New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-08
HILL SHEDDING THICK DARKNESS.


HILL SHEDDING THICK DARKNESS.
The readers Of Governor Hills "great speech
must have been staggered by the frequent re-
currence Of expressions to which they could at
tach no distinct meaning. They will therefore
rejoice in the suggestion made by Governor
Hill's organs, that he has thrown down chal-
lenge" which ex-President Cleveland is invited
to take up at once. 1t would be the funniest
thing in life to have ex-President Cleveland make
serious public endeavor to understand what
Governor Hill meant and to controvert his sup
posed arguments If Mr.. Cleveland can per-
form that task he is great man indeed.
Ii would be rash in the last degree to assume
that Governor Hill had any idea himself what
he meant by some of the expressions he most
frequently employed. lie knew that they were
fayorite phrases with the free-coinage cranks.
He wanted to capture the sympathy and support
of the free-coinage people, and so rolled then
shibboleths and pet phrases over his lips with
Junction. caring not one continental baubec
whether he or anybody else attached any mean
ing to them. For Hill is the kind of politician
who holds cheap demagogism infinitely more
adapted to popular appreciation, and therefore
infinitely more valuable to him than the most
studious craftsmanship. What did Governor Hill
think or mean, or did he think he thought or
meant anything, when no prattled about the
melting pot and the intrinsic value of gold and
silver dollars? At first blush one might imag-
inc that he had vaguely in mind plan often
proposed by some Republican Senator's or Repre-
sentatives, but speedily abandoned when they
came TO understand what it meant, namely, the
creation Of new silver dollar, containing so
much fine silver as to be equal at the present
market value to the gold dollar. If the present
silver dollar is in market value OF the silver 1t
contains worth only IS cents, they said, how
simple to put third more silver into it, and thus
settle the silver problem forever. One is puzzled
at times, in reading Hills speech, to decide
whether he has not advanced to that same point
of innocent ignorance, and no further. Yet that
is impossible. For in another part Of the same
speech he boasts of the substantially unanimous
vote of Democratic Senator's and Representatives
for free coinage, as if these were votes for his
proposal. Free coinage of dollars containing
All IA grains pure silver was what they voted
for. and coinage of such dollars without any
limit. But Hills silver dollar, if "equal in in
trnsic value at the meting-pot to gold dol
lar,n would have to contain about 49o grains
of pure silver at the present moment, and a
different quantity tomorrow, and nobody could
tell how much or little the next day.
When Republicans who innCcently suggested
this remedy advanced in their financial educa-
ton far enough to see that the new and bigger
dollar would become old and obsolete, because
no longer accurate in value after the lapse OF
a month, or a week, or day, and that they had
no power whatever of fixing the relative market
value of fine ounce of gold and fine ounce Of
silver it also dawned upon them that they would
have to provide for recOining all the standard
dollars now in circulation and in the Treasury, at
the very outset, in order to get their new dollars
into use Then what were they to do when the
relative value of silver and gold had changed
again? Were they to set out once more at the
task Of recoining the entire silver supply at the
new ratio with the certainty that the ratio
aforesaid would change again before they could
get half or even tenth of the stock OF silver
reconed? The amazing and Astounding alb
surdities OF any such attempt would not forbid
the idea that Governor Hill meant to propose it, as
a good-enough political trick for the hour, had
he not at the same time claimed that his pro-
posal was exactly that of the Democratic Sem
ators and Representatives, who voted for unlim-
tied conage of the present standard dollar. But
if he means anything that they voted, what on
earth does he mean by his meting-p pot and
crucible? Is he by any possibility so dense in
his ignorance as not to know that he is slashing
over the head his whole party in Congress, and
not Republican leaders at all, when he talks of
dollars that will melt down without loss? The
-. Ill l.
But it was never half as perplexing as the at
tempt to guess what Governor Hill imagines he
was trying to say about the silver question