Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-23
FRIDAY. JANUARY %. 1891.
Real MONEY!.

Whilst the silver bill is pending in Con-
rress. and everybody's attention is turned
towards the currency problem, we may
probably attempt TO discuss some of the
Questions involved. IL will not do to as
sumo that We know il all" and that Wis
dom will die with us. There were great
men before AaAMEMNoN. The king of
men" was Il wouldseem, only pri"'us inter
pdres So there were currency thinkers be-
fore our day, as we'll as learned statesmen,
fnanciers, political economists, or what
ever you may choose to style them, who
were thoroughly grounded in ali the
neutrality-suspicious. involved IN what
we know as the silver problem.
When the discovery of gold in California
had made that metal less valuable relative
" than alver-that is, less than sixteen
times as valuable-and our smaller silver
coins were all going TO Europe or other
foreign countries. Mr.. HUSTER, Of Virginia.
chairman of the Finance Committee of the
United States Senate. knew exactly how to
correct this evil. He proposed bill to de-
base the smaller silver coins, and Congress
passed IT and it became law. IL worked
like a charm. 1t fully accomplished the
object for which il was framed. When the
trainers of the Federal Constitution pro-
yided that no State should make anything
else than gold and silver legal tender for
debt they knew what they were doing. Let
US all modesuy concede, then, that the
men who have preceded US may have un-
derstood monetary science as well as We
do; and let the monometallists concede
that the bimetallists may be thoroughly
familiar with that science. The men who
predicted in 1873 that silver would drive
all the gold out of this country in few
months should now hold their peace.
In commenting yesterday upon a remark
that had been made by Messrs. JOHN A.
HAMBLKroN Il Co., of Baltimore. we incl
dentally mentioned real money" Their
remark was in substance that bank-notes
might represent honest money" but
so-cent silver-dollsrs could never do so.
A word more on this subject.
Real money will stand the test of change
Of locality. Coins may be taken from the
United States to England, France. or Ger
many, or elsewhere. and yet will be as valu-
able as they were in this country. Contrari-
wise, the coins Of Europe may be brought to
this country, and yet will be as valuable
here as they were in those countries. Real
money knows no State lines. Silver will
not at present stand this test, but the OBJ
ject Of the free-coinage bill is to enable it
TO stand il. But even under this test the
SO-cent silver-dollar far more nearly APP
proxinates real money than does the green
back or bank-note.
Real money will stand the test of the
scales. It's value may be ascertained as
well by weighing as by tale. Silver will not
at present stand this test. But it will stand
il much better than greenbaeks or bank
notes. Free coinage will settle this ques-
ton.
Real money will stand the test of change
of form. 1t does not fear the crucible. In
the form of bullion it is as valuable as in the
form Of coin. Silver will not stand this
test now. But let us say once more that
free coinage is expected to cure this de-
feet.
Real money will stand the fire test.
Greenbacks and bank-notes VIII not stand
this test, but silver Will.
On the whole, we conclude that our Bal
timore friends are in the wrong. They
certainly seem to be. But if they can make
il appear that the mere promise to redeem
a greenback in coin renders that green
back more valuable than silver coins pos
sessing an intrinsic value of tour-ffths of
their nominal value and having behind
them the same promise of redemption,
then these Baltimore fnanciers will prove
themselves to be fnanciers, indeed. And
we would suggest to them that if their
theory be a sound one all they have to do
10 provide for the United States the best
currency in the world is 10 secure the
enactment of a law making greenbacks
and bank-notes redeemable in silver coins,
and silver coins redeemable in gold coins.