Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-03-12
THE SEIGNTORAGE' BILL.

One of the vicious silver schemes
that have been pushed into congress
is that for the coinage into legal ten
der silver dollars, what is known as
the seigniorage. This is that part of a
quantity of silver which remains over
and above the nominal value when
coinage is performed. For instance
the law requires the use of a certain
quantity of silver to be put in each
coined silver dollar. If this quantity
cosJ the government exactly $1.00
there would be no seigniorage, but. if
the silver cost but As cents, as at the
present time, government could buy
material, coin the dollar and save sill
yer enough to more than make n
other out of the one dollar invested in
silver bullion. This seigniorage has
been set aside, if we understand it, to
constitute, together with the silver
value of the coin, a security to hold
ers of silver coin, or to government,
which has silver certificates on the
amount of silver coined, these certiti-
Gates to be good for silver coin so
long as government can maintain
equal values and pay gold coin when
gold is demanded. Hence the silver
cranks are trying to compel govern
ment to put into coin and silver GER
tificates all this surplus silver Or
seigniorage. Since the actual intrin-
sic value of silver is less than SO cts.
on a dollar as coined, the project is a
fraud, and In experiment fraught with
the greatest danger. The very mo-
ment government is unable; through
any panic, war, or other emergency,
to supply gold, silver coin drops to it's
own cheap value and every holder of
the deprecated material, in coin or in
silver certificates, is a great loser. 1t
was only by a sharp protest that
the senate IN Thursday. The follow
ing statements from Senators Morrill,
and Sherman will show what leading
republican fnanciers think of it:
Mr.. Sherman, republican, of Ohio,
said the bill proposed the issue of
United States notes to the amount of
$50, 900 900 for the current expenses of
the government. This was a grave
revolutionary proceeding. This issue
of $55, OOO, 900 would be followed by the
issue of other millions of paper mon
ey, without any provision behind
them for their redemption. Such a
measure ought not to be forced on the
senate in ar unusual way. The finance
in a day or two whether it should be
reported. He was willing to have the
bill brought at once before the senate
and let the country know what the
senate's view was.
Mr.. Morrill,, republican,, Of Vermont
protested against such a bill being
passed in what looked like a freak of
the senate. There could be no consid-
Grafton as to what the effects of it's
passage would be on the credit of the
country. 1t was but recently that
$50, 900, 900 of bonds had been sold in
order to reinforce the treasury with
gold and to keep gold and silver coin
and United States notes on a parity.
And it was we'll understood that no
amount of bonds could be issued with
the hope of finding a market. The
S55, 900 900 Of seigniorage, SO called,
had been originally set apart in order
to support the par value Of the silver
And now it was propos-
to issue paper currency without a
dollar more of gold to redeem, and
with standard silver dollars worth
cents. If there were any senators
on either side who wanted to put the
government of the United States in
that position, he was not one of them.
The celebrated O'Neil jug case has
been settled at last. The Supreme
Court has sustained the decision of
the lower courts. The entire bench
was present except Judge Taft. Hon.
Hoyt.H. Wheeler, judge of the United
States District court of Vermont, was
present and sat with the judges.
The court rendered a decisioni in the
case of State VS.. John O'Neil of Rut-
land, denying O'NeiTs petition for an
arrest of judgment, and sentencing
to a fine Of Sc, $50 and two months
in the House of Correction.
This is the most unique case ever
the Vermont courts and has
been on trial for II years in one form
or another. O'Neil, a liquor dealer in
N. Y, sent liquor to Rut-
land in jugs. He was arrested in 1882.
convicted before Justice Wayne Raj