The Portland daily press., 1894-02-10
THE sEIeNoRAeE.
What the Bland Scheme To RECON- 1t
Really Means.

What the Bland Scheme To RECON- 1t
Really Means.
Once more silver bullion has touched
the lowest price ever known at London,
| til rec sixteenths below 30 pence per
ounce. AS if business had not trouble
| enough, Mr. Bland proposes to pass his
bill to "coin the seignorage." The
| phrase is surictly speaking, fraudulent.
But there are so many who do not I'M
derstand what the scheme is that false
| impression is easily produce. Under the
| act of 1890 the Treasury has purchased
| certain silver bullion which, by express
| provision of that law, it is required to
| hold against the new Treasury notes u.s.
| sued in purchase. The amount OF notes
| issued exactly represented the marker
| value of the bullion when purchased,
| which was less by about S55, 600, 00o than
| the number of standard silver dollars
which could be coined from the same
bullion if that metal . now selling Ior
about 65 cents per ounce should De
reckoned worth ST. 30 IA per ounce. The
false pretence that the bullion mas
value greater by $4,000, 900 than the
sum actually paid for it is the basis
which Mr. Bland proposes to take Tor an
issue of $55, 900, 600 more paper certificates
redeemable in silver dollars only. 1t
will take years to coin the bullion, and
Mr.. Bland proposes to initiate the paper
currency at once by issuing all the notes
which, on the false pretense above des-
cribed. could be issued against the bull.
ion if it were all reduced to the form OF
standard dollars.
Thus the scheme embraces several
kinds of dishonesty. First it breaks
contract with holders of new treasury
notes, who were assured by express
terms of the law that the silver bullion
which has actually cost 81 should be held
against every dollar of such notes issued.
3y holding, not the bullion which costs
ST., but enough silver to make standard
dollar now worth only so cents, the gov
eminent robs it's creditor of part of his
security. Next, the bill pretends that the
old act authorizing issues OF silver certlh-
Gates against standard silver dollars
posted in the Treasury, can be properly
extended to justify an issue OF silver GER
tificates against standard dollars which
have not been deposited, and indeed are
NOT now in existence Then the fradudu-
lent excuse is that the country needs
more money, when $245, 600, 600 are lying
in New York banks, and similar unpre'
cedented sums in the banks of other
cities, for the obvious reason that the
people will not now retain and keep In
use all the money there is in circulation
Tt is falsely pretended that the mlnts
can be SO managed as to coin all the bull
lien they hold in a short time. The
truth is that the actual capacity OF the
mints, when SO crowded that some over
time was paid, has never been more than
about So, 800. 900 per month in standard
dollars, and at that rate it would take
almost three years to coin the bullion IN
the Treasury. To attain even so much
speed 1T would be necessary to transport
a large part of the bullion to the San
Francisco and New Orleans mlnts at a
considerable cost. The naked truth is
that The coinage is nothing but fraud
ulent pretext for initiating the paper cir
culation byissuing more notes which the
country has no use for, and which
would only tend to- depreciate
other paper currency IN clrcula-
tion, depriving it in part of purchasing
power. The issue of more. paper, too,
would in no way increase the demand
for silver, or the use of silver as money,
but would really tend to drive..ssit out Of
use, and yet this seignorage scheme is
supported by silver men as ii they really
imagined that it would help the price
of that metal to have it lying in the
Treasury vaults in bags of coin instead
of bars of bullion.
This is only one of several schemes
of imitation for which the Democratic
majority in Congress has shown much
favor. While it cannot be stated in adj
vance of action what such an incompre-
hensible body as the House may do, the
opinion apears to be gaining at Washing
ton that the so-called seignorage bill
will pass. 1t would be an interesting
exposition of the insincerity of those
Democrats who besoug ht Republicans
in August last to help them repeal the
Silver Purchasing act, on the ground
that they, these same Democrats, were
the Amounted champions of sound cur
rency.-N. Y. Tribune