Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-06-18
NUMBER SO.
Silver the Standard for 81 Years.

| @. Suppose the government, instead
of making the silver dollar bigger ano
| heavier. should make the gold coins
smaller and lighter, would not that be
unjust to creditors, by forcing them te
accept less than the contract calls for?
| A. NO: for the contract calls tor dol
| lars; all debts are for dollars, as we have
seen. and the dollar is a silver coin of l0O
cents-no more. no less-and, after the
I! gold coins We're made smaller and light
er, under the ratio; the smaller and
| lighter eagle pieces would be worth III
silver dollars; the smaller and lighter
double eagles would be worth 20 silver
dollars: and the half eagles would be
worth ) silver dollars.
There is always a chance in the future
that the ratio between the Two metals
viii vary, one or the other going up or
down in price, as measured by the other;
and the rule has been. to give the debtor
the benefit of the variation. By giving
him the option of paying in either metal.
The people are the debtor class, for it is
upon them that all debts of public and
semf-public character rest, in the end
and 1t was most unjust TO them to deprive
them of this ancient debtors option of
paying their obligations in the cheaper of
the two metals.
Q. Have they been deprived of it?
A. They have.
Q. How. and when.
A. In 1873, when Congress. without
their knowledge, dropped the silver dollar
out of the coinage.
Q. Do you mean to say that free coin
age of silver was the law from the estab-
lishment of the Mint down to 1873?
A. Yes.
Q. And was it the duty and practice
of the Mint to coin all the silver into dol
la,.- hat ,,x.1,4 10 70 Int
purpose?
A. 1t was
@. How long did the rule prevail?
a. From 1872 to 1S73--Sl years.
Q. But have not silver dollars been
coined since 1873?
A. Yes--under the Bland act.
Q. Did the Bland act restore the old
rule?
A. No: the old rule was free and un-
limited coinage for silver. and the Bland
act provided for limited coinage only
1000 900 to 4 900 600 month--and even
this has been stopped.
@. Did not the Bland act have the eff
feet ofrestorin@ the debtors option as it
bad been prior to 1888?
A. II did not. The debtor cannot
have the full benefit of the option of pay
ing in either gold or silver. as long as
the coinage of gold is free and unlimited.
and the coinage of silver is not-any more
than the tenant could have the full bene-
fit OF his option of paying his rent in
wheat or corn, if the landlord, while
permitting him to raise as much wheat as
he could. forbade him TO raise more than
so many bushels of corn year.
FREE COINAGE.
Question. What is the meaning offree
silver coinage?
Answer. 1t means that the govern
ment shall coin silver without limit.
@. Does not the government coin sill
yer without limit, now?
A. 1t does moi.
@. But it used to?
A. Yes: it did, from the establish
ment of this mint, in 1892. down to 1873
-four score years In 1873, silver dol
lars were dropped from the coinage, sur
reptitously and without the knowledge of
the people, and by this trick, silver was
in a large measure demonetiZed.
@. What do you mean by demonet-
A. Deprived of its money quality.
.. But did not silver continue to be
lawful money. and legal tender for
debts, after 1873, as well as before?
A, Yes: but this fact was of little value
after the coinage of the metal ceased.
The government is the only power that
coins money, and when it stopped coin
ing silver dollars, there We're none to be
had A debtor still had right to pay
his debts in silver. if he could get the sill
Yer. but if the government refused to sup
ply him with it, this was a practical de-
monetiZation of silver, ana he was forced
to pay in gold, or its equivalent. Girls
SONS ''People's Dollar.''