The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-03-30
SILVER COIN AID sEIGNIoRAGE.

In answer to questions concerning
the status of the silver dollar and the
purpose. of the Bland bill, as attempt
ed to be explained by a morning con-
temporary, we have to say that on both
questions the public viii be misinform-
ed, if the statements of that paper are
accepted as a guide.
First as to the silver dollar. It is
money of the United States, a legal
tender for all dues and demands, public
and private, 1Rfess by. contract pay
ment in something else is promised.
Congress has no power to enact any
thing that would impair the validity of
contracts. Therefore, if payment is
agreed upon between contracting
parties in gold, or anything else,
that contract must stand But
apart from a special agreement of that
kind, silver dollars are United States
money in and of themselves, made so
by law, and are called standard silver
dollars as they are, to all intents and
purpose.
The statement. therefore, that they
are mo better money in any way than
the greenback dollar is erroneous, be
cause the greenback is a substitute for
money, while the silver dollar is money
itself The greenback is a promise to
pay in money; the silver dollar is moth
ing of the kind, but stands for payment
in its own right. The paper dollar bears
on it's face the mark of its inferiority,
being only of value because it is re
deemable in real money The silver
dollar has on it's face the seal of its
own sovereignty and requires no re-
demption.
Is it true that the government, by
the repeal of the Sherman provision,
decided that no more silver should
ever be bought or received at the
mint?'' No; that is also an error. The
government did not make or promul-
gate any such decision. Congress de-
cided that there should be no more pur-
.chases of silver by the Treasury De
partment; that is all. That legislation
does not say mo more silver shall ever
be received at the mint" The Bland
bill provided that silver should be re-
.ceived at the mint and be coined into
silver dollars.
First, all the silver that goes by the
name Of seigniorage, which will amount
to 500, 156, 16S, was to be taken to the
mint and coined; also that silver GER
tifcates might be issued to the full
amount before the coinage was COM
pleted. Second. all the rest of the silver
bullion in the Treasury purchased I'M
der the Sherman act was to be coined,
as fast as possible after the amount
above named had been coined.
This brings us to the question, would
the Bland bill put more currency in
circulation? The answer is, yes. But
the contrary is declared by the paper
which claims to be the great authority
on silver. which said on Wednesday:
In this connection we sincerely hope
that President Cleveland will veto the
seigniorage bill. There is absolutely
nothing in it, when we come to study
it over. 1t cannot possibly expand the
currency at all, and the objection To
it outside of all other questions is that
to have that bill a law will operate as
a check upon any further silver legis-
lation that may be proposed. The an
swer viii be: VIII you never be salts
fed? We have just given you S55. 600
0oc Is that not enough for this year?'
as it happens. the bill gives us moth
ing. If made into a law it would
simply change 100000 Treasury notes
for 55,oe0,o00 silver dollars, and there is
nothing in it,
The best answer to that nonsense is
the bill itself. Here it is:
Section 1. That the Secretary of the
Treasury shall Immediately cause to be
coined as fast as possible the silver
bullion held in the Treasury purchased
under the act Of July, IA, 1890, entitled,