, 1891-01-31
CHEAP SILVER DOLLAR"

~ al AHAHA#A NANANA4 - f'F~
Leslies Illustrated Weekly by Edward
Atkinson, aud quotes the following as a
seemingly uuanswerAble argument against
the reconciliation Of silver:
When twelve senators represent half a
dozen states that rave not people enough
in them to elect as many representatives,
aud when some Of these senators have got
themselves elected because they have
made enough out OF silver mines to buy
their places, and they try to force 4 cheap
-doiAaF toto Bse-that- is sometimes worth
seventy. sometimes eighty, sometimes
ninety cents only when it is melted, the
whole trade OF the country will be broken
VI, not because money is scarce, but be
cause credit will be scarce.
So long as a state is a state it is enti-
tied under the constitution to equal rep
resentation in the senate with every other
state regardless Of its comparative wealth
or population. The argument OF INSULT
cheney of population mas reasonably be
advanced before a territory is admitted as
a state, but once it has been admitted 1t
is utterly absurd because the constitution
grants it certain representation in the
United States senate because it rs a sover-
eign state and without regard to ITS popula-
ton. wealth or relative fitness TO assume the
dignity Of statehood. 1t is doubtless true
that some of the Western senators may
have secured their election by the use Of
money but in this respect they will not be
regarded as singular among their Eastern
senatorial brethren. We have never be-
fore heard the idea advanced, even By i'm
pIicauon, that the East enjoyed a mo
nopoly in political honesty and purity.
The real meat Of the quotation is. how
ever, contained IN the reference to the sill
yer dollar as a cheap dollar. sometimes
worth seventy and sometimes eighty
cents.
The essence Of the evil Is involved in
the foregoing proposition. It must be
confessed that silver, Judged nom the
present abnormal standpoint OF gold, is
cheap, but the contention Of those who
favor the Tree coinage Of silver is that it
has been made 50 by legal enactment
bllNtI was NfAANUNANANA ny NbukANNoAOhal
act in 1873. Previous to tina; time the
monetary standard had been gold and sill
yer, as IS provided in our national consti-
tuition. The ratio of value fixed between
the two metals by our government was as
! part of gold to l6 parts of silver. In 1872,
on this basis. silver commanded a slight
premium, for according TO the report OF
the director Of the mint the ratio was
1868 in that year. The following yesr it
had jumped to 1892 and from the mo
ment Of decentralization aud the degrade
ton of silver from a money metal to a
commodity the divergence continued to
increase year by year until now it is as |
Of gold to over % Of silver. This OF itself
doesn't prove that to adverse legislation
alone is due the increasing separation of
gold and silver but when statistics are
appealed to it is made evident that the
whole range of commodities has fallen
in prices corresponding to the fall Of sill
yer.
1t is held in favor OF the dual currency
that gold and silver have always been
recognized as money metals until the lat
ter was first in the history of the world
demonetized by England in 1919. For
many years in this country our only coin
was silver; for many wears thereafter j;
vastly prep1nderated over gold, During
all the years of history, and notwithstand
Iug the extraordinary relative variation
in the production. a certain ratio between
gold and silver has been maintained with
marvellous fxity. During the 375 wears
between 1897 and 1872 the maximum
separation Of the metals was only as ! to
lot. As it is impossible to secure any
substance with an absolutely fixed value
for money use, the next best thing is to
secure such metals as the history of all
ages shows nave mostly nearly approached
the desired standard These metals are
undoubtedly gold aud silver. When a
certain fixed ratio is maintained through
ages Of time and statistics further show
that the supply Of the one or the other
metal is insufficient for the money uses of
the world the argument in favor OF the
double standard is greatly strengthened.
To come down to a consideration Of the
proposition involving the so-called
cheap dollar it is only natural to make
some inquiry iuto the causes which have
led to its depreciation. Prior to 1873 a
cheap" silver dollar was something Tn
heard of. In that year silver was de-
monetizrd in the United States and Ger
many. BY this single legislative stroke
half Of our basic currency was destroyed.
The result was an enoi nous contraction oil
our circulating medium and a consequent
enhancement Of the value Of gold. This Is
clearly indicated by the separation between
gold and the entire range of product,
which commenced in 1878 and has con
tinued with incrf asing divergence ever
since. The fearful increase in the pur.
chasing power Of a gold dollar has had the
twofold effect OF adding value to the
riches o. the wealthy while taking value
ava from the production of the poorer
classes, for a shrinkage IN the volume Of
money. as Senator Jones well said, has
never yet failed to cause an increase in the
value of the money unit and a consequent
decrease 10 the price Of the commodities
for which such unit is exchanged