San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-08-04

"Just as soon as the extra session
of congress meets the Democratic
party, and it's majority, will go to
pieces-in fact, are in pieces now
and any policy that may be adopt
ed will be that of the Republican
party, and to the true interests of
the country.
"From the start, our coinage
laws have not been in acc ord with
the balance of the world.
"Our first mint law of 1892 fixed
the ratio between gold and silver
at to -. In 1884 and
1887 the ratio was placed
at | to 15.9SS. These ratios were
not in accord with the commercial
world, and as sequence our only
metallic currency, from 1892 to
1884, and from 1884 to 1873, was
gold.
an 1873 Congress abolished the
silver dollar and made gold the
only standard of value-just as 1T
had been from the start in 1892.
The silver legislation Of this
country, since 1873 has been moth
ing but a series of compromises
with the advocates of free coinage
of silver.
When this silver cry of free sill
yer coinage was first heard, in
1878 our currency was gold, a cur
rency based on gold, no silver
coins except half dollars, quarter
dollars, and dimes, or silver bill,
gave us trouble.
During these six current years,
1873, 1878, statistics show our
gold to increase enormously our
minis coming $254,302, l34.
Right upon this prosperity,
came that enormity, called the
Bland bill.
This bill was the child of parti-
san cry, not of patriotism.
To get into power the democrats
raised the whoop that the republic
cans had demonitiZed silver; and
they must restore it to it's place;
compelling the government to buy
100000 silver bullion per month;
and coin it into silver dollars that
should be not a full legal tender
for all debts.
Right, in this boosted (Bland)
bill, that was to restore silver to
the quality of gold in all tn ings,
we find three distinct exceptions as
follows: Where parties made a
gold contract, where these silver
dollars should be offered in pay
ment Of gold certificates. and
when ten or more of these dollars
were deposited in the treasury, the
depositor was to have not money
or coin certificate but silver
certificate.
81 refer to this matter merely to
show how hollow the cry of the
Bland bill men has ever been; and
to assert the fact that never in this
country has there been a law plac-
ing gold and silver upon an equali-
ty, and to venture there never will
be.
"All compromises are now at an
end. If the free coinage of silver
prevails then it is an inevitable
result that our currency must
reach a silver basis, almost at once.
Then what does a silver basis
mean ? Just this and no more; the
paying power of our money in for
eign exchanges will be lowered to
the commercial value of our silver
dollar, just as in Mexico today.
We cannot, if we would, and we
would not if we could, put this
country on silver basis, for there
the ever Varyings and uncertainty
(silver) compared with the money
Of the world, will destroy our trade
with the whole outside world. |
would not, because opposing sill
yer basis, cease to use silver as
money.
"FrOm now on for reasonable
time, | would coin no gold less
that 500 pieces; issue no paper of
less that 500; and coin silver halves,
quarters, dimes and half dimes, to
the extent of at least $5,OOO,00O sill
yer per month, in the Act of 1873,
and make the same legal tender in
sums of $50, or, under.
"For the bullion to make these
coins, | would recoin every Bland
dollar, now in the United States
treasury and hereafter to come in
into dollars, quarters, dimes and
half dimes. | would make silver
our only current coin less than
$40, and punish as crime any per-
son refusing it in sums of less
than $40.