People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1894-09-21
A "Short" Argument Upon a "Short"
Text.


In a very facetious editorial
headed Gan impatient populist," the
journal yesterday expoundcd its pc
culiar silver viewe. Just why the
Journal should class the Counter
feiter Short as a populist, it does not
explain. Ii be established private
mint OF his own he certainly ap-
preached the democratic plan much
nearer, for the populist demand is
for the issuance Of all money to be
BY the national government alone,
while the democratic demand is for
its issuance by wild cat state con
Germs.
But the most peculiar part of the
journal article consists in its reason
ing upon the silver coinage question.
1t sUys:
If the extreme free silver men had
their way, Short could carry his silver
bullion to the mint and get dollar Tor
every fifty cents worth OF 1t. inns
woul save him the expense OF setting
ap money machine OF his own. But
if Short took an unlimited amount of
silver bullion to the miuts and had it
coined at the ratio Of 10 to !, he would
soon find his silver dollars passing at
about their bullion value in the mar
llets of the world. The experiment of
the cnterprising and impatient Mr..
Short is decidedly suggestive
Such profound erudition and depth
of reasoning Is calculated to inspire
with awe the plain and unsophlstlca-
Ted reader who is not graduate in
goldbrg philosophy. "If tie ex-
IRENE free silver men had their way
that is, if the government should
again open the minis 10 the free
coinage of silver at the ratio Of Is to
l, "Short would carry his silver but
lion to the mint, which would save
him the expense of setting up a
money machine of his own" Ex-
actly! The government does this
Tor the owner of gold bullion, and if
silver is to be used as money metal
the owner of silver bullion should
not be Disseminated against.
But, saws the Journal, she would
get dollar for every fifty cents
worth of it (silyeD" If 37l.25
grains of pure silver are coined into
a dollar at the United States mints,
and by law made full legal tender
for all debts, public and private, it
fellows that the price OF 37l.25 |
grains Of silver would havea market
value of one dollar, less the cost of
transporting-i. to the mint.
Tho market price Of silver would !
conform to its mint value, and Short
or no other man could take fifty
cents worth and have it coined into
dollar; nothing less than one hun
bred cents worth would fill the bill.
IlN supposed clincher in its argu-
ment is reached by our goldbug
neigLbor whenit triumpbantly asserts
that sGf Short took an unlimited
amount of silver bullion to the mints'
that is, if the free coinage OF silves
were restored at the ratio of IS to
he would soon lind his silver dollar
passing at their bullion value in the
markets of the world. That is cor
rect, but the market value of bullion
in Il silver dollar would be worth 4 |
dollar in the markets of the world.
The dear Journal seems to be la
boring under the belief that the mar
kct value of silver bullion while sill
yer is demonetized would remain
its market price alter it again be
comes a money metal.
In 1878, before silver was clandes
timely demonetized, under the lead
orshIp of Sherman the republican
and Bayard the democrat, the mar
ket value OF bullion i'll a SILVER dol
lar was $t.004 in the London mar
kot; the average value for last year
was only .620 and it is still less now.
This decrease in market value was
not caused by shrinkago of in
rinsic value, but only by its loss of
coinage value. Restore the coinage
value of silver to the position it held
prior to its decentralization in 1878
and its market value would speedily
be restored to the price quoted in
the London market at that time.
"The experiment of the cnterpris-
ing and impatient Mr.. Short is de-
cidodly suggestive" says the Journal.
SO also is It's ingenious reasoning
which j. decidedly more ''short' than
the attempt Of the counterfeiter.
Misrepresentation and utilization.