Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-16
A CRACK AT SILVER.
The Minority of the Coinage Com
mittee Puncture the Bubble
THE MINE OWNERS ARE BLOWING.
Why It Would Be Suicidal to Nurture
the Bland Baby.
HOW THE POOR WOULD BE DEFRAUDED

WAohlNGION, 4 eD. lo.-Mr. w lliaius,
OF Massachusetts,, from the Committee on
Coinage, Weights and Measures, has sub
mitted the views of the minority on the
Bland free coinage bill. The character and
purpose of the bill are outlined and the fol-
lowing construction put forward:
The peril is not great of an avowed de-
probation by our Government of
the value of its own promises.
We shall never openly repudiate
our debts or corrupt the medium of pay
ment. The danger lies in legislation such as
this bill proposes, which shall make the Gov
ernment unable to maintain its promises
and tokens on the basis upon which they
have been accepted. That basis is the
dollar, which is changeable nowhere,
exchangeable everywhere; which does
not give up 80 cents at our border
nor yield anything to fire or water-the dol
lar of gold. Substantially all obligations
now existing in this country are expressly
this nation resumed specie payments, and
has continued on a gold basis. The
gold dollar is, therefore, not only
the The best but the only honest
be discharged. But under plausible theory
or confident prophecy, the citizens of this
country may be misled into reputation.
which they would not consciously approve.
To make this bill understood as measure
OF reputation is to secure its defeat.
The Effect of the Measure.
The minority next set up the claim that
the effect of the bill clearly must be this:
That the mints of this country shall re-
ceive all the silver which may be
sent from any quarter for coinage into
dollars, Is of which shall be convertible
into one gold dollar. 1t is perfectly clear that
at the very moment the Treasury of the
United States shall refuse to pay gold coin
upon demand no one else will receive l6 sill
yer dollars in lieu of one gold dollar, be.
for silver at that price has re-
fused to purchase. surely there can be
no doubt that the effort to raise the
market price of silver from 80 cents an ounce
to 81 291I an ounce is dependent entirely upon
the com bined Willingness and ability of the
United States Government to stand alone as
buyer of silver at all times and in any
quantity at the price fixed by this law in
gold.
It does not follow that the price of silver
fixed by the ratio in this bill can be main
tanned even if our Government is willing to
receive the payment of its dues in silver
gold. The exchange value of silver would
be dependent not alone upon the willing
change, but upon its ability to do so, and
the judgment as to that ability is passed not
alone in the Department. of the Treasury,
but in the markets of the world.
Dangerous Feature of the Issue.
Even speculation upon the ultimate fail
ure of our Treasury to maintain its policy
might well suffice to drive gold to pre-
MUM, precipitate scramble for the gold
i'll the Treasury and suspend gold payments
by the Government regardless of the will of
the Secretary of the Treasury.
The minority of this committee submit
that the only possible result of the legisla-
tion proposed in this bill is the prompt sus-
ment and the Immediate adoption of the
cheaper monetary standard of silver.
A history of monetary changes in the
past is then recited; the consent of nations
is held to make and unmake money, and an
agreement is urged as neces-
sary. The statement is made that the bill
cannot raise the price of silver to ratio
value, and that it will bring silver
from foreign countries, and, apropos, the
worlds stock of silver is set forth in fig
ures, the total being 81, 39s, ,OoO, 900. 1t is
held that silver coming from abroad would
destroy the gold standard, and savings bank
depositors, artisans and pensioners, it is
claimed, would suffer.
Not even the advocates of free silver coin
age deny that this law is An experiment, new
in the history of mankind and based upon
conditions which have never existed. For
such an experiment as is proposed nothing
of great reward to the people
which undertakes the task. That reward is
not in sight of anyone save of the
owners Of mines who desire to receive at the
hands of the law 81 294 an ounce for CON-
modify which is sold in eager competition
for two-thirds of that sum, though diligently
at an average cost of ole cents an
ounce.
For the Benefit ofa Favored Few
When we attempt to raise the price of the
annual product of our mines more than 40
per cent we undertake to lift also the value
Of So, 400 600 worth of foreign silver, in the
value of which we have not the slight
interest, the cooperation of the foreign
owners of the silver is not asked,
and the risk of this experiment.,
six-sevenths of which is for the benefit of
foreign countries, is to be thrown upon the
of the Republic. The volume of
our currency will not be increased but d.
minished. The bill itself will drive our gold
into the Golfers of speculation, invite foreign
holders of our securities to sell at
any price to escape loss by reputation, and
our whole monetary system will be thus
disrupted. No possible gain to our people
can be demonstrated.
The minority of the committee therefore,
in pursuance of these views, recommended
that for the bill reported by the committee
The following be substituted.
The report is signed by Charles Tracey,
Abner Taylor, Charles w. Stone, George
Fred Williams and NJ. n. johnson. Ac-
Kill - n