The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-07-09
THE SILVER COMPROMISE BILL.

The conference committee of the two
houses of Congress has agreed on silver
bill, and while the measure proposed is
somewhat better than the House bill, it falls
so much short Of the bill as it passed the
Senate that it ought not TO become law.
True, the ugliest feature of the House bill,
that providing for the redemption Of silver
certificates or currency with silver bull
lion has been eliminated. Thus the silver
certificates will be money in the full sense.
They can pay debts, taxes and customs
dues to any amount and are redeenable
only with coin. But while this is true OF
the certificates, silver is not made a coin
metalwith ali the rights, powers and priv
ileges of such metal. II is held to be "a
mercantile product TO be dealt in as other
products, TO be speculated in, the price to
be regulated by the output of the mines or
by combination of mine own
ers. AS to coinage, the matter
viii rest entirely with the secretary
of the treasury, who can have much or lit
tie put into dollars as he pleases, being re-
qulred to coin only what he may say is re-
quired for the transaction of the business OF
the country. We all know what the effect of
this provision will be; there will be prac-
tical suspension OF the coinage of silver
dollars: instead of the minis turning out
200o, 900 silver dollars month, the bullion
will be piled up in the vaults of the treas
ury and held like so much railroad iron.
Instead of buying enough silver to make
$1,000, 900 a month the government will pur
chase /. 800, 600 ounces at current CONNER
cial rates. The present law authorizes the
buying of nearly as much, and what is bet
ter, its coinage.
We do not believe that the conference
bill, if it shall become law, will bring
much if any relief 1t will some
what enlarge the market for sill
yer at present rates, but it viii
not materially increase the money supply.
The government will take mans silver If
it feels so disposed and can strike a bargain
with him; If they cannot come to terms he
can go to some plate manufacturer or to
Europe with his goods, and the government
Will deal with the next man who may be
more eager to sell.
The only regulation that will bring the re
lief sought is that which viii permit the
owner Of silver to take it to the mint and
have it coined into as many dollars as il
will make. That legislation would hurt
nobody and would give everybody his
rights. The government would not specu-
late on the producer of silver and the latter
would obtain only what belonged to him
the supply of coin would be no greater
than the requirements of the people, an(
the speculative element would be at once
removed from both money metals Ii
plain words, there should be free coinage
of silver as of gold, or silver should b.
eliminated from our coinage and monetary
system, and relegated to aplace among the
products of the country. This latter pro
position is out of the question, hence th'
former should be adopted,
Tns HERALD hopes the compromise bill
will not be accepted by the Senate; it vii
be better for the country if the measure
shall fail entirely, for it will then be onl,
few months before what is demanded
will be granted. The passage of the bill
now means a long delay before really bene
fetal legislation will be obtained.