The Indianapolis journal., 1893-07-03
money Of the United States, could not
acquire any higher value than the green

these ten yeare or only S4.5Ot,UVU.OVU, tuo
exports was almost s347, ,OUO 600. making an
average loss of about per cent per an.
mum. This drainage of wealth resulted IN
the panic of 1857. whose severity continued
until the deprecated State bank clrcuia-
tion was destroyed and substituted By the
green back currency. which at hrst enjoyed
the confidence OF the people. The com.
mercIal conditions now existing are al
together different from the two periods
named. It seems to me demonstrates so
far financial proposition can DO
logically demonstrated, that the present
situation Is not the result of specula-
msthods, but that it is largely. If not
wholly. produced by the silver Legislation
of Congress 1 have already shown that
under the era of deprecated greenbacks
the balance of trade was against us every
year. State bank issues had been tried ana
could not be kept at par with gold. United
States notes had also been tried, and.
though backed by the wealth and credit or
the Nation, they too bad failed to preserve
tI0n of silver AS compared with that OF
gold. had induced Germany TO follow
England and to discard it as twain
standard Of value, and the wisest and most
oonsiderate statesmen of the world were
being rapidly driven TO the conclusion that
the highest and best political economy re-
quired aud demanded q single standard of
value.
SAW A FUTURE EVIL
1.-THE American Congress of 1873. .actuated,
no doubt, by these views. and earnestly de
string to escape in the future evils that the
least ssgacious were compelled to admit
had followed the use of deprecated money.
adopted without dissent the single gold
standard. This was In reality no violent
change from the long g-declsred policy OF
the government At the date of the orea-
tiOn OF the greenbaek notes. eleven years
before, the pledge was given that they
chou be redeemed In coin a. the close of
the war. and the obligation of that pledge
was still acknowledged by all political par
ties. SO far as the silver dollar was con-
oerned, its coinage had been free from the
time of the fret coinage act. in l7a2, bat
during the eighty-one years that had now
elapsed only about eight million OF these
dollars had been coined. 1t is true that
half dollars. quarters. dimes and other sub
sidiary silver coins had been made at
the mint. but, being q tender for
only limited sums. the silver cur
renoy had never been important
factor In the business transactions OF the
people. Two years after adopting the
single standard. or, in 1875. n measure was
inRugurated and passed for the resump-
tion of specie payments. TO become oper-
ative on Jan. ]. 1879 LII these two meas
ures had remained on the sta tute books.
inviolate and unamended, there Is no
economical reason why the United States
and it's people should NOT to-day enjoy the
most unbounded prosperity. We should
have had the best and most abundant our
rency-a gold currency of universal value
and of such volume as to force it's circula-
tion, as England, France and Germany have
done. into the hands OF the people.
ITO be assured of this fact it is only nec-
essary to again examine the conditions of
commerce for the last seventeen years In
the first six years of the time ending June
80. 1881. we had already imported in gold
over Sl02 100000 more than we had export
ed. and IL muut be remem bered that In 1881
We had been already. for four years. on our
downward course toward silver standard
after the Bland law of 1878 Finally. after
the passage of the Sherman law of 1890.
which more than doubled the silver pur.
chases, the remarkable fact is disclosed
that no amOunto of expectation of merchan-
disc could stay the shi pments of gold from
the United States. Although the excess
of our exports of products In 1892 amount
ed to nearly S2c3 000.000. yet the almost
startling fact appears that during that
year We exported over Sl3000.000 of gold.
and now that the balance of trade has
naturally turned against us, the country Is
being drained of it's remaining gold with
alarming rapidity.
GOLD HAS VANISHED.
eff any gold be left in this country. it Is
boarded by the tlmid. II is as com mpletely
absent from the circulation as If it had no
existence. From January, 1889, 10 June,
1892. nearly $3.50. .O00. 900 of gold and gold
certificates were withdrawn from the
national treasury. The rapid disappear
ance of gold may be further determined by
the fact that In January, 1891, $50 per cent.
of the customs taxes In New York were
paid in gold and gold certificates, while in
May. 1898, only 10 OF per cent was simi-
larly paid.
"it only remains now briefly to state the
Char of 4 ha lvar "a n 1>ln
and TO furnish you the reasons for believ-
ing that the overthrow of public confidence
and the present depression In business are
the Legitimate con0eq quences of those acts.
tiOn would probably have followed sooner.
but for the many abundant crops of this
country and the numerous failures in that
respect abroad.
Bland act. was. by title. To authorize the
coinage of the standard silver dollar and to
restore its leGal-tender character 1t di-
rected the Secretary of the Treasury to pur-
chase monthly not less than 81 00O. 600 nor
more than 900 worth of bullion, TO be
immediately coined into silver dollars of
| 4l2l9 grains OF standard silver-that is,
371A grains of pure metal-and these dol
lars, when so coined, were made legal
| tender for all debts, pub AMI private.
except where otherwise expressly stipu-
lated In the contract. The act further pro-
vided that the holder of these ooins mis- {
deposit them with the treasurer or Assist
| ant Treasurer of the United States and re.
| ceive therefor certificates OF not less than
| $40 in amount and these certificates were
| made receivable tor customs taxes and all
| public dues. and when SO received may be
relssUed.
THE act of July IA, 1890. known as the
Sherman law, directs the Secretary of the
Treasury to purchase each month 900. 900
ounces of silver bullion ct she market
| value thereof. so long as silver was depre-
| dated below the par of gold. and to issue
! In payment therefor treasury notes of the
United States In denomiDa atoms of from
| one dollar TO one thousand dollars. These
| notes were made legal tender for all
debts and receivable for all public dues,
| and to be reissued by the government. The
| Secretary of the Treasury IL required TO re-
deem these notes in gold silver coin at
his discretion. To induce the national
| banks to acce pt them they are au thorized to
count them as q part of their lawful re-
serves. Coinage Of silver dollars was to
| continue as provided by the Bland act till
| July !. 1891, and after that the Secretary
was required TO coin any additional bull
| lion that may be necessary to redeem the
treasury notes issued for its~plrchas,.
Under the act of 1873 tue government
purchased 2gl. .292. 019 ounces of fine silver
at cost of S3OS. 1879. 262. and coined IL into
silver dollars TO the amount of S37s. 196. 793.
| The profit of nearly 900 made by
stamping falsehood on the coins Was coy-
cred into the treasury as so
the government up to June /. 1873.
the I'M junction of continued coinage for q
| the of 1ktO thara