The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-07-31
FREE corNAoE OF SILVER.

what Is meant by the free coinage OF siiverf'
As this silver question in politics now makes
The canvass psrtaks of the character OF q cam
paign of education. IL Is essential That such
facts as are beyond dispute should be kept be-
fore the mind OF the public in order that the
reasoning faculties of the people may have
some material to work upon. Mr.. Ldwara
| Owen Leech, the Director of tho Mint. SAYS
1.-THE free coinage of silver means that indi-
viduals may take silver Of any kind or de-
scription to the mints and have every 3Il5l
| grains stamped free Of charge into dollar,
which dollar shall be Of full legal tender for
| ts face value in payment of debts OF obliga-
| ton of all kinds in the United States"
Free coinage of gold on the other hand
means the same thing as TO 20 22-lO0 grains
| of gold The question is why this right
| which now exists as to gold should be with
| held as TO silver. The answer is that stamp
| ing of gold into coins adds nothing TO its
| yalue-but on the contrary as has been
shown in the recent expectation of gold
| diminishes its value, for gold bars have been
| at premium over the coin--whereas the
stamp on the silver dollar raises its value
| from 81 TO s1.29 per ounce. The further
| question arises as TO who is benefited
! by this arbitrary addition to the intrinsic
value Of silver 1t is plain that those
| who have silver to sell would be unquestlon-
! ably benefited 10 the extent Of having their
| property. by governmental interference, IN
creased in value as per cent, which increase
would in this way be laid as tax upon oil
| the other people of the country who are not
themselves owners Of silver bullion. and who
do not constitute one out OF 1000
or possibly one out of 10000, of tho
population of the country. What the effect
Of this coinage Of free silver would be upon
the interests of the other 999 or 1899, MS the
case might be, of the population is serious
question
There seems to be floating in the minds of
the agtators for free coinage some idea that
by it living will be made cheap, debts will be
easily paid and that prosperity will shine upon
the land. There must be some vague notions
that money will be plentiful and that while it
is going the rounds everybody will havo
chance to get some. Nothing could be more
fanciful or unreal!
If. as the silver'agitators maintain, the FREQ
coinage of silver will raise the price at once
from Al to 1929 per ounce, which would
make the silver dollars equal to the gold. would
il not, then, become just as difficult TO acquire
a silver dollar as gold dollar? Indeed, the
coinage of silver in the United States before
1873 had practically ceased, because the valu-
alton of silver in this country as compared
with gold-being 15 1888 for WAS so much
higher than its valuation for coinage
purposes in France, Germany, Italy,
Switzerland Spain and Russia that our
silver was carried from this country and
mirted there 30 that the United States from
Its foundation. was to all intents and pur-
poses practically a gold country. 1t WAS
only when the demonetization of silver by
Germany caused its rapid decline. and the
Latin Union. composed of the States above
mentioned, excepting Russia, ceased to coin
silver, that the silver miners, finding loss
of market, began to cry out for
the resumption of free coinage. that
any agitation of the silver question
was ever heard in the United States
Bimetallism or the use Of goldand silver upon
some fixed ratio of value is the true plan, we
believe but what that ratio is must be mat
ter of agreement between the leading finan-
cial nations Of the world Thelegal ratio of the
different countries vary from 49, 957 that ofGer-
many, to 1917 of Mexico being 1923 for Eng
land, 151I for the Latin Union, 14.0S for Por-
tugal and the Scandinavian nation, 1901 for
Turkey and Is for India, and now in the open
market Of the world silver is only worth IS or
10 for one. SO that by common consent,
gold being the standard, it becomes the ques-
ton Of how much silver ought to be put
into dollar TO make the silver dollar of
equal intrinsic value with the gold dollar.
This is the conclusion of tho best thought Of
bimetallists.s That silver cannot be maintained
at parity with gold on any ratio except by
the concurrence of the leading financial
nations Of the world, who by agreement and
upon confederation Of all the facts would es-
tablish a fixed ratio at which they would re-
ceive equally gold or silver for coinage in
their minis.
The difficulty in our case is that if the
United States undertakes to receive silver
worth only 81 an ounce in the open market
and to give to the owner of that silver a
stamped coin worth 1923 for legal tender pur-
poses the Treasury would rapidly be made to
coin dollars and the profit would be received,
not by the people at large but by the owner
of the silver bullion, who would use his dollars
for all purposes for which gold dollars might
be used. to the detrment of him who might
be obliged to receive them. as in payment Of
debts, salaries wages or what not. Moreover
the gold dollars. being Of value the world
over, would be Immediately used in the pur-
chase of silver whereby the owner Of the gold
dollar would have silver dollar plus tho diff
ference between the gold and silver dollar as
profit. In this way the gold would be taken
out of the country, coinage of silver would
take its place and the United States would
be upon q silver basis, with all Of its attend |
ant ills and distractions which are now suf-
fered by those countries, like India and
Mexico, who are on u silver basis, exclusively.
1t is impossible to keep silver and gold upon
an equal basis upon the legal ratio now pre-
vailing in this country. The seven hundred
millions of dollars of gold will disappear.
and, although III a measure, silver Will in pro- !
~