The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-02-11
GLANDS FREE-C0INAGE BILL.

Mr.. Bland has carried the Coinage Com
mittee with him in his effort to report to
the House free-coinage bill The bill does
not recognize any difference between the
commercial value Of gold and the CONNER
cial value OF silver on the legal ratio. The
unit of value In the United States is de-
clared to be the 412l2-grain silver dollar of
standard fineness or tine 2j.S-grain gold dol
lar Of standard ineness. Either Of these
coins is a dollar, but there is a difference Of
about IS cents in the commercial value of
the two dollars. There is no ground What
ever for the hope that the free coinage of
silver viii at once bring the two metals to
parity on the legal ratio. There is no power
in coinage to cause silver to advance from 81
cents an ounce to 81 % The difference
may be covered in time, but years must
elapse before such results will be possible.
Meantime what will be the standard?
Which Of the two dollars which the bill de-
clares to be the lawful unit Of value viii be
the actual unit Of value? In other words
viii ch viii be used ia ordinary business and
in payment Of ordinary debts? If q man
buys a lot for the sum of 5000. will lie pay
5000 silver dollars or 5000 gold dollars? OF
course. the purchaser viii pay in the cheap
est dollars. There VIII be absolutely no use
for the dearer dollars, except in payment of
debts contracted to be paid in gold. The
difference between the commercial value Of
gold and The commercial value Of silver Will
be expressed in the form of a premium
on gold.
What class will suffer by this condition of
things? In this State il viii certainly be
tie debtor class. Every person who has
purchased a homestead partially ON credit
is bound to pay the balance in gold. His
income viii be IN silver. but when the time
comes for q payment on his purchase he
VIII have to buy gold at the current rate Of
premium. Whether the Eastern debtor viii
he affected IN the same way will depend
upon the extent TO which stipulatiOLs for
gold payment have been inserted in mort
cages and other forms OF Indebtedness. In
this State the stipulation for gold payment
is substantially universal All printed
forms Of Indebtedness include a stipulation
that payment shall be made in United
States gold coin. This view of the case
throws some light upon the remark credited
to a leading Democrat, that the Democratic
party would certainly carry the next cleo
ton unless the House should commit some
such blunder as to pass a free coinage bill
When the debtor class realize that free coin
age will compel them to accept silver for
earnings and buy gold to pay debts with
they VIII vote almost without distinction Of
party against a measure which entails such
lass. Tie creditor class are sale under the
bill They will claim that as they losned
gold they should be paid in gold. And it
will be hard fer the debtor class TO prove
to the satisfaction OF courts that there is
not justice in the claim. A Republican
Senate viii stand between the people and
free-c0inage policy for more than a year TO
come. Buff the Democrats carry Congress
and the Presidency this fall free coinage
Will come with the next Congress.