Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-03-30
THE SILVER QUESTION.
An Answer to "Fsrum" Article Where
the Silver Issue is Treated.


the Silver Issue is Treated.
notice a communication from the
pen of Mr. George S. c e in the Janu-
ary number of the Forum, in which
Mr. Coe briefly gives his reasons for
believing that the present silver law
should be repealed As Mr.. Coe offers
no suggestions as to a substitute for
the present law and evidently is not In
favor of free coinage of silver. it is to
be presumed that he favors the disuse
of silver as a money metal and its rele-
CATION to a position among other
valuable merchantable commodities
In the beginning of his article Mr. Coe
says that the government buys silver
bullion at market price, paying for the
same in treasury notes, but when
holder of the notes desires to redeem
them he can get back only silver coins
containing uniform but much smaller
amount of silver than the market value
of bullion given for them, and there
! fore the notes are not redeemed at cost
! The silver consequently accumu ates
! in the treasury" Is it possible that
| Mr. Coe is honestly mistaken and ig-
| norant of the facts, or is he merely
Juggling with delusive phrases and en-
deavoring to ''darken counsel with
multitude of words?' Viewed from
any and every standpoint M. Goes as
sertion is fallacious, sophistical and
calculated to mislead.
l will endeavor to point out wherein
Mr.. Coe is in error We will first as
sumo that the ''holder of the notes"
which he desires to redeem,"i i. e., the
7
money for metallic money, expects to
continue to use the metal, as he did
the paper, 'for money purposes" In
| that event there is neither loss nor ad-
vantage, the exchange being purely
mutual and exactly equal The indi-
vidual holder of the notes parts with
legal tender paper units of account
and receives legal tender silver units
of account Each possessing the same
and equal legal attributes, they are of
equal money value and capable equal
ly of performing ali the functions ap-
pertaining to money. Allow me to di-
gress. We may here catch a glimpse
of good-sized Ethiopian in the gold
ties wood pile.
A statement that cannot by any pos
sibility be controverted is that dol
lars"-metal or paper - possessing
equal money value-a depre citation in
money value of one below the other
being impossible.
That is to say: Should volume of
money consisting wholly of metallic
coins, be expanded by the addition
thereto of a considerable amount of
legal tender paper dollars, the pur-
chasing or money value of each unit,
both metallic and paper, would be re-
duced in exactly the same ratio. This
fact effectually annihilates the absurd
theory of intrinsic value" as applied
to metallic money.
Those who occupy the ground Mr..
Coe occupies are not solicitous for the
financial welfare of the holders of
these treasury notes-on the contrary
the solicitude is likely to tend in the
opposite direction. Each successive
monthly issue of these full legal tender
United States notes has a teniency to
raise the price of land, labor and all
labor's products, thus reducing the
value, in material wealth, of interest
bearing investment securities of all
kinds, and to some extent hinderiug
and retarding the process of absorp-
ton which is gradually transferring
the wealth of the entire nation into the
hands of few individuals.
But to resume. There are but two
other contingencies in which it is sup
possible that sane persons would wish
to exchange legal tender paper money,
which will buy food and clothing and
pay rent for a comparatively useless
metal called silver. to-wit: A desire to
speculate in silver bullion as a com
modify, or an intention to engage in a
, manufacturing or art business into
which silver enters as a material. Will
Mr.. Coe kindly point out the obstacles
that stand in the way of the holders oi
these notes entering the open market
and buying silver bullion in competi
, ton with the government? Is it not
! true that those owning silver bullion
and desiring to sell it would as readily
. | receive legal tender money in payment
| therefor from individuals as from the
, government?
! But leaving out of the question en-
, tirely the foregoing propositions, which
may be said to be argumentative anC
theoretical, Mr.. Goes assertion tha
when holder of the notes desires t.
! redeem them, he can get back only sill
. yer coins" ETC., etc, does not agre,
. with the facts or practice in the case
: The treasury notes of 1890 (the one
under discussion) are redeemable no
, in silver coins only, but in gold or sill
yer coins at the discretion of the secre
! tary of the treasury. What, then, i
may be inquired, has been his discre
g ton? What is the general practice il
% r
= himself In a letter written to Mr.
Hayes and published in the American
Banker, Mr.. Foster says: ''The treas
. ury notes differ from the silver certfi
= Gates in that they are redeemable il
4 either gold or silver at the discretion O
:. the secretary of the treasury
Treasury notes are redeemed il
u u gold when so presented for redemption
- at the treasury or anv assistant treas
:. ury of the United States" Thus it i
= that the sworn servant of the peopi,
enters into a conspiracy with tn,
> money changers" to debase and humi
! late silver and make it appear, first
Q that the people do not desire to us
silver as money. Second. that the cor
tinued existence in force of the presen
law will necessitate the issue of inter
Q est-bearing United States bonds to re
It plenish the gold reserves of the Unite,
3 States treasury. But let Mr. Foste
) beware. The people are in no mood t
be trifled with, and will never consen
o to an increase in the interest bearin
II debt of the United States upon an
; such himsy pretext based upon the e1
L ploded fallacy of a gold basis for dc
? mestic currency. By the way, it
II simply amazing that Mr.. Coe did nc
y notice the glaring inconsistency of hi
q contradictory statements when he a.
: serted that the holder of these note
l. could obtain only silver dollars in e,
change therefor and then held out th
implied threat that the secretary O
# the treasury would issue interest bear