The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1894-12-07

YER. One which is oftenest heard is
that silver has been demonetized by
congress. This story has been re-
peated until people who ought TO
know better believe it, and yet it is
absolutely false.
The standard silver dollars are
legal tender for any amount what
ever. They are receivable at the
treasury for all debts due to the gov
eminent, and they can be paid in
any amount to either public or pri.
vate creditors. There are more
than 400, ,OO0, 900 OF these silver dol
lars, of which about &C, 10000 are
in circulation, and the balance are
in the treasury, but are represented
in circulation by silver certificates.
These other 34O,O00,000 of the sill
yer dollars are not themselves in
the hands of the people, simply be-
cause, with all their pretended love
for hard money, the people will not
have them. They prefer paper
money, and will not accept silver
u they can get paper.
The fact stated above shows how
completely false is the story that
silver is demOnetized. So far from
that. there are 400, 0,OO0,0 900 standard
dollars, and more than 500, 900, 900
more of silver bullion not coined,
but represented by treasury notes
of 1890, which makes an aggregate
of more than 5O0,OOO,0O0 Of silver
dollars and bullion which IS legal
tender money TO any amount. Be-
sides this, there is something less
than 500, 100000 Of subsidiary sill
yer coins from Scent to 80 cent
pieces. Here, then, is silver mon-
ey in constant use 10 the amount Of
$500, ,O00,0 900, and yet people say
that silver has been demonetized,
although there is no law that de-
mOnetizes the silver metal. Is IL
not, then, time to stop telling lies
about the decentralization of silver ?
Now let US come 10 Tree coinage.
Free coinage simply means that
anybody who has silver can take il
to the mint and have it coined into
standard dollars.
To day this right does not exist
as TO silver, but il does IA to gold.
Any person who owns gold bullion
can take it to the mint, where il will
be coined and the eagles and double
eagles will be handed back in re-
turn. The mint will coin anybody's
gold. But il will not coin any silver
except that which belongs TO the
government.
Now, it is possible to inquire in
tellIgsntly how free coinage OF sill
yer can make money plenty, since
free coinage Of gold has not that ef-
feet. Suppose all the silver miners
in the country or in the world,
should bring their metal TO the mints
to have it coined, and this fresh
coinage should amount 10 a large
sum, would that make money plen-
ty-any plenlier than it is ? BY no
means, because nobody would be
able to get any of that money. The
people who were so fortunate as TO
own it would not hand it out to their
neighbOrs, any more than banks
and rich men do to-day. Tho banks
are stuffed full of money, but they
are not giving il away.
1t is impossible TO get one dollar
out Of a bank, out Of a national treas
ury, or out Of anybody's pocket, ex-
cept in the way Of business. Eth
er we sell something in order to get
q dollar of anybOdy's money, or we
must work for somebody and earn it,
or we must borrow or beg or steal it.
There is no other way to get other
peoples money. 1t is plain, then,
that the free coinage of silver would
not put an additional dollar i'm the
pockets of the people al large. This
ought TO dispose OF the foolish not
ion that such free coinage would
make money plenty in the hands Of
the people. Condensed from Plea
yune.
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