The advocate., 1892-03-16

dollars at whatever the legal weight and 6DF-
ness might be and have the coins returned TO
him without cost.
That answer is correct, and had ths
pin-headed editor of the Capital
stopped there some people might have
believed him compos mentis. But read
the following:
AT present, according to Mr.. Mlchel'S report,
which ls of the fist authority. 1t costs on tn
average about 40 cents TO produce an ounce Of
silver, just what 1t costs In Kansas, according to
Mr.. MOhler's report, 20 produce o bushel o.
wheat. The free silver barOns complain thai
some mines are worked without profit; that ia.
spectators open them &C great expense only T.
ind that the silver Is not there Hence, they say.
the average cost iS over 40 cents, because OF 50
many failureS But If our memory serves us,
wheat has not always been full and sure crop,
Why not apply the argument to wheat?
Now, owing to the enormous demand for Sil-
vrr by reason of the law which makes the gov
ernment q purchaser OF Az million ounces Per
month at the market ITtce, the depreciation o
silver has not gene as low as Il tw,u d 60 unde
he unrestricted law Of ordinary demand ard
supply. Tue ounce Of silver which IL produced
1T an average coat Of 40 cents has sold 10 the
government at an average price, In the last
lghteen months, Of 81 %.
Our correspondent will notice that the govern
m mt buys aC the market price, as itall'fsed
above. In other words, It buys silver at ifs mar
ktt value 10 gold. The free silver nnen want II
bought hot at the market price, which ia about
80 cents an upce; or In the ratio Of % ounces I
silver fer one ounce of gold, an ounce Of gUld
being about as much as IL coined In 500 but tn }
wan It bought and coined free, according Il
he old free coinage ratio Of 1887, which wa
one ounce Of gold to 1898 ounces Of silver, fOI
convenience generally called '16 toll > Thi
would make the government pay Sl.29A for an
ounce of silver instead Of 90 cents.
Now in the name of all the gods
what excuse is there for such ignor
ance or such mendacity whichever it
may BET The Capital stated in the
beginning Of its answer that ''under
free coinage, any pos'essor OF silver
could take it to the mint, have it coined
into dollars at whatever the legal
weight and finenees might be, and
have the coins returned to him with
out cost" In other words any pos
SCISSOR Of silver could do, under a free
coinage law, inst what any possessor
Of gold now does; and the editor Of
the Capital ought to know il he does
not, that under free coinage law the
government would not be "made to
pay $l294 for an ounce of silver
nor any other price whatever. The
government would simply do with
silver what it now does with gold
coin it and return it to the owner.
Another point that should be nc
ticed in the above answer is, that the
government now buys silver under
the present law "at its market price
in gold" And, the Capital should
have added. pays for the greater part
of it in gold instead of silver certi6
Gates. Under the John Sherman law
of 1890 the government simply psyE
gold coin for silver bullion and locks
the bullion up in the treasury vaults
and there is no legal way in which tc
again bring that bullion into the
light Of day except by special act oi
Congress. This was the intent of the
law. II it q contraction measure under
Il -