The weekly intelligencer., 1891-03-28
Written for The Intelligencer.
Free COINAGE of hilyer.

Permit me to add my mite TO the
discussion. Let that, at least, be free
Barring few and comparatively
trivial accidents, all value has beer
produced by, and all wealth is but the
accumulated surplus or unconsumeG
product of, labor. Silver, gold The
precious stones, and many other arti.
cles in themselves unable to sustain
life or give comfort, are by universal
consent considered as representing sc
much of stored labor. This is more
accurately true in regard to the metals
used as money-gold and silver.
Left to be governed by the natural
laws of trade, silver would represent in
the world the labor expended in its
production. Not merely the actual
work done in the mines where it il
produced, but its cost TO the laReyyo q
the world which includes all of ths
labor of all of the silver hunters, the
unsuccessful as well as the successful
From out of the mists of antiquity il
has come down to us side by side with
gold as the worlds money. The attempt
to do without it as money, now being
tried by some of the nations of Europe,
is but al experiment. AS yet it has
been subjected to no crucial test. 1t is
an experiment in the face of the expert.
ence of the world for all time.
AT present its value compared with
that of gold is considerably deprecated
1t is claimed that its purchasing power
is only eighty-one per cent. of that oi
gold. This has not been caused by
the free coinage of silver, for its coin.
! age has been limited by law for the
last eighteen years at least During
the whole time when there was no at.
tempt to limit its output as money, il
suffered no serious deterioration in
value. At the time of the first legisla.
tive discrimination against 1t in this
country it was slightly ahead of gold
by the same comparative standard
There have been many fluctuations il
the comparative value of the two metals
but they have always righted themselves
heretofore. The present discrepancy
is the greatest of which have any in.
formation.
1t is the belief OF many, of whom
am one, that the depreciation of silver
Is not due to natural causes, but is the
result of unfriendly legislation-that,
left to the natural laws of trade and
finance,i would have continued to hold
its own, as it has from time immemo-
rial. 1t is also my opinion, that, once
restored to its long enjoyed privilege,
it would gradually right itself and as
sumo its old place in the monetary
system of our country, and of the
world. But predictions are unsatisfac-
tory, and conjecture profitless. This
much we know. Silver has fallen in
value in comparison with gold. The
evil, or Inconvenience, is already upon
us. What shall we do about itP
To me it seems rs demonstrable as
any theorem in geometry that there is
no logical or tenable position between
the free coinage and demonetization of
silver
That every argument in favor OF
excluding any part of the silver of the
world from the privilege of coinage, is
stronger argument in favor of exclud-
ing it all; and that any proposition to
coin any part of it, includes stronger
reasons for granting the privilege to
all.
OF couse this does not apply to SUBJ
sidiary coins, fractions of a dollar, of
limited legal tender value, and intend
ed only for local circulation.
The whole theory of coin money is
that the metal used is already the stan
ard of value in exchange of commodi-
ties, and that the stamp of the die, or
mark of government, upon it is only a
guarantee of its quantity and fineness,
and this only gives it currency, and
enables commercial bargains to be
transacted with moro facility. That an
uncoined piece of the same metal, OF
equal weight and fneness, is worth as
much as the coined piece, less the cost
of coinage.
This has been the theory of the "hard
money" advocates as opposed to the
baseless visions of ''fiat money" dream
ers. Does any man hold any other
theoryP he is on the shoreless sea Of
speculation.
Now if we are to have silver for
money at all, nothing should be done
to discredit it or lower its value. True
financial policy forbids any attempt to
give any substance artificial value by
legislative fiat. 1t more surely forbids
the destruction of value by that means.
Limiting the coinage of silver is another
term for excluding some of it from that
privilege. The chief use the world
makes of silver is as money. That
which is denied the full privilege of
being made into current coin is degrad-
ed from its most important Office or
function. This necessarily lowers its
value or purchasing power. If the hard
money theory, before mentioned, is the
true one, any lowering of the value of
silver as metal is inevitably followed
by corresponding decline in the value
of that part which has been coined. So
that limiting the coinage of silver
necessarily depreciates its purchasing
power as a metal whether coined or
uncoined. The converse is as plain
and incontrovertAble. Under free coin
age the metal assumes its natural value,
which will be greater in the absence of
unfriendly legislation than in the face
of it; and this, too, whether coined or
uncoined.
The evil complained of is the depre-
ciated value of silver. 1t is demon
strated that limiting its coinage will
not remedy the evil, and that free coin
age will not increase it. Does this de-
probation unfit it for money? 1t can
not be that part of it is suitable, and part
not so. 1t must be free coinage or de-
monetization in the end. Which shall
it be? Numerous considerations are
involved in the answer. / will not
attempt even to mention the greater
part OF them. will only touch upon
four.
First-Is its purchasing power great
enough to make it of value rs moneys
Notwithstanding the admitted fact of
its depreciation as compared with gold,
the purchasing power of silver has
steadily increased in the marts of trade
for the last twenty-five years. Although
in some places it will not buy as much
as gold, tried by our comparative stand
ard, its value has still increased. Leav-
ing coinage out of the question, we can
say from our own knowledge of the
prices of the staple articles of commerce
that the purchasing power of an ounce
of silver, taken on an average in the
whole commercial world, has been grad
ually increasing during that time.
Tint 1t will now buy more of the neces-
Al "a