The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-05-31
A SiIver Cntechism.

is:
VIII THE SENTINEL kindly quote the
law that makes gold alone the standard
of our currency?
The act of Feb. 10. 1873. provides, in
sec. Il, that the gold coins of the United
States shall be a one-dollar piece, which.
at the standard weight of twenty-five and
eight-tenths grains, shall be The of Udiue !;
a quarter-esgle," etc, (which coins shall
be legal tender in all payments at their
nominal value when not below the stand
ard weight aud limit of tolerance provided
in this act for the single piece, and. when
reduced in weight below said standard
and tolerance, shall be legal tender at
valuation az proportion 10 their actual
freight" This is the law OF the land today.
The same law provided for the coinage
OF trade dollar containing silver
worth Sl.02 in the unit of value" a half
dollar containing silver worth .43. and
minor coins in proportion to the half-dol-
lar. These coins were legal tender for 81.
What kind of dollars? Units of value"
The same law provided that any owner
OF gold bullion may deposit the same at
any mint. to be formed into coins or bars
for has benefit" but as to silver this privilege
was given only for the coinage OF trade
dollars, "and no deposit of silver for other
coinage shall be received" This law
dropped the old silver dollar of App
grains from our coinage system. The
Bland law of Feb. IS. 1873 restored the
Of h. all Holi
except when otherwise expressly stipu
lated in the contract, and provided for
the coinage of it from bullion purchased
by the secretary of the treasury "at the
market price thereof" The free coinage
OF the trade dollar was suspended by the
act of July -, 1876, and there has been
no free coinage OF silver of any kind since
then. The Bland bill also provided that
silver should not be used by the govern
ment in payment of coin certificates" is
sued under sec. Psi of the Revised Stat
utes. Our unit of value" is the gold dol
lar. and all other currency is based on it.
The Courier further asks:
What fixes the value Of gold except the
uses to which goidis put? If the universal
q
standard of all eurrencies does not en-
nance the value of gold bullion WHY have
the price OF gold and the value of gold
coin increased so enormously since the
great commercial nations of the world
dispensed Nth the use of any other Standard
Either THE SENTINEL's position is incor-
rect or else the time-hOnored law of sup
ply aud dsmand is absurd.
Tbia ruazffop varf1aIItv itsalf
The chief agency in the appreciation of
gold since 1871 has been the dispensing
with the bimetallic standard. If it could
be required by law that all watchG>
should be made of gold there would L, :
still greater appreciation. But it is RrS
merely the amount of the use but slEo
the character of the use that affects value
From 1850 to 1850 gold would unques-
tionably have deprecated largely in value
but for its universal fres coinage. The
fact that Il certain quantity OF it could be
made into certain coin at any time kept
the value of that quantity near the value
of that coin. In other words. il was never
g mere commodity 10 free coinage coun-
tries. In India there have been times
when money could not be obtained for
gold bullion. The world has coined more
silver in the last twenty years than in any
period of the same length preced-
ing it, and yet silver has depre-
cated in value steadily. 1t was
used, but used at market value
instead OF at coming value. The SENTINEL
has not said that the use or disuse of
silver cannot have any effect on the value
of silver bullion" 1t said that alter sill
yer had been purchased and taken out of
the market its circulation or lack OF cir
culation as money could not affect the
value of silver bullion. 1t saws further
that the coming of silver bought at mar
ket value cannot possibly restore il to its
former relation to gold, because when q
silver dollar is issued the governments
credit enters into it to supply the def
cheney OF intrinsic value, and that credit
is on a gold basis. The silver dollar lost
its relation to silver bullion when free
coinage ceased. Nothing but free coinage
can restore that relation The Courier
further asks:
What ia all the row about in Wall-st.,
on the one hand, and in the western
mining states on the other, if the policy
OF the treasury department, whether it be
friendly or hostile, can have no effect
upon the market price of silver bullion
throughout the world2 What sense is
there in making an issue of silver if its
treatment by the treasury department is
OF so little consequence? Above all, what
use is there In wasting time over propo-
sition to change the policy OF the treasury
toward silver altogether?
1t is all the result of not understanding
the subject considered The western gen.
tlemen thought they could increase the
value of silver bullion by making an arti-
fetal market for It, That was an applica-
ton of the theory of protection. 1t failed,
and the western gentlemen then said the
failure was due to the hostility of the
treasury department, because they had
nothing else to say. The treasury depart
ment has been doing what the law re-
quired il to do. The law is responsible
for the situation. The Courier further
asks:
IL silver ehould be wholly demonetized,
as il will be if the Sherman law is re-
pealed without substituting some free
coinage measure for il. does THE SENTINEL
doubt that silver bullion would still fur
Their decline in the worlds markets?