The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-07-06

step ana deDonetlzed silver and declared
gold the sole standard, providing that silver
should be used only for minor coin.
In 1872, bill was introduced in the
House of Representatives of the United
States to amend the coinage acts of the
United States. It passed both Houses, az
became law by the approval of President
Grant on the 18th day of February, 1873
1 By this bill the cold dollar was made the
unit Of value, and the legal tender silver
dollar disappeared from among the coins Of
the country. This feature of the bill does
not appear to have attracted the attention
OF the members of either House of Con
gross. and General Grant did not know un.
: III some time after the approval of the act
that silver had been demonetized in this
country by that act. 1t has been caimed
that this demonetiZation was in the interest
OF the creditor class, AID was secretly done.
I Whether it was the work of the creditor
class or not it is quite certain that it has re
suited greatly to the benefit of that class
BY reducing the amount of money in circu-
iatlon and increasing its purchasing power.
! Norway, Sweden, Denmark and some
other countries followed our example of
decentralization, and the Latin union first
limited the coinage of silver, and when the
! silver from Germany was thrown freely on
the market, closed the doors of its minis
againJst silver. So Germ any, France Italy
J tue scandinavian countries aud the United
States refused 20 mint silver; Germany
threw On the marletall The silver she could
spare. the United States sent all its produc-
ton, July one third of the world : product,
TO Europe 10 be used TO break down the
market price of silver, and thus discour-
age us use ana increase the demand for
gold. Germany. the Scandinavian coun-
tries. the United States, Italy, all became
bidders Tor gold, aud the price Of gold went
up when measured not only by Silver, but
by all products and commodities Ger.
many, the United States, Italy and other
countries called for and received vast sums
of gold to take the place, in the United
States and Italy, of paper money, and in
germany, OF Silver. France, to pay her
German indemnity, had parted with a great
part Of her gold, and was also a bidder for
gold TO make good other losses. Thus the
principal financial countries of the world
were buying gold, anu discardine silver:
and silver ceased to sustain the relation TO
gold that it had Heretofore sustained; but
1t cid, and still does, maintain It's relative
position to all other things that IL did be-
fore 1873.
In February, 1878, the Congress of the
United States passed law restoring the
silver dollar to the circulation of the coun-
try by the purchase and coinage of s., 900,
000 worth of silver each month. This bill
as NObSCO El lColuClll HAY Is. anu passed
over his veto on the 2Sth of February of
that year. Under that act, which is still
under operation, there had been coined up
To the 10Th OF the present month, 1854 364 :
266. OF this amount there was at that date
in circulation 81, 6S3 425 silver dollars, while
the silver certificates issued on silver dol
lars neld IN the treasury for the REDEMPTION
Of the certificates amounted to 1898 SD, 0i5.
making total of silver dollars and certifi-
Ia 81
$3.50, 1876, 400 This leaves balance of sill
yer certificates and silver coin in the treas
ury of only S1S,ol2. SOL
The act of February IS 1878, has been
known as the Bland Allison bill. This
bill met with the most determined opposi-
ton from the President and secretary of
treasury. bankers, chambers of commerce.
boards OF trade, and what is known as the
capitalistic class of the country. all
of whom prophesied disaster to the bust
ness of the country if it became
law, because of the imitation
which they claimed would be the
result of coming so much silver and be-
cause, as they declared. gold would be
driven out of the country. The secretary
of the treasury declared that the coinage
of $50, 100000 of silver dollars would drive
all the gold out of the country Senators
and members opposed to the bill Joined in
these prophesies of evil. We have coined
more than seven times fifty million dollars,
and yet the country is not on silver basis
We have now more thans four times as
much gold IN the country as wehad in 1878.
The demonstration of silver was brought
about by the creditor class, the only class
that could be benefited by the de-
struction OF one half of the money of the
world, for it is well-established principle
IN finance that the number of units of
money determine its value. That is, if
there are but few dollars in country, each
individual dollar will buy more than il
would if there were many dollars.
The demonstration of silver in Germany
and the United States induced other ma
tons TO demonetize silver Thus the de-
mand for silver was lessened and the de-
mand for gold increased, for when a dollar
OF silver was prevented from doing money
duty new gold dollar had to be found or
the gold dollar in existence had TO do in
creased money duty. The effect of this
was to appreciate gold, or, in other words,
reduce the prices Of all commodities meas
ured in gold. in a short time gold bullion
would not exchange for silver bullion on
the same terms as formerly, and the same
was true OF wheat, corn, cotton and all
other products Then the gold mono met
alllsts insisted that silver had fallen, when
as matter of fact it was gold that had
bullion or as coined into dollars, has
appreciated in the last seventeen wears.
1t VIII III either form exchange for more
commodities of all kinds than it would
then. IN countries using silver this is
plainly seen by the slight fall in prices.
Gold has appreciated in greater degree
than silver, not because o. us especial fit
ness for money, but because of its scarcity.
| do not mean that there is any less gold
than formerly, but that the same amount
OF gold Or nearly the same amount is re
CURED to do nearly double the work that it
formerly did. In other words. the work
formerly performed by silver and gold is
now largely done by gold alone. Let us
Illustrate: Suppose wheat and corn fur
nlshed tue required amount of grain for
man use. AID by some means all the corn
should be destroyed. Then wheat alone
would not suffice and wheat would re an
preclatec because Of the demand for il.
The principal uemand for gold is for use as
money; II that demand is increased gold
Will appreciate. This demand was increased
Just to the extent that the use of silver di-
minished.
The principal demand for silver is for
use as money, and II that demand is re-
duced 1T may dcpreciate or it may simply
prevent It's appreciation with gold, which
IS Is natural tendency, it being nut to the
9'.4i40 '.>S s.AC Cdpdole "a taxing tue place
OF goio- II wheaJ goes up in price. corn
invariably follows, as do al cereals. OF
course there are exceptions 10 this, but as
a rule, other things being equal, things uhat
can Bs put 10 thG sane use rise ana fall to-
sether These meals are 40 exception.
and when one u them IS discarded. ana tie
burden cf doing GCubie duty IS thrown
upon the other, the demalld foi. the one re-
lnzi-ing in use is increased in PROPORTION
TO the amount III service previously done
by tie discarded metal
So much as o the facts. Now. a word in
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