Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1894-09-22
COINAGE OF SILVER DOLLARS.
Secretary Carlisle Explains the Opera
tion of the Present Act

| WAsHINGToN, Sept. 17.-Secretary Car
Isle today issued statement concerning
/ the coinage of silver dollars under this ad
| ministration, the coinage being under the
unrepea!ed portion of the Sherman act l,
| shows that since the administration came
| into power ], ,951. 223 standard silver dollars
have been coined, of which SOC 079 have
been seigniorage. The secretary says:
while the law provides that redeemed
treasury notes may be reissued, 1t also i'm
| poses an express limitation upon the power
to reissue by declaring that no greater nor
less amounts shall be outstanding at any
| time than the cost of the silver bullion and
standard silver dollar coined therefrom
then held i'll the treasury purchase by
such notes. When such notes are re-
deem ed in gold there is no obstacles in the
way of relssuance of the same, because
such redemption does not affect the stock
of silver held in the treasury under the act
of July a. 1890, but when they are re-
deemed With silver coined from bullion
purchased under that act they must be re-
ti.ed and cancelled, for otherwise there
would be, after redemption and reissue, a
greater amount of notes outstanding than
the cost of the silver originally purchased
and held in the treasury, and this is ey-
pressly prohibited by the statute.
To Prevent Duplication.
The purpose Of congress was to prevent
duplication of currency. which would be
the case if notes and silver purchased With
notes could be outstanding at the same
time. Treasury notes are received in the
ordinary course of business or redeemed in
gold or exchanged for silver dollars, coined
from bullion purchased under the act of
July IA, 1880. and are not retired and can
celed. All such notes are reissued.
prior to the 1st day of July. 1890 silver
dollars to the amount of $3G 3I8, 264 were
coined from the bullion purchased. The
so-caled gain in the seigniorage arising
from this coinage was Sc 6S7, 3O3, which was
paid into the treasury as miscellaneous re-
ceipts, leaving S29, 4S0 4G1 to be held as a
fund to provide for the redemption Of treas
ury notes as provided by law. At the be-
ginning of the present administration some
OF this $29 480, 461 was still in the treasury,
and standard silver dollars to the amount
OF 81, ,957, 223 have been coined since that
time. Of this last sum, however $500, O79
was seigniorage, leaving SLOT LA 10 be
held III the treasury. 1t appears. therefore,
that the whole coinage under the act has
been S31, 9N5. 4SI, and that the amount to be
held iii the treasury for the redemption of
purchases was $50 557, Cos. OF this sum
81, l2l, 900 has beer used in redemption of
the notes and that amount has been re-
tired and cancelled.
mo treasury note has been redeemed in
silver unless silver was demanded, the pol
icy and practice Of the department having
always been to redeem in the kind of money
demanded by the holders of note. The
presentation of treasury notes for redemp-
tion in silver began in August, 1873, when
there was great scarcity of currency of all
kinds and there was redeemed during that
month S1,273 2G7, which is the largest
that has been presented during any one
month. As shown above, there were held
in the treasury at the beginning of this ad-
soy, 4SO, 46l in silver coined
from bullion purchased under the act of
July IA, 1890. Notwithstanding the fact
that 81, 957, 223 has been coined since that
time. there are now Oh hand only $26, 1S9, :
1877 ~