLE SAM stands
ready 10 redeem all bis silver dollars in
gold
On the same day among the duties paid
nt the custOn-house in New York were
S254 IN silver coin and SIC, 800 in silver GER
ii6cstes The Government accepted the
SILVER coins and the silver certificates as
being exactly equal in value with as many
dollars in gold coin or gold certificates.
Isn't it preposterous 10 say that under such
a man could buy one hun
bred aud twenty-five silver dollars with
one hundred gold dollers? Clearly il is
and if lac cannot, IL follows inevitably that
be cannot buy one hundred bushels n
wheat for even one dollar less in gold than
N silver.
Nobody can tell how many silver dollars !