Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-07-26
Begging the Question.

Whenever q Republican undertakes to
discuss the silver question as friend OF
free coinage he is sure to say something
which betrays him to his hearers or readers
as an enemy of the white metal and an
ally Of the monometallists. He employs
language which no real friend of free and
unlimited coinage would employ. and cuts
right and left with his monometallist
sword. caring not a farthing whether he
strikes down bimetallist or not, SO he
succeeds in serving his Wall-street mas
tiers. II is not in the heart OF one OF JOHN
snsnxAs's gang to be willing to give silver
fair trial. That gang have trained under
his orders aud environed by his surround
ings until its members have become inca
pable Of rendering any service to the
cause of bimetallism. In the United States
Senate JoHy SHERMAN professed to be
friend of the white metal; but be himself
discredited his professions by Offering an
amendment to the silver bill providing Tor
the coinage Of dollar having "a dollars
worth" of silver in it-a measure which
would at once have fixed the status OF Sill
yer as commodity and made "the dollar
Of the daddies" by-word and reproach
throughout tho commercial world. Ana
vet SHERMAN sets up for O statesman
and is regarded as one by the Republicans
of the Buckeye State. Think OF following
the lead Of O man who seriously proposes
such q measure as SBERMAN's. Logl-
cally his proposition would. if adopted
have resulted in the coming OF silver dol
lars of sizes differing every day In the week.
The reader will see by examining our COM
mercial columns that silver, treated as 1t
now is as q mere commodity, sells al inc
same price no two successive days. IL
goes up and down as wheat, or corn, or TO-
bacco does. II will continue thus to rise
and fall in price until the minis are open
ed to it as they are to cold-that IS. until
the Government authorizes all the SILVER
bullion brought to those minis TO be com
ed as gold is now coined, free from all
charges for coinage. Wouldn't we have q
pretty-looking variety of coins If we were
TO undertake to com to-day q silver dollar
containing 412l5 grains nlne-tenths fine;
tomorrow one containing $50 grains; the
next day one containing 4l0 grains; the next
day one containing $50 grains; and so on7
Whv the proposition could have emauated
from nobody but an enemy to the peo-
pies money. Its adoption would have
made our lawmakers the laughipg-stock
OF the world. In fact. Mr.. SHEBMAN's pro-
position deserves rather to be character
lied as tina. of lunatic than that OF q
statesman.
And yet this silly proposition Is advo-
vocated apparently in good faith by the
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. That paper
claims that the Ohio Republicans have
gone as far as any reasonable person could
ask respecting silver coinage. in that they
have declared in effect for coming the
whole silver product of the United States.
How friendly to silver our Cincinnati con-
temporary Is may be inferred from its
Shermanic remark that its party purposes
TO give US dollar that is intrlnsically
worth only four-ffths as much as gold
dollar" But why is silver dollar worth
only eighty cents IN gold? Because the
Government limits the amount Of it that
may be coined. Because silver has thus
been reduced from the company of money
to the company of mere commodities; or,
rs Mr.. CLEVELAND phrases it. because the
two precious metals have parted COM
pany." Because, acting under bad advice,
England, France, and Germany have made
gold the single standard OF values and left
the world to limp along the highways of
commerce and trade upon a single leg.
Because ignorant leaders have led more
ignorant followers into paths which should
never have been trodden by sound fnan-
clers. In word. behold with how little
wisdom the world is governed" and how
men called statesmen beg the question"