The record-union., 1894-09-18
THE NEWS AT WASHINGTON.
COINAGE of SILVER DOLLARS.
Statement Issued by 1he Secretary of
the Treasury.

the treasury.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17.-Secretary
Carlisle to-day issued a statement con-
corning the coinage of silver dollars
under this Administration, the coinage
being under the unrepealed portion of the
Sherman Act. 1t shows that since the
Administration came into power l, ,957, ,221
standard silver dollars have been coined,
of which 520,0S9 have been seigniorage
The Secretary says: "While the law
provides that redeemed treasury notes
may be reissued, it also imposes an ex-
press limitation upon the power to reis-
sue by declaring that no greater or less
amount OF such notes shall be outstand-
ing at any time than the cost of silver
bullion and the standard silver dollar
coiued therefrom than held in the Treas
ury purchased by such notes.
when such notes are redeemed in gold
there is no obstacle i'll the way of the re-
issue or the sale, because such redemption
does not affect the stock of silver held in
the Treasury under the Act OF July Ii,
1890, but when they are redeemed with
silver coined from the bullion purchased
under this Act they must be retired and
cancelled, for otherwise there would be-
after redemption and reissue, greater
amount of notes outstanding than the
cost OF silver originally purchased and
held in the Treasury, and this is ex-
pressly prohibited by the statute. The
purpose OF Congress was to prevent the
duplication of currency, which would be
the case if the notes aud the silver pur-
chased with the notes could be outstand-
ing at the same time.
Treasury notes received in the ordi-
nary course of business or redeemed in
gold or exchanged Tor silver dollars not
coined from bullion purchas ed under the
Act of July Ii, 1890, are not retired and
cancelled. All such notes are reissued
Prior to the lst day of July, 1890, silver
dollars to the amount of $50, 3IS, ,264 were
coined from the bullion purchased. The
so-called gain in seigniorage arising from
this coinage was SO, ,6S7 1903, which was
paid into the Treasury as miscellaneous
receipts, leaving S29. 4SO, 6Ol to be held as
fund to provide for the redemption of the
Treasury notes, as provided by law.
SAT the beginning of the present ad-
ministration the sum of S29 6S0, ,46I was
still in the Treasury, and standard silver
dollars TO the amount OF 81, ,907, ,223 have
been coined since that time. OF this last
sum, however, $500, 795 was seigniorage,
leaving 81, ,077 IA 10 be held in the Treas
ury. 1t appears, therefore, that the
whole coinage under the Act has been
S3l, 800, 4S7, and that the amount to be
held in The Treasury for redemption pur-
chases was $40, ,557 ,605. OF this sum 81, III, :
$50 has been used in the redemption of
the notes and that amount has been re-
| tired and Cancelled. No Treasury note
has been redeemed in silver unless silver
was demanded, the policy and practice of
the department having always been to
redeem in the kind OF money demanded
by the holders of a note. The presenta-
ton of Treasury notes for redemption in
silver began in August, 1873, when there
was great scarcity of money of all
kinds, and there was redeemed during
that month 81, ,273, ,267, which is the largest
| amount that has been presented during
any one month"
AS shown above, there were held in
the Treasury at the beginning of this ad-
ministration S29, $780, 46l in silver coined
from the bullion purchased under the
Act of July IA, 1890. Notwithstanding
the fact tha: 81, ,l57, ,223 has been coined
since that time, there is on hand now
only $50, 169, 724.