Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1893-08-17

SJIIGlEJ-SJIG
- 80.
States tomaintain the two metals
on a parity with each other upon
the present legal ratio, or such
ratio as may be provided by law.
This declaration 80 controls the
action of the Secretary of the
Treasury as to prevent his exer-
cising the discretion nominally
vested in him if by such action
the parity between gold and silver
may be disturbed. Manifestly a
refusal by the Secretary to pay
these treasury notes il gold would
necessarily result in their dis
credit and depreciation as obi
cations payable only in silver, and
would destroy the parity between
the two metals by establishing a
discrimination in favor Of gold.
Up the 18th day of July, 1898,
these notes had been issued in
payment of silver bullion pur-
chases tothe amount of $147 oe0,-
900, while all but a very small
quantity of this bullion remains
uncoined and without usefulness
in the Treasury. Many of the
notes given in its purchase have
been paid in gold. This is itlustra-
ted by the statement that between
the 1st day of May, 1892, and the
18th day of July, 1893, the notes
of this kind issued in payment
for silver bullion amounted to q
little more than fifty-four millions
of dollars, and that during the
same period about forty-nine
millions of dollars were paid by
tho Treasury III gold for the
redemption of such notes. The
policy necessarily adopted of
paying these notes IN gold has
not spared the gold reserve of
$1oO,oO0,o00 long ago set aside by
the government for the redemption
of the other notes, for this fund
has already been subject to the
payment of. new obligations
amounting to about $150,000,000
on account of silver purchases and
shas, as consequence, for the first
time since its creation been en-
croached upon.
eve have thus made the de-
pletion of our d easy and have.
tempted other and more ap-
preciatiYe nation Ito add Tito their:
@es
have offered has not been neglec-
ted is shown by the large amounts
of golaBhich havesbeen recently
drawn from our treasury and ex-
ported to increase the financial
strength of foreign nations. The
excess of exports of gold over the
imports for the year ending June
3oth, 1893, amounted to more than
'eighty-seven and half millions
of dollars. Between the LIST day of
July, 1890, and the 18th day of
July, 1893, the gold coin and bull
lion in our Treasury decreased
more than one hundred and thirty
two millions of dollars, while
during the same period the silver
coin and bullion in the Treasury
increased more than one hundred
and forty-seven millions of dollars.
Unless government bonds are to be
constantly issued and sold to re-
plenish cur exhausted gold, only
to be again exhausted, it is ap-
parent that the operation. of the
silver purchase law, now in force
leads in the direction of the entire
substitution of silver for gold in
the government treasury and this
must be followed by the payment
of all government obligations in
silver.
MUST PART COMPANY.
At this stage gold and silver
mustpart company, and the govern
ment must fail in its established
pol: to maintain the two metals
on a parity with each other. Given
over to the exclusive use of q
currency greatly deprecated, ac-
cording to the standard of the
commercial world, we could no