Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-05-26
An Important Factor.

EDITOR JOURNAL: In your dis
cussions of finance you are seeming
ly quite pronounced in favor of free
.oinage of silver, There is one
point that has not been brought out
the discussion of this question, so
far as l have observed, which is, !
think, an important factor; one that
should not be overlooked by those
Who advocate free coinage and yet
are not interested in silver mines.
AT present values the owner of
silver bullion would, under free
coinage, receive about 20 per cent
more for his silver than the market
value, that is to say that for about
80 cents worth of silver as now
rated he would receive a certificate
for 100 cents or a silver dollar made
u legal tender for 100 cents.
The government receives so cents
worth of silver and gives 1t legal
tender value of 100 cents. Under
the present law the difference be-
tween the purchase price of the
silver coined in one year and the
legal tender value, after coming, is
$40, 800, 900; this sum represents the
difference between the market value
and the legal tender value, which
sum under free coinage would go to
the holders of silver bullion, but
under the present law is saved to
the government.
AS the law now stands Only
$54, ,OOO,0 900 can be coined in one
year, but If we adopt free coinage
the limit would only be measured
by the amount of silver ore obtain
able in the markets of the world;
since it stands to reason that so long
as this, or any considerable, margin
al difference existed between the
values of gold and silver the holders
of gold would exchange it for silver
and the result would be the gold
would be sent out of the country in
exchange for silver. This being true
the government would be paying
| the premium on silver and the gold
bugs would be reaping the profits.
And all this without increasing the
volume of the circulating medium
in the United States per capita-ex-
cept possibly to the extent Of the
difference between the purchase
price and coin value of the silver.
The reason for this is apparent,
since in order to get the silver ii
must be paid for and this would
take out of the country the price
paid for silver, hence there would be
no gain except profit coming to the
purchaser. The country would not
be benefited in any way by sending
out gold to bring in silver, neither
would it be benefited by eXchang.
ing silver dollars for silver bullion.
Without questioning the propriety
of limiting the amount of silver
that should be coined in a year, this
one principle of only receiving it al
its cash value should be rigidly ad
hered to. The government should
not pay more for the bullion that /,
coined into money than its marke
value, any more than it ought t.
pay more for the paper that is uset
to make greenbacks and bank note
than It's market value. There would
be just as much propriety in paying
$l.00 for 80 cents worth of paper fol
the purpose Of stamping 1t as money
as there is in paying $l.00 for 81
cents worth of silver. In eitheI
case the government Is the loser anC
the dealer Is the gamer. certainly
think that the people are not quit
ready TO go into that kind of specu
lation. Silver kings and gold bug
would reap a rich harvest at tn,
expense of us the people.
IL ought to be the policy of tn,
government to pay no more thar
the market value for any bulliol
that is converted into money; ant
whatever difference there may b
between its value before coming an,
after should belong to the govern
ment. w. IL. ODELL.