Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-18
HON. 10 ABBOTT.
Unlimited Coinage of Silyer-Revision of
the Tariff ana Internal Revenue Laws.
HuISRnRo. Tex MAY % 1871

HuLsBoRo TEX, May %. 1891.
| Editor Gazette.
l am in receipt of yours Of 2lst request
ing my views on certain questions, which
| are substantially as follows:
Do we need more money in circulation
| fective plan for providing this additional
| circulation
| In reply [ would unhesitatingly say we
| need larger volume of the circulating
| medium. The best interests of the people
demand, and it is the duty of the govern
ment to supply, sufficiency of currency to
meet the ordinary wants Of trade and COM
| merce.
| How this may best be done is a question
| about which our ablest financiers and
! political economists, who concur in the
! opinion that the volume of our currency
\ should be increased, differ.
| The most of them, however, agree in the
| opinion, in which l heartily concur, that the
| free and unlimited coinage of silver, placed
| on parity with gold, at whatever standard
| the government may fix, Will go long way
| towards
EXPECTING THIS RESULT.
From the date of the first coinage act in
1892, the relation of silver to gold, with
slight variations as to weight and fineness,
remained substantially the same until the
| passage Of the act of February, 1873, which
act demonetiZed silver. The fraudulent
manner in which this act was passed is well
known to the country. According to the re-
port of the director of the mint, the product
ofsilver in the United States for the calendar
year 1890 was in round numbers $4,000, 900
fine ounces, of the commercial value of So
225O00 and of the coinage value of $40, 49,,
COO To the amount of silver produced in
the United States should be added some
thing over IL, 1000, 600 fine ounces of silver
produced from foreign ores reduced at pri-
at Init
making about Is, DOC. 900 fine ounces of the
coinage value of about SS4, 100000 Allow
ing 50, O0O, 900 to manufacturers of lewelry,
etc, we have remaining $4,000, 600 under
free coinage that would, under an admin
istration friendly to silver, go into general
circulation. This sum would also be in
creased to the extent of the silver money of
other governments, which the treasury
regulations require to be recoined; also by
such foreign silver as might be imported.
If this amount of money should be annually
put into circulation (and it is not probable,
Judging from the reports of the director of
the mint as to the production of silver in
the United States for several years past,
that the amount will be materially de-
creased) it would tend in great degree to
relieve the country from present financial
embarrassment
BY what has been said, do not wish to
be understood as meaning that every ounce
of silver shall be actually coined into dol
lars. but mean that every sixteen ounces
of silver (the present relative value under
the coinage actJ shall be equal in value TO
one ounce of gold, or that 3tll4 grains of
fine silver shall be equal in value to 81 of
gold, if the holder of silver, whether it be
in coined dollars or in bars, should he de-
sire to do so, be allowed to deposit the same
and receive therefor their value in legal
tender treasury notes.
will not attempt to refute arguments of
the opponents of silver, who contend that
free coinage of silver will drive gold to Erl-
rope and cause an influx of silver TO this
country, as it would hardly be in response
to your inquiry, but l will be permitted to
say that tine director of the mint, in table
estimating the value of the coins of thirty
six foreign nations and states, shows that |
twelve have the single gold standard,
twelve the single silver standard and
twelve
DOUBLE STANDARD OF GOLD AND SILVER.
In France and other European double |
standard states fifteen and one-half ounces
of silver are equal in value to one ounce of |
gold. In India fifteen ounces of silver are |
equal in value to one ounce of gold. In the |
United States, under the coinage act, 1t |
takes sixteen ounces of silver to be equal |
to one of gold. 1t is hardly probable that |
foreign silver would leave higher market |
at home to seek market in this country |
where its value is less.
France, with population of IS, 600 900, |
though occupying a territory less in extent |
than the state of Texas, has in circulation |
among her people $500, 000, 900 of gold, $780, |
000, 900 of silver and about 500, 600 600 of pa
per, making per capita circulation of about |
S44. 40, while Great Britain, gold standard |
country, has only $3.50, 50 Sc of which is of |
silver.
The director of the mint states that on ,
January /. 1891. there was of gold and sill |
yer bullion and coin in the United States |
treasury 1854, 204, 746, and SIS, 500 $40 of pa
per. Outside of the treasury there were |
1886 937, ASS gold and silver, and 1891 $50 1859
of paper, making total outside of the |
circulation Of SIS. II, estimating our popula-
ton at "a, O00, 900. This is not quite fair
statement, for the reason that the bank re-
serves and certain deposits in savings banks /
which are not in the treasury nor in actual
circulation will greatly lessen the amount
of circulation per capita, 1t having been es-
timated by careful Investigations not to ex-
coed $40 per capita. 1t has been contended
by some persons whose opinions on money
subjects are entitled to great weight that
the act of congress of July, 1890, requiring
the treasury department to purchase S4.-
establishes free coinage, the balance
of the silver being required for use
in the arts. Their position, how
ever, is not sustained by the facts,
as ! have already shown that the production
of silver in the United States, supplemented
by refined silver from imported foreign ores
exceeds the amount required under said act
by over 10000, 900, not including the
amount used in the arts. That proposition |
is not sustained as further shown by the
offerings to the treasury observation-disclosures
having been offered for sale at the treasury
department during the year 1890 more than
IS. 100, 900 fine ounces of silver of the coming
value of over So, 500, 900, Of which about 81
50o.o0o ounces only were purchased. After