The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-10
THE SILVER SITUATION.
From the Kansas CITY journal.

The caucus silver bill has passed the
house. 1t provides for the purchase OF
silver bullion to the aggregate amount
of 81 500, 900 each month, and the issu
ance in exchange for the same of treas.
ury notes in denominations of not les:
than 81 and not more than $1,000. The
treasury notes are redeemable in coin al
the treasury of the United States or any
sub-treasury, and when redeemed NAV
| be reissued. The secretary of the treas
ury NAV, at his discretion. exchange the
| treasury notes for silver bullion at the
market price thereof on the day of ex-
change.
1t will be seen that the bill treats silver
as a community. The outstanding treas
ury notes must represent the cost of the
siluer bullion, and that cost will be
measured by gold. This proposition is
bitterly opposed by the silver men, and
we are not sure that the bill will pass
the senate without radical amendment.
theoretically the present bill is not as
favorable to silver as the Bland bill. The
Bland bill provides for a minimum of
1000, 600 and maximum of 100000
silver dollars per month. But the Bland
bill provides for the coinage of silver dol
lars of the weight of 4123 grains OF stand
ard silver. The holder of these dollars
may deposit them with the treasurer or
any assistant treasurer of the United
States In exchange for certificates, and
the dollars are held In the treasury for
the redemption of the certificates. This
means 4124-grain dollars.
The silver in a 4129-grain dollar is not
worth dollar in gold at the present mar
ket value of silver bullion. But the 4124
grain silver dollar and the certificate rep
resenting it actually circulates at par. In
other words the people do not recognize
the bullion depreciation.
By this new bill the government pro-
poses to largely increase the purchase of
silver bullion. but does what the people
have never done-it depreciates its own
money.
Under this bill the government will
coin 4124-grain silver dollars. but will
pay them out in redemption of treasury
notes on the basis of the market value of
the silver in them. IL other words the
dollars might as well be bullion as far as
the exchange is concerned.
Many friends of silver favor the bill as
a compromise, and with the expectation
that the largely increased purchases of
silver by the government will advance
the value of silver and lead to free
coinage.
The friends of silver who oppose the
bill do so on the ground that it is blow
at silver as money. They feel like Mr.
Greeley when he said the only way TO
resume is to resume" They believe that
a free coinage bill would Immediately
bring silver to a par with gold. Their po-
sitiOn seems sound when we consider the
fact that a silver dollar was worth 103
cents at the time silver was demonetized
in 1873 and that the present silver dollar
circulateS at par
We do not believe that other than good
results would follow a free coinage bill.
In case the caucus bill becomes a law
and silver advances topaz with gold, then
free coinage is provided for. Section of
the Bland bill is not repealed by the pres
ent law, and as a consequence the holders
of silver dollars could exchange them for
certificates, as is the case now.
We would prefer the caucus bill rather
than no legislation at ALL but we hope the
senate will seriously object to those pro-
visions that place the government in the
of depreciating the value of sill
yer as money.