The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1892-07-21
THE STEWART SILVER BILL.


the President, as some of the best
lawyers in the House said it was
unconstitutional and would contract
the currency by repeating existing
laws. The Savannah News says:
GAS q matter of fact the bill would
not have increased the volume of
the currency. 1t would have con-
tracted it. 1t provided for coming
all the silver bullion in the treasury
before coming any silver brought to
the minis. 1t also stopped the buy
ing of silver by the government,
and consequently the issuing OF sill
yer certificates. A statement was
real in the Senate from the Secre~
tary of the Treasury, showing that
it would take two and half years
to coin all the silver bullion in the
treasury even if the minis were run
at their full capacity. During that
time, therefore, no owner of silver
could have got any silver coined,
and the splendid market he now has
for his silver would have ceased to
exist. The result would have been
that the price of silver would have
still further declined. And as the
issuing OF silver certificates based
upon bullion would have ceased
there would have been a contraction
of the currency. 1t is true that the
dollars coined from the bullion
would have gone into circulation,
but the amount of them coined an
nually would not have been equal to
the amount of silver certificates is
sued annually under the existing
law. And, besides, the silver GER
tifcates based upon the bullion
would have been called in as fast as
the bullion upon which they are
based was coined.
1t is doubtful if it will ever be pos
sible to get free silver coinage law
that does not require dollars
worth of silver in a silver dollar.
There is very general feeling of
hostility to a debased currency.
The present silver dollar passes at
its face value because the credit of
the government sustains it, but if
the coinage of silver were made free
at the present ratio, the price of
silver remaining about what it is,
the silver dollar would very soon be
accepted at only its bullion value
about IS cents.
The national democratic platform
takes the right view of the silver
question. 1t says: we hold to
the use OF both gold and silver as
the standard money of the country,
and to the coinage of both geld and
silver without discrimination against
either metal or charge for mintage ;
but the dollar unit of coinage of
both metals must be Of equal intri1l sic
and erchdng06le value or be adj ust-
ed by international agreement, or
by such safeguards OF legislation as
shall insure the maintenance of the
parity of the two metals and the
equal power of any dollar at all
times in the market, and in the pay
ment of debts; and we demand that
all paper currency shall be kept at
par with and redeemable in such
coin. We insist upon this policy as
especially necessary for the protec-
ton of farmers and laboring classes,
the first and most detenseless vic
tins OF unstable money and fuctuat-
ing currency.
The Democratic party is i'll favor
Of the coinage of silver dollars, but
they must be honest dollars.
An impression has got abroad
among the people that the free coin
age of silver would make times
easier. This impression has been
carefully fostered by silver mine
owners, who hope by means Of a tree
silver coinage law to get more for
the product of their mines than they
now do. If the people will study
the subject carefully, however, they
cannot help seeing that they would
suffer by debased currency. No
owner of silver has proposed that a
free silver coinage law should be
passed that would REQUIRE a dollars