The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-02-15
THE SILVER SIDE.
MIR. Blsnd's Committee Argues Laboriouxly
I'm Favor of Free Coinage

majority of the committee on coinage,
ights and measures, recommending tho
passage of the Bland free coinage bill. will
be presented to the House tomorrow by
Mr.. Bland, and, by consent or the minority
of the committee, it has been made public
tonight.
The report is q long and carefully pre-
pared document. which discusses the vari-
Gus objections to free coinage. showing
where. in the opinion of the majority, those
objections are ill-founded. and how free
coinage Of silver would greatly benefit this
country and especially the producers.
The report begins with en- explanation Of
the provisions of the bill reported. Free
coinage of silver Is provided for. and it 10
required that it be of standard fneness to
meet the cost of the alloy used. the alloy
being all the expense now exacted of de-
positors of gold. Com notes may be issued
on the gold or silver deposited. If demand
ed, instead of waiting for the coin. The
committee raised the maximum denomina-
tion of these notes from $500 TO s. 600. so as
to accommodate dealing in large trsnsac-
tions and bank exchange. These notes
are made legal-tender, redeemable in coin
| on demand. The bill provides for the con-
version of all our gold and silver notes into
| coin notes. redeemable in coin, thus doing
away entirely with all legal distinctions.
| 1t is believed this will greatly tend to pro-
mote equality in all respects There will
| no longer be issued gold notes or silver
| notes. but bimetallic notes. pay a BILE in
either coin at the pleasure of the govern
ment.
The report says il is contended that the
reason we exported silver bullion while
our mints were still open 10 It's free coinage
was that our ratio was such that our coin
and bullion silver was worth more. as COM
pared to gold. at European mInts than
| here, and that the same result would again
| follow. our ratio remaining at 10 TO ], with
the French mints open TO free coinage at
l5R to !. This, it Is held. would prevent
| European nations. especially France. from
| again returning TO the bimetallic system.
| To avoid this the committee provided that
| our ratio should be changed TO l5ls to ! 80
soon as France resumes free silver coinage
| at that ratio.
THE DUMP OF SILVER"
Under the head 1.-The Dump of Silver"
| the report proceeds to q discussion of the
cry that free coinage of silver would make
the United States the dumping ground for
| the silver of the world. The report says:
"The familiar warning that free coinage
| would cause ship-loads of silver from other
countries TO be brought here and dumped
at our mints in exchange for our gold is
4 etiil lloW tdu tnib w uDucI TIC Dlli
or proposed lawi The ship-Ioad of silver
brought to our mints by the foreigner
would be coined into standard dollars and
these dollars returned 10 him. but he could
gold for them. Nor could he compel our
citizens TO swap him gold dol
lar for silver dollar; that is q
voluntary trade that no law ought 10 in
terfere with. Should the foreigner take
coin notes for his bullion instead of coin
the same thing happens. He can take his
| coin note 10 the treasury and demand re-
demDtion, but the note is redeemable in
| coin, and the Secretary of the Treasury can
hand him back the coin struck from his
| ship-load of bullion. The foreigner then
would ascertain that he had committed the
| blunder of bringing silver TO our mlnts
| when ii is worth cents on the dollar less
than it was at homo, and that he loses this
3 cents and the cost of transportation be-
sides. What, then. will be do with his
money! He must either invest IL in prop
erty here or go home with it, He could not
buy gold with it or gold exchange unless
gold and silver were at par: in this case
| there could be no reason for preferring the
one metal 10 the other. If gold went TO
| premium he would have to pay the premi-
um on his exchange, thus entailing on him
additional loss on his enterprise Of sending
us ship-loads of silver
IF he invests his ship load of silver money
| in our property aud business enterprises ie
| will at once stimulate industries. awaken
enterprises and give us n healthy business
and sound currency. What more can be
desiredf Every ship-load of silver thus
brought here and invested in productive
wealth would have n two-fold effect lie
would bring unexampled prosperity 10 this
country. The next effect would be panics
in the old world. Business there would be
paTaiyzed for want of money; their pros.
perity destroyed. Prosperity here and
stsgnation in the old countries would force
ship-loads of their people TO this country
in search of their lost ship-loads of money.
-lAx Nn..tau une old "A ~
this. They would see to 10 that no such
thing occurred; they know the advantage
| free coinage of silver would guarantee us.
hence their uniform predictions that CO.
| lamity would be the result, instead of pros
perity. They are not In the habit of Civ
ing us Trustworthy advice as TO the course
We should pursue in this matter"
SECRETARY WINDOWS POSITION.
The report then quotes from the report OF
Mr.. Window. then Secretary of the Treas
ury. for the year 1880. In which the Secre-
tary took the position that no danger need
be apprehended of q flood of European
silver. Says the Secretary:
There IL in fact no known accumulation OF
silver bullion anywhere in the world Germruy
long since disposed OF her stock In melted silver
coins. party by sale partly by recoinage into her
new subsidiary coins, and partly By use IN coin
ing for Egypt only recently IL became neces-
sary 10 purchase silver for the Egyptian coinage
executed at the min. at Berlin:
Ii Is plain. then. that there Is no danger that
the silver product OF past years viii be poured
into our minis, unless new steps be taken for de-
| monetizatiou. and for this improbable cOntingen-
cy ample safeguards can be provided. Nor
need there be any serious apprehension that any
| considerable part of the stock OF silver coin OF
Europe would be shipped 10 the United states
| for deposit for treasury notes There Is much
| less reason for shipping coin TO this country
| than bullion. for, while the leading nations OF
Europe have discontinued the coinage OF full le-
galteDder silver pieces, they have provided by
law for maintaining their existing stock OF sill
yer coins al par.
In England. Portugal and the states OF the
Scandinavian uniOE there is stock OF silver
coin. except subsidiary coins required for change
purposes the nominal value Of which Il Ear IN ex-
| cess OF the bullion valne. Germany has IN cir
culatiOn a0ont one hundred miicn IN old
silver thalers. but ten years have passed since
the sales or bullion arising under the anti-silyer
legislation OF 1873. were discontinued. it IL safe
TO say there Is no stock OF silver coin I'm Europe
which Is not needed for business purposes.
| The states OF the Latin union and spain. which
| has similar none tafy system, are the only
| countries In Europe which have any large stock
OF silver coins, and the commercial necessities OF
these countries are such TINT they could not at
ford, without serious financial distress. 10 with
draw from circulation silver CO rs which are at
par with their golc coins 10 deposit them at our
| mints on pay of their bullion value In notes
The truth is" the majority report thev
4 continues. that the cousplIscy formed 4,