The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-02-16
OPPOSED TO SILVER
Minority Report of the Com
mittee ON Coinage.
THE BLAND BILL HARMFUL
1t is Practically Repudiation-The Govern
melt Might Lack the Power to Main
tain the Price Of Silver.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15.-Williams, OF
Massachusetts, from the committee on
coinage, has submitted the views of the
minority on the Bland free coinage bill.
The character and purpose of the bill is
outlined and the report says. in part: The
peril is not great of the avowed deprecia.
ton by our government of the value its
coin promises. We shall never openly re.
pudiate our debts or corrupt the medium OF
payment. The danger lies In legislation
such as this bill proposes, which shall
make the government unable to main tain
It's promises and tokens on the basis upon
which they have been accepted. That
basistis
DOLLAR WHICH IS EXCHANGEABLE EVERY
WHERE;
which does not give up thirty cents at our
border nor yield anything to fire or water
the dollar of gold. Substantially all OBJ
legations now existing in this country are
expressly payable in gold, or have been in
Cured since this nation resumed specie
payments. The gold dollar, is, therefore,
not only the best, out the only honest dol
lar in which obligations can now be
discharged. But under plausible
theory or confident prophesy, citizens may
be mlsled into reputation which they
would not consciously approve. To make
this bill understood as measure of re-
quotation is to secure its defeat. 1t is per-
fectly clear that at the very moment the
treasury of the United States shall re-
fuse to pay gold coin upon demand NO
one else will receive oliver dollar
IN leu of one gold dollar, because the single
customer of the world for silver at that
price has refused to purchase 1t does not
follow that the price Of silver fixed by the
ratio in this bill can be maintained even if
our government is willing to receive pay
ment OF its dues in silver coin and to pay It's
debts IN gold. The exchange value of sill :
Yer Will not be dependent alone not on the
willingness of our government to keep up
the exchange, but
ON ITS ABILITY TO DO So
Even speculation on the ultimate failure of
our treasury to MAINTAIN its policy might
well sufflce to drive gold to a premium,
precipitate scramble for the gold in the
treasury and suspend gold payments by the
government regardless of the will of the
secretary of the treasury.
The minority submit that the only DOS
sible result of the legislation proposed in
this bill is to prompt the suspension of
gold payments by this government and the
immediate adoption of the cheaper monetary
standard OF silver The history of none
tary changes in the past is recited; inter-
national agreement is urged as necessary
the statement made that the bill cannot
raise the price of silver to the ratio value
and will bring silver frol foreign coun-
trsef. The stock of stock of silver in
European countries is set forth at 81, 29S,-
600, 600. Silver coming from abroad would
destroy the gold standard and savings
bank depositors, artisans and pensioners
would suffer.
Summarizing, finally the minority urges
that not even the advocates of free silver
coinage deny that this law is an experiment
new in the history of mankind and based
upon conditions which have never ex-
eau be justification which has not the
certainty of great reward to the people
undertaking the task. That reward
Is not in the sight of any one
of the owners of mines who desire to re-
ceive at the hands of the law S1291I an
ounce for a commodity which is sold in
eager competition for two thirds that sum,
though diligently produced at an average
cost of ifty-one cents an ounce. When we
attempt to raise the price of the animal
produce of our mines more than 40
per cent, we und rtake to lift the value of
$40, 000,0 900 worth of foreign silver in the
value of which we have not the slightestin-
terest. The cooperation of foreign own
ers is not asked and the risk of this expert
ment, six-sevenths of which is for the
benefit of foreign countries, is to be
thrown upon the shoulders of the re
public. The volume of currency will
not be increased, but diminished; the
bill itself will drive our gold
into the Golfers of spectators, invite for
eign holders of our securities to sell at any
price to escape loss by Reputation and our
whole monetary system will be thus dis
rupted.
Accompanying the report is a bill author
ing the President 10 invite an international
monetary conference.