The Portland daily press., 1893-07-19
rhe RESOLUTIONS of the Board of Trade.

The Resolutions of the Board of Trade.
To the Editor of the Press:
The resolutions of the Portland Board
of Trade contain the following extraordi-
nary recital.
,.s "The decline in the value of silver has been
80 great as to cause the silver currency OF me
United States to be maintained at party Win
soid at great cost to the nahen.
lit is fact that the nation has greatly
Gifted by the purchase of silver at
ige discount below its monetary value
i'd coming it into dollars at par with
old. This profit has beeen more than
$4,000, 900.
Indeed it is this fact alone, to wit:
nat our nation puts into it's treasury the
Inference between the real or market
alue, and the monetary value of silver
hat our silver dollar is kept at parity
With our gold dollar.
The Act of Sept. 28th 1878 popularity
allied the "Bland-Allison Act has set
ed conclusively the fact that no amount
coinage of our silver dollar under the
visions of that act will drive our gold
il. out of circulation.
II we had free coinage Of silver dollars
as well as gold, the owners of silver
would not sell silver at a deprecated
price, but would send it to our minis to
be coined and profit by the seignorage,
and gold would disappear from circula-
ton and our volume Of money would be
contracted suddenly. prices of commodi-
ties would fall and bankruptcy and
famine would follow.
This would be the inevitable result.
The experience of the world shows con-
clusively the disastrous effects of a sud-
denly diminished volume of money. Free
age of gold and we should then have
only silver money. Believing as do
that the toiling and business people Of
the United States cannot afford to give
up either of the traditional precious
metals for monetary use, strenuously
oppose any attempt to bring about that
result either by administrative or con-
gressional action.
/ say administrative action, because
every secretary of the treasury since Con-
gress passed the Bland-Allison Act over
the veto of President Hayes, has exer-
cised the discretion given him by the
law and has bought and coined only the
minimum amount of $2,0O0,00O per
month, discriminating against silver and
in favor of gold-a discrimination in
the interests of investments and against
the interests of the industries of the
country. The less the volume of money
the greater the purchasing power OF in
vestments, and less the profits of indus
tries. The real contention is between
these two interests.
OF The $245, 100000 of silver bought
under the Sherman Act, only about $780,
100000 have been coined. If the MAXI
mum amount authorized by the law
since 1878 had been coined we should
have had proximately S00,Q00,000 of sill
yer dollars in circulation performing the
legitimate function of actual money and
prices of commodities would have ruled
more favorable for business.
The popular belief that our silver dollar
don't circulate and cannot be made to
circulate is entirely erroneous. Of course
so long as the people have their choice
between our large silver dollar and a
certificate signed by tie government that
the number of silver dollars named in
abe certificate has been deposited in the
treasury for it's redemption, and that the
certificate is legal tender for all debts,
public or private, the certificates will
circulate more largely than the silver
dollars.
According to the New York Tribune
Va buC I'LL Peps,o SoAuilii ..AS
total number of silver dollars now in the
United States Treasury, less the certifi-
Gates in circulation, is only So, 1885, 52
According to the report of the Direc-
tor of the Mint, of the total coinage to
November 1st, of our silver dollar $685.
53S, 001, there were circulating in the
form of certificates $277, 3l9,9 44, and
only $6,219,577 remained inlthe United
States Treasury, and GOODS, 4S0 silver
dollars were in circulation among the
people or in the banks as part of their
reserve.
Nov. /, 1890, of the total coinage to
that date of 3sO,9sS, AGO, only STOP, 725
were in the Treasury.
1t is fact that the demands Of bust
ness keep in circulation proximately the
entire volume of our silver dollars.
II we now had $1,000, 100000 Of silver
dollars the entire amount would circu
late because the people and not the gov
eminent furnish the silver, and the
government pays for it as fast as it
comes into its treasury. less the selgnor-
age. l.. b. BENNETT.
July IS. 1893.