Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-12-29

no special interest in either silver or gold
in 1878. They looked upon coins of both
metals rather as souvenirs of the times
"before the war" of which samples
were procurable for premium at the
brokers offices. They remembered
or had heard from their fathers
that, up to the latter part Of
1860 or the early part of 1861,
certain Of these coins had actually been
in general circulation; but they had for
dozen years been confined to paper
currency and it was the prevalent be-
lief, frequently expressed in casual CON
versation, that "neither you nor l will
live to sec gold and silver current
again" Cents, thrce.cent pieces and
tive-cent pieces were the only coins in
use; even o silver half-dime was a
rarity; while for larger currency there
were "shinplasters" and greenbacks and
national bank notes. This had been the
case since 1861 and continued to be the
case up to the resumption Of specie
payments, in 1879. In 1864 gold had
rated as high as $3.50; while in 1873,
the yearof the silver legislation referred
to, gold rated from SLIP to $l.l5, and
premium of two or three per cent was
sufficient to keep it out of circulation.
We recall these things because it has
grown habitual with some writers to
represent the people of this country as
taking general and dcluded interest In
the legislation by which they are now
represented as having been defrauded iu
some way by the decentralization of
silver in 1878. The fact was that they
took no interest therein. The younger
Of them, as we have stated, only knew
OF silver as a circulating medium,
through what their fathers told them,
and the latter spoke only of subsidiary
silver-halyes, quarters, dimes, levies
! and tips--the American coins had
been lowered in weight in 1853
and had circulated during the sub
sequent seven years as token cur.
rency merely The silver dollar (Which
retained its weight had not circulated
since ls31 or thereabout. 1t had be-
come more valuable than the gold dol
lar, and had consequently gone out of
use. Men whose recollection goes back
TO the ante-bellum period recall that
q silver dollar was such rarity that
| when chance one came into ones pos
session it was frequently boarded as il
pocket piece. During the years that in
tcrycned between 1887 and the retire
mcnt of specie from circulation, in 1861,
the silver dollar commanded premium
oftrom two to five cents that is, it was
worth, as bullion, that much more than
the gold dollar-and this small pre-.
mium was sufficient to keep it incur
| rent.
As matter Of fact, which every one
can verify for himself, at the very time
the silver dollar was demonetized, in
1873 it was worth Sl.0l! in gold! The
market price Of silver per standard
ounce was then $129; it is now about Sc
cents! So that what that legislation
really accomplished was to dcmonetize
what had then been for SO years an IN
current coin-'uncurrent because it com.
manded premium even in gold and
gold had for years been away up out Of
sight They demonctized coin that
was amply able to take care of itself for
I the very good reason that the silver
dollar was then worth, as metal, more
than the gold dollar This was not be.
cause Of the market that the government
Afforded to silver, as some would now
nave US believe, because the entire
number Of silver dollars coined in thi;
country from the organization of Tho
mint III lIJ2 up to the passage of this
decentralization act, on February 18TH
1873, was only s,O45 ,S3S-less than til,
nominal value Of two months purchase
of silver bullion under the Sherman
act! Where did the fraud come in
Are We to believe that the member
Of the Congress Of 1873 were gifte,
with that prophetic vision which enable,
them to torcsce that the high-priccd dol
lar which they "dumoEetizcd" when
was worth more than gold would in
iow years become, through the discoy
} cry Of new silver mines and the cheaper
ing Of the cost Of the production of tina
metal much loss valuable: How highl
I gifted IN prosciencc those Cungresgmc
must have been!