The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-02-25

coming dollars worth only nifty cents ana
the Engraving Bureau. under full pres
sure printing notes promising to pay
full dollars TO 10 out against them.
There remains now IN the United States
Treasury 1869. 200 ounces OF silver pur-
chased by the government under the
Sherman law at its market price, for
which It issued its promissory notes that
| are now outstanding to the amount or
sf2G .2Is. This bullion would sell to-
day for much less than the face of the
notes that the government issued when
II bought r.. At an average price OIL
sixty-five cents TO the ounce which IS
about what 1t would bring now, It IS
worth, II sold to-day sol. i5i,si which is
less than what the government agreed TO
give for it by S3J.303.374. But what does
Mr.. Bland propose TO do with it? He pro-
poses 10 call II worth $l.a9 an ounce.
within fraction of double what 1t IS
really worth. and create from it $lSl,9l0,
40. which viii be an excess over and
above what the government agreed 10
pay for 1t OF $50, 156,6sl, and this IS that
"seigniorage" of which we hear so much.
which has no more existence in reality
than II, TO use contemporary illustra-
ton, the manager OF an elevator containing
100000 bushels OF wheat should say
that this wheat ought to be worth $50
a bushel, that the total value of the grain
In store would then be Sl.5o0.O 900, that
this is 100000 in excess OF the 100000
that the grain would bring at sixty cents
a bushel, and that therefore warehouse
certificates might be issued for an amount
Of wheat equivalent in value to this hy-
pothetical balance OF 100000 The seig-
nioragc IS obtained not only by counting
the treasury bullion as worth So, 15GGS1
more than ii cost. but as worth SOC, 40,
S75 more than its market rating to-day.
We add to the foregoing the following
very instructive remarks from the st.
Paul Pioneer-Press:
We may now sum up and see what the
total cost of the silver experiment will
be to the people of this country. and in
what condition II leaves the currency
and the gold reserve. even supposing that
this seigniorage bin were the end Of
silver lunacy for the time being. There
have been coined altogether under the
different acts rOf Congress 4ia, 80 400
standard silver dollars. These are I'm cir
culatiOn, either actually or as repre-
scented by certificates. or are held in the
Treasury as a part Of its resources. The
actual value Of the bullion IN Il silver
dollar when silver sells at sixty-nve
cents per ounce is 5O3 cents The value
Of this silver circulation, then, at cN-
listing market prices. Is only s2iO.324, 222;
aud the difference between this and the
face value of the coins. or Sos, sos, IDS,
is the generalization in coinage. and the
deficit which is only made good by the
understanding that these dollars Will be
redeemed. If necessary, in gold.
So much we have promised in the dec
laration about parity" reaiiirmed in the /
repeal of the Sherman Act Let US now /
sum up the silver business. The silver /
bullion i'm the Treasury is worth to-day |
So. .37i less than IL cost. The "seig- /
niorage" or added steal, if this is coined, |
will be So. 1jG.GSl more. The depreciation |
of the standard dollars already coined is |
sos los 22s. The sum OF these. or the |
total amount for which this Government |
has made or will make itself responsible.
in the interest of the silver producer, IS
sos. S64 10@.
Still more serious IS this iitem
when we consider the convertibility OF
our currency into gold, which must be-
maintained II we are To keep orr credit
Not 10 mention the more
than S20OO0O.OOO Of national bank notes,
we have S3iG.OOO00O Of legal tenders. and
n loss Of S29S. SGl 103 on our silver. or
total Of S644. SGi,103 to be sustained 10y
the gold reserve.
And we have no such reserve. There are
500. OOO0pO OF gold available at present.
or less than one-siXth Of the obligation
that stands against IL: but Mr.. Carlisle
has declared that this is not inveiable,
has used II for current expenses when
there was a shortage. and says that ne
will use it again. These figures show
exactly how impudent and pernicl0us IS
the proposal brought forward once more
by the free silver men and caught ~
eagerly by the cheap money party. They
contain the essence of this theory Of
finance; which is to substitute promises
TO pay for money. and then repudiate
these when the time 10 redeem them
arrives.