The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-06-03

For months past this paper has oeen un'-
ce,,lv inculca.ipg what it believes TO DO 'ho
most practicable and at the same '''"o
able method OF resuming the ifee "Nu ~
limited coinage Of silver-no' wv 90, -
dollar Of 4i255 grains. but aslIveI uo,'"'
wopla contain. after judicious apd honest H.
yestigation. silver worth gold doi'a' We
oonfrmed in this view from an uheNpeo''N
ouarter indeed by no less authority lin"
,ha, srcb cold bug. Senator Sherman VINO
!, his sneech delivered yesterday and the any
before in the Senate Of the Jniteu o'".e''
held that there should be change III 'n'
financial laws Of this country so a. 10 eS'a'-
lsb a new ratio between gold and silver 'nA'
would be likely 10 be maintained
This ratio would, at the present price OF
e1ver he not sixteen for one. but twenty
three for one. OF course 1t IS not TO De eA-
pected that the lowest point OF silver "ou'"
be taken as a point OF new departure lo'
establishing its price upon free coinage Das's'
but il would be perfectly fair to take the aver
age price of silver from the time OF the niS'
coinage Of the Bland dollar Of 1873 to the pre-
sent time and establish that as the ratio win
some margin above that price to insure soou
measure. because OF the great decline Oh s'1'e'
in the last few years.
This method cannot possibly harm any one
and would only dissppoint the SILVER ihine
owners who desire governmental interierence
to give them their price for their prouuct'
and the infationists who believe that free Sill
yer will in some mysterious way MI the
pockets Of those who now are unable 10 earn
or produce any money.
One OF the greatest fsllaces that exists Is
the belief that the silver dollar was a com Oh
account in commercial and financial trans
actions before the war. In fact. 1t had ceased
10 be a practical element IN the finances oil
the country. and in 1873 when. silver was de-
monetzed. there we're in the who'e
United States only sl.1l9.3O5 silver dol
lars. including silver bullion ID the
Treasury Of the United States ana
none in national banks or in the hands OF
individuals in the United States. whereas at
The same time there were sl35, 600 OF gold
in the country. The fact was that 1t was more
profitable 20 export silver and cOlnit IN France
than 10 keep II Ia this country. IL was only
after silver had become deprecated that the
hue and cry WAS raised that We had fallen
from the faith Of our fathers. Under recent
coinage acts we have made silver coin OF ac-
count to such an extent that we now hayeabout
$500 900 900 Of silver dollars or silver certli-
Gates ahoat in the country-a sum so great as
to utterly belle all the predictions OF those
who declared that the coinage of such an
amount of silver upon the existing ratio OF
sixteen for one would raise the pnce Of silver
10 t2J cents an ounce, it now being about
lightweight.
OF coure the wisest and best plan TO pur-
sue. if it is practicable is to have an interna-
tional agreement and a fixed ratio between
gold and silver for oil financial and CONNER
cial countries but that being too remote d
possibility, the only safe plan is the altera-
ton of the ratio and an increase OF the
amount Of silver in the dollar.