The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1890-02-26

Issued by the National Silver Com
mittee.
Authorised BY the National Silver Con
vcntfon Held at st. Louis In No
vember, 1880-To Congress
and tho People.

r1ssuedb by the Executive Committed
The National Silver convention, held At st.
Louis November %, q anc %, 1880, passed the
following resolution, and appointed commit
tee to prepare . memorial address to Congress
and the country. setting forth the reasons
therefor:
"Resolued, That the Fifty first Congress be re-
Quested by this convention to provide, ut its
nrst session, for opening the mtnts Of tho
United States to the free and unlimited coin
age of standard silver dollars Of the present
weight and nneness, to be q legal tender for all
debts, public and private, equally with gold
and that until such provision Is made the Sec
rotary Of tho Treasury be required to coin the
maximum of d, 000 900 worth Of silver per month,
n now authorized by law"
THE MONEY OF THE CONSTITUTION.
The committee respectfully represents that
In the formation Of our Government both gold
and silver were established rs money. By con-
stitutional provision the power ITO coin money,
regulate the value thereof and Of foreign COLI"
was given to the general Government, and the
States were prohibited from making ''any thing
but gold and silver coin tender In payment Of
debts"
Webster said:
lam certainly Of the opinion, then, that gold
and silver. at rates fixed by Congress-, consti-
tute tho legal standard OF value in this coun-
Try. and that neither Congress nor any State
or 70 displace this.
ss .
The legal tender, therefore, tho constitution
al standard Of value, Is established and can not
be overthrown- To overthrow It would shake
tho whole system.
II Congress may demonetize silver It may
gold, and II either, It may both, but the States
can make nothing legal tender but gold and
silver coin. Can Congress demonetize that
which States may make money!
THE ACT OF 1873
The act of 1873 demonetizing silver and
changing the fundamental law respecting
money, was passed without public discussion
and without the knowledge Of the people, much
less was it called for by them. In fact, as fully
appears from concurrent testimony, the act was
passed without q comprehensive knowledge Of
its scope or effect by those highest in authority
in the Government nor has 1t ever been made
manifest that any one directly responsible for
the act fully comprehended its eficct, and GER
tainly it Is but charitable to assume that no
one foresaw its far-reaohing and insidious con-
sequences.
THE EFFECT OF THE ACT OF 1873.
For indefinite ages gold and silver have been
money metals. Their use as money Is as old as
commerce. From them money has been fabri-
Gated without limit throughout the civilized
world BY them have all other things been
measured, and in them all obligations dis
charged.
Prior to the demonstration OF silver by Ger
many in 1919, followed by the act Of 1873 in the
United States. and the closing Of the mints Of
the Latin Union, silver and gold, at the coinage
ratio OF Europe l5h to u, flowed evenly
through all the channels Of trade, UNFOLDING
prices and supplying the worlds increasing
need for money. Variations in the production
49, 1A 49, To n<oA hx1% he In,
creased mintage Of the more abundant. The
worlds debts, immense at the period Of the
demonetization Of silver and still increasing
were based upon the two metals and the annual
supply OF both. Production and trade were ad-
justed to the same scale.
Then came the change. The Western world,
without warning. struck from its money volume
one Of the metals and restricted future supply
to gold alone.
Thus was the money standard changed and
the new and increased standard made unjustly
to apply to all existing contracts and obliga-
tions, public and private, for tho same act that
struck down silver increased the purchasing
power Of gold In other words. the gold stand
ard itself was changed; It became an enlarged
standard. Indeed, the enormity OF the act OF
demonstration is only fully brought out when
It Is seen that It's necessary effect has been the
enhancement Of the value Of gold.
THE ENHANcKNENr OF GOLD.
The extent Of the enhancement Of gold II best
shown by . comparison Of prices before and
since the demonstration of silver. For this
purpose three periods which mark q many dis
tinctive epochs In the use Of gold and silver arc
taken.
First 1851. tho year when the gold discov-
eerers OF California began to act on prices and
stimulate trade.
Second The year 1873, when the act demone.
fixing silver In the United States was passed,
and before the fall Of silver or rise OF gold b.
gan.
Third. The year 1879 when tho Bland-Allison
act was passed, requiring the coinage Of at
least 100000 worth OF silver . month. And
finally, the course Of prices and the tendency
of gold since 1873. under . shrinking volume OF
money.
But in order TO set forth IN the clesrest lieht
the effect on gold and on prices Of recent legis-
lation against silver, It Is necessary to show its
effect on money supply during the three periods
named. For the real measure of values 1T any
given time Il the effective volume Of money at
such time existing. No country has purely
gold measure The real measure in the United
States 1t this time Il gold, colored % to speak,
by 600 Of silver, and further diluted BY
the elective volume OF greenbaclks and National
bank notes. For nobody would contend that
the value Of gold would be the same or that
gold would constitute the Same standard, II the
silver and paper that circulate with It were de-
stroyed
MONEY VOLUME m ISL.
What the volume Of money in the United
States In 1851 Was We have NO certain data for
determining, but whatever IL Was II consisted
largely Of issues Of State and private banks
TIE supply Of gold and silver had been on the
wane for nearly half . century, but IN 1880 Cali
fornia, and later, Australia, began to send out
their newly discovered treasures.
Let Us now place side By side tho period from
1851 to 1873 and the period from 1873 to 1873 and
thence 70 1877.
1851 10 1873
The worlds production Of gold and silver
from 1851 to 1873. ~ given By tho tables Of Dr..
Soetbeer, was:
SuveS.. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 1,N4OAUO
Total. xR76A @.000
Average annual production Of gold
Tor the twenty-throo years. 116566.O00
Average annual production Of silver 100000
In 1855 the production of gold reached S16s-
oo10oo. and In 1855 IL was 100000 In lS7S 1t
had fallen to So6 10000 The production Of stl-
var In 1878 was 81 0mm
Tho excess Of the production Of gold over
silver for the entire period of twcnty-three
years was l5s2 $4,000
Tho average annual production Of both met.
als during this period waA In round numbers,
49,