Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-24

state OF thingbl Vut okioioeiNA. - 49,.
merized By ipsidious influences ena.las.us
from London that the American Soa n,,1
is moi allowed 10 order the coinage OF our
own siIyer by our own mints, but y msuo
10 order il to be purchased AZ bonuoh
prices and held tail the Sanhedrim theIe
shall determine what IL viii allow Us 10 40
with our own. .,,a a.
IL there an American brain so Opaque as
70 be incapable of conceiVing, IA con!S.n-
plation OF the condition OF analfS tnus
depicted. that the thousands OF gooe l frsli
in the United States who advocate tneiISo
coinage of silver may have some 9tileI i,' oo IS
the ourrencyp
BBrrArS THE GREATEST, wIsEsT, MHASEsT or
NATIONS.
must be pardoned by the reader II
write on this subject in spirit OF inuls na-
ton. A thousand and one eonsiderattio ols
make Us reverence England IN al that sne
has been aud is, exceptin her external pO ~
tics II is there that the line nuse W
drawn. George III. and his ministry -
their policy towards the American COLO
niesl The treaty OF Assierlt0 eXtorted from
Spain ia 1913, by which England acquires
and held for thirty-seVeny years the soieTgn
of selling African slaves 20 the Spanish,
American colonies, aud thereby galneu
the blood-money with which she set up
business with the world as capitallst.
Her slave-hunts and captures IN AiI le
followed by the horrors OF the thiuuuiie
passage. Her robberies OF iDcalcuIaoi9
nlunder in India, bv which she aInasseu
sfill more capital with which 10 become,
In an that pertains to honest money
the financial mistress of tho worIu.
And passing over many other things, worse
and meanest of oil, the part that was
nlaved by her hidden hand IN the surrep-
titious decentralization of silver by our
Congress in 1873 and in the DO less us
graceful legislation of July, 1871, by WIFI WIFI
the free coinage of silver was preVenIJJu 81
here, and purchases required TO, DC I eiS
at London prices, Of our own SILVER LO .,.
onr own citizens by our own Government,
without leave to coin 1t into legal-tendef
dollars when thus purchased, lest tia'
coming by putting silver metal up III pr,lce,
sbould impair her monopoly OF the sl'eA
market of the world.
ISTRISsIo VALUE HoS-EssEETIAL IN LAW But
ESSENTIAL IN FINANCE.
Returning TO the subject Of legal tender
at home, let It be conceded that Wheh q
Government makes any denomination OF
money legal tender il is morally bound 10
keen that money at par at all times When
NOT involved in war for its existence; ana
n IL with reference 20 this obligation thag
the presept Government OF the Cnlteu
States confined the legal quality 10
rold and silver for the first seventy years
of its existence. Indisputably the decl-
sion of the Supreme Court declaring theI
legal-tender money may have no intrinsic
value whatever was good law; YET IL WI
bad finance. The Government IS bounu
in good faith to its citizens to MAINTAIN
the value at par of all money declared 10y
itself 10 be legal tender; and all DISCUS
sion about the duty aud power or Con
gress to ensure this par Of value 10y legis-
Iation against gold contracts IS useless
and empirical-ft only for the moot de,
bates of calloW youths in our schools ana
colleges. ,.,o4,,
Government is bound TO take adequate
measures TO make legal-tender money as
valuable as any other, and thereby 10 rem
der contracts calling for payment e1clu-
sively in any specified fund as useless as
thew are iuvidious, IL the United States
makes the silver dollar legal tender Dy
degradation il IS bound to 50 employ the
financial powers of ITS Treasury as TO rem
der that dollar as valuable and current ior
general purposes as any other dollar Inc
resources of the United states treasury
are now ample to insure that oblectj pro
yided only that the Treasury IS headed by
IA neCIHtAFX WHO, uullhC AAO5b VI CNA
ones. shall not be under the spell OF wall
street. and of those ideas which wall street
derives from that great city across the
ocean which is interested, as we have seen,
10 the extent of many millions of dollars a
wear in depreciating and degrading Amerl-
can silver.
BROTHER JONATHAN ABLE 40 KEEP HIS DOLLAR
ATPAR.
ANY Secretary of Treasury instinct with
the proper American spirit would nave no
difficulty IN maintaining at par any amount
of silver currency that Congress could au-
thorize TO be issued. In 1879, when there
had been up TO within six months OF the
day fixed for the resumption OF specie pay.
ments the large sum OF S6N,OOO,OOO OK
paper money in circulation and only
S77 900 900 Of specie IN the country (all OF
r. SILVER. did the Government fan TO make
tb,s volume of paper money command the
mar of specie? True, 1t had TO devise ap-
propriate measures for the purpose and was
NOT at liberty to stand inert. True, also,
that that disreputable exhibition OF cock
neyist!c greed which is now formulated IN
cold contracts had not been suggested
from London to American bankers. The
Government did take the proper steps tor
the purpose, and did accomplish resump-
ton without the slightest shock or INJURY
To S1nUle 1ultItSJ VI lLb NCtA'ASf
much that six months after the date OF re-
sumption themoney resources OF the coun-
try at large. including the funds IN the ma
tional Treasury, were:
Gold. ~ ldO'O00
Silyer. 1ll,5OO,OOO
Total specie. %
Paper money Of all issues......... 094'%oO'OOO
See Treasury circular of August 20, 1891.
As measure of prudence the Govern
ment had provided as much as three nun
dred and ffty-seven millions OF specie 70
meet any run that might be made upon the
| Treasury for hard money in redemption OF
naner legal tender. There was no such
nm. Paper currency was moro convenient
for handing than hard money, especially
i'm large amounts; and redemption was
accomplished. merely because the pubic
preferred legal tender money!, possessing
not a particle of the intrinsic value, 70
heavier money, whether lntrlnslcally
worth more or less than par. Even the
silver fakirs in London made no clamor ;
and of course their parrots IN Boston and
New York. proverbial for small SOULS, and
smaller brain-pans, failed to yex the pubic
ear with their mechanical talk.
What are the fiscal resources Of the Gov
eminent now with reference 10 the cues
ton whether il will continue to be able IN
the future, as IL mas Always Ocen III Iue
mast. 20 maintain parity of the par rates
of silver coins with gold?
1t is shown by the document just cited
that there were IN the country at large
andin the Treasury on July ], 1881, the
following cash funds:
Gold ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 's.s'sss cDolio@f'uUO
Silyer...... aoo,oV'iOVo
Total specie. 1,O65, 131, 900
Paper money of all issues. Sl,O32,OOO,-
900. that is to say more specie than paper
money in circulation.
Here then IS a problem in the simple
rule of three. If the country was strong
enough ia 1878, with one to nine OF specie
10 paper six months before redemption
10 enter upon the task Of making its paper
notes worth the par of specie, would It be
able now, with sixteen hundred millions
of cash funds In hand, to keep -four. hun
pred and eighty millions of silver coins at
par?
There Is no man of true American pluck
in his soul that Will doubt its ability 10
sustain the policy Of free coinage, when
| ever. throwing off the spell OK foreign
| ideas. il shall exercise the sovereign right
of decreeing the free coinage OF SILVER.