The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1894-09-22
COINAGE OF SILVER DOLLARS.
Secretary Carlisle Explains the Opera
tion of the Present Act


tion of the Present Act.
WASHINGTON Sept. l7.--Secretary Car
Isle today issued statement concerning
the coinage of silver dollars under this adj
mnistration, the coinage being under the
unrepealed portion of the Sherman act. 1t
shows that since the administration came
into power !, 95T. 223 standard silver dollars
nave been coined, of which $50 079 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 in the treasury purchased by
such notes. When such notes are re-
deemed in gold there is no obstacles in the
way of reinsurance of the same. because
such redemption does not affect the stock
of silver held in the treasury under the act
of July IA, 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 ex-
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, 1890. and are not retired and can
celed. All such notes are reissued.
Prior to the LIST day of July. 1890. silver
dollars 10 the amount of $685. 3l8, 264 were
coined from the bullion purchased The
so-called gain in the seigniOrage arising
from this coinage was S. 687, S03, which was
paid into the treasury as miscellaneous re-
ceipts, leaving 500, 480 461 to be held as
fund to provide for the REDEEM ption 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. $500 079
was seigniorage leaving SLOT, 144 10 be
held IN the treasury. 1t appears therefore,
that the whole coinage under the act has
been $3l, 800. 487 and that the amount to be
held in the treasury for the redemption of
purchases was $50. 557. COS. OF this sum
"a, 12l. 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-
ton in silver began in August, 1873, when
there was great scarcity of currency of all
kinds, and there was redeemed during that
month 81, 273, 267 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 adj
ministratlon 500 4S0, 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 on hand only S26 1S9, :
1877