St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-01
He Points Out a Most Serious
Defect in the Bland
Bill.
1t Would Have Compelled Sill
YER Purchase Above Mar
ket Rates.
Outline OF the Bold Plan for
Getting Away With Uncle
Sam.

vi ~ llldlIy duuIcSScu W tlG OulCdSU I6L-
aid. and is as follows:
Washington, March 81. The sub
stance of this letter was written OH the
18th of March, and at that time silver
bullion was worth 9015 cents per ounce;
on yesterday. March 26, it was quoted
i'll New York at 81 cents. The United
States bought the additional amount
authorized by law at about. So cents.
The Bland bill is supported in the house
of representatives as a freecOinage
measure-that is, as a measure intended
to authorize and promote the actual
conversion of silver bullion into actual
standard silver cOin-while, as matter
of fact, it is not expected that under the
provisions of the act any coinage will
take place, or that the quantity of actual
silver coin in the country will be in.
creased.
As will be seen upon an investigation
Of the bill. it declares that the unit Of
value in the United States shall be the
standard silver dollar now coined. con-
SiSting of 1925 grains of standard silver
600 parts of fine silver, 100 parts of
copper or the gold dollar of 25 $40
grains of standard gold 600 parts of fine
gold, 100 parts of alloy, and that the
standard gold and silver coins of the
United States shall be legal tender in
payment of all debts, public and private.
The next paragraph of the bill is that
''any holder of gold or silver bullion
of the value of 800 or more of standard
tinenesS shall be entitled to have the
same struck into any authorized stan
dard coins of the United States free of
charge at the nints of the United
States"
Real Purpose of the Bill.
The provisions of the law purpOrt to
authorize the free coinage of standard
silver and are intended no doubt by the
authors of the bill to attract public at
tention and create the impression on the
public mind that its object is to promote
the actual conversion of silver bullion
into silver coin. The real purpose of
the bill is expressed in the language
which | now quote: "Or the owner of
the bullion may deposit the same at
such minis and receive therefor coin
notes equal in amount to the coinage of
the bullion deposited, and the bullion
shall thereupon become tue property of
the government. The coin notes TO be
issued to the holder upon the deposit of
bullion at the minis shall be i'll denomi-
nations not less than 81 nor more than
1000, and be Il legal tender in like man
ner and invested in the same monetary
uses as the standard gold and silver
coins of the United States"
The well-understood effect of the pas
sage of the bill will be to make the
United States the purchaser of all the
silver bullion which may be offered at
the mlnts at its coinage value, which
will be 81 in the coin notes for each 4l2
grains standard silver. 1t will be no
ticed that the option OF receiving the
RI fkeflt EE tnUa don Il
silver bullion at the minis is given to
the holder of the bullion, whose inter
ests will always favor the acceptance of
the coin notes rather than standard
coin. The coin notes taken in exchange
for bullion will be most convenient and
be worth more than the standard coin.
Unlimited Purchases.
The OBJECT as we'll as the effect of
the bill will be to require the United
States to purchase an unlimited guam
tity of silver bullion at its coinage value,
which under the law is Sl.29 per ounce.
instead of purchasing silver bullion at
its market value of 81 cents, according
to the New York quotations of yeSter-
day. Mr.. Bland in his report illustrates
this (see report. page l0). Atthe present
price of silver 54.00O.010 ounces of bull
lion will make cost about 4S,O00,0 600 OF
dollars at its coinage value rate-Yiz.,
129 This would make about 20. 900, 900,
an increase of S22,000,000. In other
words, the United States could to-day
buy at the present price $4,000 900
ounces of silver bullion by an issue of
legal tender treasury notes to the
amount of S4S,000,0G0, while under the
Bland bill the purchase of 54000,000 OF
ounces of silver bullion will require an
= of M al
difference of S22, 100000 against the
United States and i'll favor OF holders of
silver bullion.
These figures are taken from BANDS
report and were intended to be only APP
proXimately correct, but at the time
they were made the difference between
the market and coinage value of bullion
was about IS cents per ounce, although
according to latest quotations the differ
ence IS about AZ cents per ounce. In
view of these facts Senator Teller is
more than justified in saying that the
passage of the Bland bill will add
S8,OOO.OO0 to the silver output Of the
state of Colorado alone"
A Great Disaster Averted.
Mr.. Bland has said that the object of
the bill is not the actual coinage of sill
yer dollars, but it is to mOnetize silver.
or, to make silver money metal, equal
In value to gold. By the bill, as he
says, he intends to tie the two metals
together, and keep them together,
in value The actual effect of the bill
will be that the United States will
issue coin notes for all the silver
that may be offered at the minis, at its
coinage value of S1.29 per ounce, and
issue legal tender com notes, nnminally
payable in gold or silver. at the pleas
ure of the secretary of the treasury, but
with an actual pledge, growing out of
the necessities of tile case, to keep the
coin notes at par with gold, while the
silver bullion purchased in exchange
for the coin notes will be added to the
1900 tons of silver coin and bullion
which is now in the government vaults. |
1t is true the bill processes to author |
iZe the coinage of silver purchased, !
whenever necessary for the redemption |
of coin notes, but it is we'll understood |
by every one who has the slightest |
knowledge of the subject that the value |
of the coin notes, as we'll as the treas |
ury notes issued for the purchase of |
silver under the act of 1890. can only be |
maintained by the pledge imputed in |
the act of 1890 and the necessity !
which will always exist for the main !
tanning parity of value between the /
coin and the treasury notes and gold.
The influence of the accumulation by |
the government of the many thousand |
tons of silver which would become its |
property by the provisions OF the Bland |
bill. added to the many thousands al |
ready in its vaults, would menace and |
paralyze the business OF the country, |
and an attempt OH the part of the gov
ernment to throw upon the market any
portion of its enormous accumulation of |
silver in the form of bullion or to insist |
upon redeeming its treasury or coin
versal distress.
This is very brief statement of the
effect of the passage of the Bland bill. |
1t will not promote the convention of |
silver bullion into dollars. which is the |
free coinage" favored by large pro- |
norton of the neonle hnt Ii Is the |