The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-07-19
Free Coinage and Full Value.


FREQ and fair coinage of silver. Silver is
very convenient commodity, or metal,
or substance, for employment as medt
un. of exchange in trade, and has long
been so employed in all parts of the world.
It ranks next to gold in respect to its
general advantages as coin metal. 1t Is
scarce enough and usefnl enough to be
valuable ous of all proportion to its bulk,
and the man who exchanges the products
of his labor for it can exchange it nearly
always and anywhere for what he wants
of the products of other peoples labor.
It la one of the best kinds Of "money,"
It passes rapidly as money, and when
the money stamp is effaced 1t still Hpass-
es'T lust as readily at its market value as
simple metal. The money stamp sim
ply states-or ought to simply stata-its
msrket value, for the convenience of the
exohangers.
The farmer who exchanges his wheat or
cotton or eggs for lump of 1t does not
want to have to go the nearest drug store
or jewelry store and have the lump
weighed to ascertain exactly how much
there is oft. He prefers todeal for Jumps
or pieces of established size and quality;
whose weight and fineness Is certified by
some impartial authority. Thsre is plen-
ernment has certified their weight and
fineness, and they are called dollars or
fractions of dollars.
TT is simple and convenient arrange
mant which provides such pieces for the
pu blic use, and it has proved so accep-
table after many cepturiea of trial that
it has become established, we cannot
do without it, The Nea0s and COURIER
believes in maintaining it, 1t believes,
Tint Is to say, in having the Government
under which we live In this country con-
TRUE the practice Of measuring the metal
into regular pieces, determining Its puri-
ty and stamping its character on the face
Of the pieces themselves for the informa-
tiCn, convenience and protection OF all
exchangers. # helieyes that there can.
net well be too much Of such convenient
articles as means OF trade exchange. It
believes that the man who receives and
supplies tho metal for money purposes
should be allowed to take 1t to Govern
mspt mill and Office, and have it shaped
ard stamped az money for the public use
without Gost to himself. It Relieyes In
the free and fair coinage ofsilYer.
But It believes also that the Govern
ment stamp which declares the relative
vs,lue OF the metal which 1t covers shall
be- a true stamp, shall tell true story.
It believes that when the stamp says
there is dollars " orth-a hundred cents
worth Of silver in the dollar
shall be- that much silver in IL, not three
fourths as much or tWo-thirds as much.
It believes that when the farmer exchan-
ges hundred cents worth of wheat or
cotton for q bit Of metal be should receive
q hundred esnts Yorth Of the metal, no
more, no less. So that when he goes to
exchange the piece of metal for goods
that he wants he shall hs able to get for
it the equivalent Of the goods he parted
with to obtain the metal. The dollar is
bis "receipt" for so much labor expended
by him for the benefit of the public. He
should have receipt in full; not re-
ceipt that is Hin fgll'' on it's face, and is
Only In part in fact.
This, it appears to us, is perfectly
fair demand on behalf of the farmer, and
we insist that It should be complied with
accordingly by the silver miners and the
Government, It would be to the interest
oi the miner, of COURSE, to evade the de-
nand and furnish only 8l cents worth OF
tie product and representative Of bis
labor in exchange for the product of the
on every exchange to the value of dollar
b7 his evasion. But the farmer would
Lose in the same proportion, of course, and
would be sWiDdled in effect to that ex-
tent, Is not this plain case? We sub
nit the question to any and every intel
Ii gent farmer in South Carolina, It is q
plain case, however, it covers the whole
present question as to the free coinage of
Silver, and the farmer who demands the
free coinage of 65-cents dollars is demand
irg that he shall receive for his labor and
products one-third less than they are
worth.
What has any farmer to gain by this
process? 1t is fair question and per-
tinent question, of present and passing
Interest. Will any one of our farmer
friends answer it2-Ne,us and Courier.