Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-28

munications on the silver question, which
appear elsewhere One, after referring in
glowing terms to the obligations Of citi.
zens, declares that all the property of citi.
zens is pledged TO meet the Obligations Of
the United States Therefore, as there
are two billions of circulating medium In
the country, as against sixty billions Of
property, the volume of the circulation
| might be doubled without difficulty.
This argument would apply just as well
to the issue of the same amount of United
States notes or paper without any silver
to back them. As such an issue would re-
lieve the Government Of paying 20 per
cent of the face of the issue for metal as a
basis of the circulation, economy and con-
venience would suggest that the two bill
lions extra circulation should take the
form of simple promises to pay. But
when that was done it would be found, as
it has been found before, that the vital
question would be: What can the note
holder get at the Treasury in redemption
of this promise to pay? So long as it is an
assured fact that the note-holder can get
in exchange for it certain amount OF
gold or silver it will have the exact value
of that gold or silver. Whenever doubt
arises as to his getting that the depre-
citation in the note or the premium on the
metal will express the public estimate of
those chances. But as regards the ques-
ton whether gold or silver shall be the
basis of our circulating medium, our cor
respondents faith in the resources of the
country has no decided bearing on the
ISSUE
What we have said, however, leads up
to the issues raised by the correspondent
who puts his arguments in the form OF
questions. In his first query-why sill
yer dollar, which will purchase the mate
rial for 1,40O cents, should be called "a
7O-cent dollar''-he brings out the real
status of the question. The copper pur-
chased by dollar will make 400 cents.
If those cents were an unlimited legal
tender, with free coinage, what would be
the result? As every one could pay S14
worth of debt with a dollars worth of
"copper" the dollar then would be one
fourteenth of the present dollar. The
silver dollar is in much the same position,
with the distinction that it is kept up to
the present standard by being exchange
able at the Treasury for gold. The term
''7O-cent dollar" simply means that if the
silver dollar were forced to rest exclu-
sively on its bullion value-as it must
under free coinage-it would place the
standard of value at level approx
mately represented by 20 per cent of the
present standard.
The oppositeness of asking what the
calamity to our industries would be if
all the gold and silver coined or uncoined
in the world, amounting to an estimated
SIPS per capita, were dumped on this
country does not appear. No one with
any comprehension of the subject expects
even remote approximation of such an
event. As matter of abstract specula-
ton it may be pertinent to say that if this
country had stock of S125 per capita of
gold and silver in circulation, and could
not get rid of it, gold and silver would be-
come drug. The general purport of our
correspondents inquiries can be answered
by saying that the evils of a. transition to
the silver basis would be, first, tempo
rary stringency caused by sending gold out
of circulation by premium, thus de-
stroying one-half of our present circula-
ton; second, by the readjustment of values
and wages to the new standard, in which
wages, as testified by the experience of
the world, would rise less rapidly than the
commodities which they must buy; and,
finally, by the fact that the lowering
of the standard would amount to
scaling of debts, in which last respect
dollar becomes applicable The effect on
industries Of the decreased volume of
money, by sending gold to a premium,
would be temporarily embarrassing, and
the effect of the subsequent increase of
the silver coinage, after the displacement
of gold was made up, would probably pro-
duce imitation. A dollar may be defined
either as to its metallurgical or legal quail
tiles. 1t is sufficient for the present dis
cussion to say that the dollar is the unit
and measure of values in this country,
and the present issue is whether that unit
shall consist of certain amount of silver
having one value, or certain amount of
gold having another.
THE DISPATCH has frequently declared
itself in favor of seeking the restoration of
silver on basis which shall secure its cir
culation side by side with gold, and which
shall not disturb the present standard.
But as the issue now presented practically
implies silver monometallism and uni
versal scaling of debts, the proposition is
one which every man with clear under
standing of what is to be obtained by bi-
metallism must regret.