The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-01
OUR CIRCULATION.


A reader of the Press who is interested
in the present fnancialssituation, sends
the following letter:
In an editorial in your issue of Aug.
Both you say: with the coinage of sill
yer stopped it is probable that some meas
ure will be needed to increase the volume
of the currency, as the demands OF the
country's business grow A provision
for an increase of the national bank cir
culation would probably be as acceptable
as any to the business interests"
L am Repu blican, but opposed to the
repeal of the Sherman bill, for l believe
that it answers the very purpose for
which you suggest an increase in the
national bank currency. think it would
have proved successful if it had not been
manipulated against in the interest OF
the gold monometalists. Will you please
state through the columns of your paper
the reason, if there is any, why the
issuing Of silver certificates for domestic
use would work more harm than an equal
amount of national bank bills?
There is another question 1 wish you
would answer. 1t may interest others as
it does me. The New York Tribune of
recent date, in answer to the question by
correspondents, What is meant by free
coinage?n stated that under free coinage
man could take silver bullion to the
United States mint and receive therefor
silver dollars at the rate of 80 for
every ounce of fine silver. If this is so
would the passage of a free coinage law
by the United States raise the market
price of silver bullion in this and other
countries to 81. 1929 per ounce. If not,
why not?
The difference between silver cur
rency such as provided for by the Sher-
II
is very marked. A national bank cur
rency is flexible, if that word may be
used. 1t can expand and contract locally
to meet business needs, and is not likely
to expand beyond business needs. 1t is
also good for its face value in gold, the
money standard of the great nations.
The circulation of the every national
bank is secured by United States bonds
deposited with the comptroller. Those
bonds will sell for their tace value in
gold in any of the worlds great markets
The characteristics of circulation of
Sherman silver dollars are very different
1t does not expand and contract locally
to meet business needs so readily as
a national bank circulation; the volume
of it's increase is stated amount each
month, which is put in circulate on ire
spective of the demands of the country:
and the character of it's dollars, is not
SO high as that Of. the bank notes because
they are not SO surely secured by gold
1t is true that our government has made
it its policy to redeem silver dollars in
gold; but with our gold reserve dimin-
ishing it was a problem sshow long the
government could CONTINUE this policy.
There could be no such doubt about a
national bank note, for the bond secur-
ing it is good for gold any day so long
as the governments secure,
The second question relates to the de-
STABILITY of free coinage. With thesprice
of silver as it is now, a. free coinage law
would work this way: About sixty
cents will buy enough silver bullion to
make.a silver dollar. Any one then, hav-
ing sixty cents worth of bullion could
takesit to the @@mint and get. dollar for
it. With such an extraordinary profit
silver would undoubtedl rush in upon
us from. allss parts of the world. This
would drive sout our gold,aa according..to
as.law of finance which the experience of
all time hasasustained. But even then
the United States could not afford use
for all ssthe silver that would come.
Long after we had obtained all the sill
yer we could use, there would still be sill
yer to sell, and with. the nations of
Europe refusing.to take it, its price must
inevitably fall It is not seriously be-
lieved by any of the leading authorities
on the money question, that the United
States alone could sustain the price. of
silver. If all the great nations would
join in the effort it mightsbe done.