The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-08-17
the silver in tho dollar 10 worm '''"'
less than sixty cents.

| less than sixty cents.
| In ,s7s Congress passed what IL known
M the Bland-Allison act. This oraereo
| Tho Secretary OF the Treasury TO pur-
| ,n.sa ~ 900 worth of silver ouihoh
| each month and coin II into AZ liz gram
| dollars. The act remained In force untu
July 1880, and under its provisions S's'-
ser 7aa we're coined, all OF which except
| x,7 900 900 are stacked UP In the Treasury
| because the people refuse to use them.
| In July. 1880, what is known as the sner-
man law was passed. 1t directs the Sec
rotary 10 purchase 10000 ounces OF sl-
yer bullion each month and TO issue Tor
II notes redeemable In coin. which the
Secretary constructs as command TO re-
deem in gold coin. Under this act silver
enough has been purchased to coin nearly
sooO. OOo 900 Of AZ IL grain dollars.
The balance Of trade against this coun-
try for the year ending June 80. 1893. was
only siSooo.oo9. But, after paying that, we
sent to Europe $50. 10000 gold. When We
inquire what could have caused this, we
are forced to admit that but one thing
could have caused II and that is the fear
OF Europeans that we will pay our debts
with so-called dollars worth less than
gold dollars. They have therefore been
sending our securities owned by them
here. converting them into gold and carry
Ing the gold away. The alarm which
Europeans felt has been communicated
10 our own citizens, and this has spread
into the general want OF confidence which
you see on all hands.
Every indication from Washington
points to the conclusion that no compro-
mise there is possible except upon the
basis of free coinage of silver at
ratio raised from 16 to l to 20 TO !, and
this bill the President ought to and most
probably would veto. Silver Is now worth
seventy-two cents an ounce In .he mar
ket. compromise on the ratio of % to
/ will require silver to sell at sl.O1 per
ounce for the silver in the silver dollar
to be worth as much as the gold In the
gold dollar. 1t would therefore have to
rise in the market tbirty-five cents an
ounce Your common sense tells you this
is Impossible. What then would be the
value OF any such compromise? II would
still leave us with DEPRECATED silver
dollar which would leave us just where
we are. No compromise is worth a copper
unless IT puts silver enough in the silver
dollar to make 1t worth as much as the
<.ztz dollar GapfIapnap ~ tha VIRGINIA
Convention. you have now great oppor-
tunity 10 do a service to your country.
Sound resolutions passed by you will have
prodigious weight at Washington and
might contribute greatly TO a settlement
Of the pending controversy so as to re-
lieve our country from the terrible dis
tress 1t is now suffering. Pass these
resolutions:
Resolved. That 1t is the sense Of this
Convention that Congress should imrne-
diately repeal the purchasing clause Of
the Sherman act Internationally, leaving
the discussion Of future financial meas
ures to later day.
Resolved, That no free silver bill should
be passed by Congress unless the ratio
Of silver to gold in the dollar Is fixed
by an international agreement.
II you pass these resolutions you win
pass the one that President Cleveland
recommends and the other that common
sense calls for.
A genuine bimetallism can only be Sc
cured by international agreement. ratio
OF gold to silver fixed by the United States
alone would be but paving the way for
monometallism. and that too silver mono
metallism. We would bid farewell to
gold.