The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-06-06
SILVER AND ITS ENEMIES.

worth little more than 70 cents. TIC
push the metal into coinage without re
striction would not help the value any
and would damage our financial system
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette rep.
1t is such twaddle as the above that
gold-bug newspapers like the CONNER
cial Gazette palm off upon their readers
as arguments to discredit the white metal
Before the fraudulent demonetization OF
silver eighteen years ago no n charged
that the coinage of the metal damaged
our financial system" Silver was then
the unit of value in the United States
and commanded a premium. 1t was
only after its characterization in 1878 that
the ears of the people were saluted with
remarks impeaching the integrity or the
metal. After it's reconciliation in 1878
a ~virulcnt war was commenced against
it. 1t was instigated by gold bugs and
has been kept up ever since without a
cessation of hostilities. The object was
twofold-first, to keep silver among the
merchantable commodities of the world
for speculative purposes, n second, to
enhance the purchasing power of gold.
Thus far the enemies of the metal have
succeeded in d%iscrediting and combining
it among the marketing products of the
soil.
The charge that an American dollar is
worth little more than - cents is mis-
leading. Weighed and sold as a market
able commodity it may not bring but
little more. but coined and stamped by
the government it is worth just as much
as a gold dollar and has all its purchas-
ing power. Give it free and unlimited
coinage and it will rank in any market
in the world with gold. All it requires
to place it upon a parity with the yellow
metal is to give it the same opportuni-
ties and the same offices. 1t is a royal
metal: it has passed among the nations
of the earth as money during the past
1000 years. and will doubtless perform
the same office as long as man has use
for a token of value.
But why is an American dollar worth
but little more than 10 cents as a mar
ketable commodity: Simply because a
little more than = cents worth OF gold
will buy the silver which enters into a.
American dollar. But throw off IL"
strictions cast around silver an. i; VII
"a full dollar of gold g. ,lase
American silver dollar. I-..tt is Just
what a majority of the people sof the
want. and is just what has thus
far been denied them by the government.
But says the Cincinnati gold bug organ:
10 push the metal into coinage with
out restriction would not help the value
Such a declaration is worse than
To prove it let us suppose the
conditions of the two metals gold and
silver-were reversed: that gold was a
merchantable commodity and silver was
the measure of value, what would be
thought of the newspaper which would
declare that to push gold into coinage
without restriction would not help the
value any, and would damage our tinan-
cial system? No two opinions could X
ist concerning the sanity of the writer of
the declaration.
Money may be a piece of metal or it
may be a piece of paper issued by au-
of the government, but neither
nor paper will pass current in the
channels of trade unless it's face value be
lefined and guaranteed by the govern
nent. Therefore money is an artificial,
lot a natural production. Hence it fol
ows that if the government authorize
he issuance of a piece of paper bearing
certain words and figures, and call it
money, it will pass among men as such,
while the paper itself possesses but a
value. If the government
stamp "a piece of silver and call it money
t will pass as such, while the intrinsic
yalue of the metal may be far less than
is face indicates. This being the case,
what becomes of the argument that to
push silver into coinage without restrlc-
ions would not help the value any? Ac-
,ordinr to the Gazette a silver dollar is
worth but little more than 10 cents. To
'ush it into coinage without restriction,
hat is with free and unlimited coinage
f the metal, it would bring 100 29-lOO
t the United States mint. Is anything
nore needed to disprove the charges of
he gold-bug Gazette?
When Jay Gould reached Ogden on his
yay to Helena and learned that preDara-