Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1893-07-21
What is Free Coinage.


age. any how? asked farmer Jews
DAYS ago as he vaguely sought light
on the present financial issues and
condition.
In reply we will illustrate by stat
inc what is the free coinage OF gold
as now practised by the government.
If YOU take TO the United States
mint at Philadelphia % 8 Is grains OF
gold. the government will coin that
amount of gold into dollar for you
and return to you the dollar. Every
one advocates and approves this Tor
that % 3-1G grains of gold is worth
dollar anywhere in the world whether
coined or uncoined.
Twenty and more years ago if you
took the mint 81 grains OF silver the
government would coin that amount
of silver into Il dollar and return 1t to
Won. This was directed by law as
the free coinage of gold is now. The
reason was that 81 grains of silver
would then sell for one dollar any
where and were worth that amount
coined or not. This was free coinage
of silver. But for number Of years
past the United States has refused to
continue the free coinage of silver.
The silver dollars now in use are
made by the government from silver
it has bought in the market. The
reason for the refusal TO DO this has
bean that throughout the world the
market price of 81 grains Of silver
has been less than one dollar. ii
then the government continued to
coin it free and put its stamp upon 1t
callin, it dollar, it called dollar
what form erly lacked u few cents
and lacks many cents OF now being in
trinsically worth dollar. ~ the
price of silver on June 3Oth 31l
Grains were worth but IS! cents. The
money had to be made good to the
extent OF 81 cents by tine stamp OF
the government upon it, which car
ried the guarantee of the government
for the face value ofcoin and made
the nation responsible l'r Ii.
Now the great question on which
people are divided is. shall the free
coinage OF silver be resumed by the
government or shall it continue TO
refuse to coin silver free:
The silver mine owners OF the
Rocky mountains want the govern
ment to do this; for if the govern
ment will coin for them 81 grains
and put its stamp upon the coin they
make many more cents for that
amount of silver than they can other
wise get. On June 3Oth they would
have made 81 cents more on each
81 grains.
In addition 10 the silver mine own
ers others want free coinage because
if all the silver was coined it would
make money more plentiful.
To both of these classes are OPP
posed those who object to flooding
the country with dollars worth in
trinsically less than 100 cents and re
living upon government credit to keep
them up. They take the view, which
is the sensible one and so far has
prevailed with the people of the Uni
ted States, that government credit
is like that of man, no matter now
good it is it must be taken care OF
according to safe business principles
or il will soon be worth nothing. The
wholesale guarantee of money to be
dollars which intrinSically Is worth
less than face value (for it would be
wholesale with the present enormous
production of silver would discredIt
our rich government and flood the
country with discredited currency
such as would bring disaster to all
branches of business and distress 10