St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-10
The Kentucky Senator's Very
Sound Views on Silver
Coinage.
Favors Coinage Of Both Met
ais Upon Terms Of Ex-
act Equality.
Every Silver Dollar Should
Contain a Dollars Worth
of Silver.
An international Agreement
on a Ratio a Thing to
Be Desired.


WASHINGTON, Aug. Ex-senator Car
Isle has addressed a letter to john A.
Lyme, of Henderson, in answer to his
question whether the senator had here
tofore been in, favor of the free coinage
of silver, and whether his views on the
subject had undergone any change.
Senator Carlisle says: 1.-The answer to
your question depends largely upon
what you mean by the free coinage of
silver. If you mean the policy urged
by many under which the government
of the United States would be compelled
by law to receive 6S cents worth
OF silver bullion when presented
by the owner, and coin it at the
expense of the people OF the coun-
try, and compel the people by law to
accept the coin as the equivalent of 100
cents, my answer is that am not now
and never have been in favor of it. /
no" stand where my lamented predeces-
sor. Mr.. Beck, and stood together in
1878, when the so-called 'Bland-Allison
bllP was passed by congress, under
which the secretary of the treasury was
required to purchase and coin monthly
not less than 100000 nor more than
100000 worth of silver bullion.
When that bill passed the house of rep
resentatives it provided for the free and
unlimited coinage of silver, but when it
went to the senate Mr.. Beck offered an
amendment, which provided that the
secretary of the treasury should pur-
chase
AT the Market Price
each month not less than 100000
worth of silver bullion, or AS much more
as could be coined at the mint, the
seignOrage to be paid in the treasury,
and, whenever the bullion could not be
purchased at less than par with legal
tender notes, any owner of silver bull
ion might deposit it for coinage on the
same terms as gold was deposited.'
Senator Carlisle here quotes at some
length from speeches made by Senator
Beck at the time of the passage of the
"Bland-Aliison BILL" to the effect that
he (Mr. Beck desired that the people OF
the country should receive the
any, between the actual and
the coin value of the bullion at
the time. Says Senator Carlisle: "Sil-
yer was only S or 10 per cent below gold,
while it is now about % per cent below,
and if it was not right and just to the
people then to donate a SeignOrage of
or IL per cent to the combinations of
bullion. it certainly cannot be right and
just to donate four or five times that
much. Mi. Carlisle then quotes from
his speech in 1878, when the original bill
had been amended by the senate. Part
of the quotation reads: My position
upon this subject is briefly this: II am
opposed to free coinage of either gold or
silver, but in favor of unlimited coinage
OF both metals upon terms of exact
equality.
No Discrimination
should be made in favor of one or against
the other; nor should any discrmina-
ton be made in favor of the holders of
silver or gold bullion against the great
people who own other kinds of prop
erty. A great government should treat
all of its citizens alike, and whenever it
attempts to do otherwise it will engen-
der spirit of discomfort which sooner
or later must disturb the harmony if not
| the peace of society"
| Senator Carlisle says: "This para
| graph shows precisely what my posi-
ton was then and always has been upon
this subject. 1t says that gold and sill
| yer bullion should be treated exactly
| States; that dollars worth of gold
should be coined into gold dol
lar and a dollars worth of silver
| should be coined into silver dollar,
| and if no charge is made for the COIN
| ing of one then no charge should be
| made for coinage of the other. In my
opinion the declaration made upon this
subject by the Democratic party at its
recent national convention is per-
aatl in, at,@lo
clateS the only true public policy.'
The senator quotes the silver plank,
and then goes on to argue that its de-
mandS can not be met unless the
metal in gold and silver coins is of
equal value to the coin while still in
bullion form for coinage. In his
view he adds to the intrinsic value
of the metal. He says that
although the United States has
coined over S400000,000 In silver since
1888, it has not increased the value of
the bullion, but. on the contrary, the
value has decreased. The senator as
serts that neither gold nor silver coin,
excepting subsidiary coins, will ever
again very generally enter into any
great commercial country, but they will
serve
Only as a Basis
for the issue of the currency. ANY
measure that would broaden this basis |
would benefit the world generally. but |
this cannot be done by the fabrication |
of two coins of the same denomination. |
but of unequal intrinsic value. This |
has been demonstrated by our eX-
perience during the last fourteen years
with silver as legal tender and we are
still on a gold basis"
Senator Carlisle says there are only
two ways in which the basis of circula-
ton can be broadened by the use of sill
yer as part of the real money. First,
by the coinage of the silver dollar con-
tanning dollars worth of silver: sec
ond, by All international agreement on
a ratio. He admits that it would be un-
fair for the United States acting alone
to make the present value of silver bull
ion the basis of adjustment, because
the partial characterization of silver. by
limiting this change, has undoubtedly
had considerable influence in depre-
chatting its price and approaching the
price of gold. Free coinage of silver
would bring the values nearer true
ratio for coinage. which would be found
at some point between 16 to l and the
present relative prices of silver and
gold bullion. The senator says it is
for one nation to fix stable
ratio, and an international conference is
the only tribunal that can extricate US
from this position. In conclusion, the
senator says he will support any meas
ure that will fully remonetiZe silver and
insure equality of the dollars coined
from the two metals. and sincerely
hopes that the approaching conference
will be able to reach such an agreement
as will meet the approval of all govern
So, fr4sv@