Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1892-05-05

to the coinage of gold. It was .
drawn battle between the represent.
aaves OF the people and the represent.
at'ves OF Lombard and Wall Streets,
headed by the Republican Admins.
tation, which acquired power under
the promise to use silver Is money
and not a. . commodity.
"A compromise was finally effected.
An act was passed in July, 1890,
requiring the purchase of four and a
half million ounces of silver bullion
per month at the market price, and
the issuance Of legsltender treasury
notes thereon. This act would have
been . step towards free coinage if it
could have been administered accord
ing to its manifest purpose and intent.
But it fell into unfriendly hands.
The act declares that it is tho estab-
lished policy OF the United States to
maintain the parity Of the two metals
gold and silver, not the two ooins)
according to the present legal ratio.
Such parity would make 4l24
grains of standard silver worth one
dollar, and rs 8 grains Of standard
gold worth dollar. Silver would be
worth, if suoh parity were maintained,
81 1929 per ounce. The President
set the keynote for the depression of
the price of silver by assuming that
silver is not honest money. He de.
clared in numerous speeches in his
"around the circle" that he
would exert ell the power of his ad.
to make each dollar equal
to every other dollar. He did not cay,
in so many words, that the United
States had issued and put in
about &50O,OOO,OOO of
silver coin, or its paper represents
tives, which was not good money, and
that there was law on tho statute.
book providing for the issuance of
about $50,00O,00O annually OF the
same kind Of deprecated money; but
he Endorsed the argument of his gold
associates that tho silver dollar is .
dollar.
l am aware that it has been errone.
ously stated that the treasury notes
issued under the act of 1890 are
secured by bullion At its market price,
dollar for dollar. This is not true.
Treasury notes have no security ex.
cept thu promise Of the government
to redeem them in gold or sill.
yer coin at the option of the
United States. The bullion pur>
purchased by the issuance of these
notes is held 10 the Treasury for coin.
age, and when coined the United
States will make the difference be-
.ween the market price at which the
bullion was bought and its coinage
value. The holder Of treasury notes
cannot demand bullion in exchange
Tor or in redemption of the note he
holds. BY the express language of
he law it is the right and duty of the
government to pay these notes in
silver coin, dollar for dollar. They
are, in fact, representatives of SO
many silver dollars, unless tho govern
ment finds it convenient or profitable
to pay them in gold.
Is it possible that the President Of
the United States means to say that
the government has pat in circulation
between s4O0,O0O,OOO and $5OO,OOO,-
900 of fraudulent seventy cent dol-
lars, and is continuing to issue such
dollars at the rate Of $5O.OO0,00O q
year? If not, what does he mean,
and what has the administration done
to remedy this evil and sustain the
parity between the two metals?
The law provides method Of ad.
vancing the price of silver by increas
ing the demand for it's use. The sill