Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-20
sHERMAN,s SILVER IDEAS,

Senator Sherman's interview with
correspondent of TUE DISPATCH comes
TO the public only day or two after the
remarkable declaration of the New York
Democrats against silver. The New York
idea is so widely different from the Ohio
one that it not only declares against free
silver coinage, but attacks the act passed
by the last Congress as certain II con-
tinued to bring the country eventually to
a silver basis
Senator Sherman does not reply directly
to this attack on the rather indefinite Re-
publican silver policy; but his utterances
have a decided relation to it. For the
weakness of the last legislation on that
subject, is that no one can say authorlta-
lively what it means. The question
whether it means the ultimate reduction
of the currency to the silver basis or the
maintenance of the present standard de-
pends on the construction which may be
given to the act in its future enforcement.
Although Senator Sherman does not def
nitely recognize this fact, his utterances
bring it out For instance, he says:
"The Government if it became the pur-
chaser of all the silver bullion in the coun-
try could not maintain that coin at par
with gold or prevent a silver dollar from
depreciating. Of course it cannot; and
vet the one indisputable feature of the
present silver law, is that the purchases of
silver by the Treasury are guaged to alb
sorb the entire silver production Of the
country.
Naturally Senator Sherman devotes con-
siderable attention to the false position
which the Ohio Democrats have taken on
free silver coinage. He has perfect right
to do this, as the Democratic convention
by one of those pieces of inspired stupid
ity to which Democratic politics are prone
has made the issue between the imme-
diate reduction of the currency to the
silver basis, and the settlement of the
question on sound lines. But the most
significant part of the interview is his in
dication of the ultimate settlement on the
line which THE DISPATCH has always
held to be the only correct one, namely,
the use of silver at intrinsic value equally
with gold This is the fundamental mean
ing of his proposition for the issue of cur
rency "upon the deposit of gold or silver
at its market value instead of fictitious
value as proposed by the free coinage
act"
This is the one way in which the silver
question can be permanently settled with
out disturbing the unit of values. Say
that silver is worth dollar an ounce.
Under such a provision as this the1Govern-
ment on receipt of 10000 ounces of silver
could issue certificates for that sum, each
ten dollar certificate stating the fact that
it represents ten ounces of silver, and will
be redeemed with that amount of metal
on presentation. The ten dollar value of
the certificate will be simply The bullion
value of the metal Of course such a
policy would necessitate the redemption
of the present silver dollar containing 76
cents worth of metal; and would imply
the establishment of a new silver coin
with about one-third more weight But
for the actual coins there would be little
demand, while the deposit of silver for
certificates would be in exact ratio as the
needs for currency were more imperative
than the uses of silver in the arts.
This would involve decided departure
from the policy of either party on the
silver issue; but it is the only way in which
the free use of silver as basis for money
can be secured, without a change from
gold monometallism to silver monometal-
lism, and reduction of the unit of values,
to about three-fourths of the present
standard.