The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-09-30
sTaeue PLEA FOR SILVER.
Professor Van Buren, DensloW on
the White Metal.

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Professor Van Buren, Denslow on
the White Metal.
Silver decentralization IL unconstitu
tional, according to Prof. Van Burer
Denslow of this city. Prof. Denslow il
recognized authority on economical sub
jects and is close student of government
He has written many works on ecoonmics
chief Of which Is principles of Economi.
Philosophy" which has attracted wild.
attention. In very able paper on thu
currency question published yesterday
Prof. Denslow says:
"A local opinion has since 1878 been
cultivated by the majority of the bankers
and newspapers Of the city of New York
which is peculiar, cratic and, as it seems
to the writer, fanatical in its hostility to
such circulation of silver as would be
relief to the true wants of commerce ev.
erywhere and to such proximate equal
lty of silver with gold as would be within
our reach if proper legislation were ap-
piled. This state of opinion may be
summed up in the propositions that none
but owners of silver mines would be in.
jured by the total disuse of silver al
money; that to circulate coin in which
the bullion would, If melted, be worth
less than its coin value is dishonest; that
the coin is only intrinsically and actually
worth what the bullion in 1t would be
worth if melted, and that in view of the
present departure of the relative value
of gold and silver bullion from the nor
NAL ratio, in which one ounce of gold
would he worth 16 ounces of silver, the
honest, easy, lawful, conservative and safe
thing to do 10 to coin and use gold only,
dropping silver altogether out of our leg
islation and coinage, as the Spartan must
at some time have dropped iron as form
Of money the early Romans copper, the
Greeks oxen and the Virginians tobacco.
"Even on the very day on which the
brokers pay 2 per cent premium to ex-
change $50, 900 in gold coin for $4,000
in cart wheel silver dollars, thus making
the actual value of a silver dollar 102
cents in gold, distinguished bankers of
New York declare that the SO cent dol
lar must he dropped The certified
checks on banks Of these same bankers
will not to day buy silver at their par
simply because they have been refusing
for years toreceive silver coin as deposits.
The Chemical Bank declines to pay q
check of $500, 900 drawn on it by the New
York Central Railroad Company. Yet the
Subtreasury could at any moment have
furnished this sum in silver if the hostility
of these same bankers to the coinage of |
silver had not prevented the coinage of
upward of $3.50, 00O, 900 in silver dollars
from silver purchased under the Sherman
law. If coined these dollars would have
proved just as acceptable, if not to the
New York Central Railroad Company, at
least to every one of its employees, as pa.
per notes. The whole sum called for by
the Central's check would only weigh
about 80 tons, and the slightly larger
clerical force required to count it stands
unemployed and needs the job.
"How long will 6nanciers keep up the
superstition that dollar for which they
are actually paying 2 per cent premium
above par in gold is subject to meta
physical discount of 43 per cent? All the
cities of the United States have stopped
currency payments between each other
for want of supply of silver dollars, and
yet the United States has only been pre-.
vented from coming an abundance of sill.
yer dollars by the hostility of the very
banks which are now compelled to VIC.
late the Law for want of these very dollars.
The astounding feature of the monetary
situation is to see and hear men who
stand for millions of dollars, who repre-
sent Wall street, who regard the total de.
monetization of silver as if it had no con.
stltutional or economic obstacle in it's way.
"a clause in the Federal Constitution
forbids the States to make anything but
gold and silver coin legal tender in pay.
ment for debts. This exception from the
prohibition reserves to each State permis-
sion to make gold and silver coin legal
tender in payment of all debts. Hence,
even if Congress should enact that ouly
gold coin should be the standard and
legal tender any one of the A States could
constitutionally pass a counter statute.
making silver coin legal tender, even for /,
customs duties, within its own limits.
That which can be made full legal tender !
by authority of tho United States, though
through State action, would be legal ten
der to the United States in payment of
customs duties.
amid the population of New York
City there are hundreds of thousands of !;
people so saturated with monometallic I
that it seems to them as easy ]
% legislate silver out of the financial
world as to create a nOnn6 for cato Thov