The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-03-27
THE SILVER "sEIcNToRAGE.Y

THE SILVER "SEIGNIORAGE.v
New York is savagely opposed to the
Bland bill. Nearly every metropolitan
paper attacks it and advises the Pres
ident to veto it. or speaks confidently
of its decapitation For instance, the
New York Post concludes an article on
the subject in this way:
The Wilson tariff bill is, in our opin-
ion, a very desirable measure. In our
support OF it there has been neither
Var1ablenesS nor shadow of turning. We
shall continue to support it, and we
expect to see it passed, not because the
Bland bill is signed or vetoed. but be-
cause the Democratic party must pass
1t or perish. But we are free to say
that 1t would be far better that the Will
son bill should be lost than that the
Bland bill should become a law, and
that If we had the fate of the Demo-
cratic party in our hands, and desired
to save it, we should kill the latter
measure as we would kill a mad dug
New York Post.
The term 1.-The coinage of the seig-
niorage," used in the bill, is a little
misleading. 1t has been explained
many" times as the coinage of the sill
yer in the treasury which forms the
amount of difference between the cost
of the bullion and it's value when
coined. But though that is the pur-
pose of one part of the bill, it scarcely
justifies and does not explain the use
of the term seigniorage in connection
with this provision.
"Seigniorage" signifies the charge for
minting imposed by the seignior or
sovereign power which alone can le-
gally coin metal into money. That is,
the cost of making coin out of bullion.
or the sum charged for that purpose.
As there is no such custom now of
coming metal into money and charg-
ing the owner of the gold or silver
bullion a price for such coinage, there
is literally no seigniorage. But the
term is used in the Bland bill in the
sense we have explained, as it is in
the Sherman law and also in the
Bland-Allison act. And it will, if il
becomes 6 1Iw, give the country lit
tie over $55,OOO,0OO more silver coin for
circulation. That is objectionable to
the financiers who think there is too
much silver coin already in circula-
ton, who believe in the gold standard
as the perfection of financial law, and
who are bringing to bear upon the
President the force of their influence
and the strength of their reasoning.
That our readers may understand
their side of the argument, we print
below the full text of the appeal to
the President made by the New York
Chamber of Commerce. 1t was to have
| been presented by committee of the
Chamber appointed to wait upon the
President, but dispatch from his pri-
vate secretary advising their abandon
ment of that purpose was sufficient to
prevent their trip to Washington.
1t will be seen that their main OBJ
lection is based on the theory that
gold is the only money standard OF
this country and that silver coins are
not honest money" They reckon one
way, Bland and his supporters the
other. They figure out loss in the
purchases made by the government I'M
der the Sherman act, he calculates a
gain. They are looking at the market
price of silver as commodity, he
sees the value of it in coin. In our
opinion, they are reasoning from false
premises. and BANDS position is solid
and sound.
If that bullion is coined into silver
dollars, every coin will be actual worth
a dollar in gold as the money of the
United States and will be so received
in every business transaction in this
country, unless in payment of a debt
contracted to be paid in something
else. That will be gain of nearly 81
cents on every ounce, according to the
figures admitted by the New York
Chamber of Commerce when reckoned
the right way. The average cost will
be 92.44 cents and the coin value s1.2s
per ounce.
The evils to arise from the coming
of this so-called seigniorage are large
| ly in the minds of the bankers them
selves, whose illusions to the dangers
of the Sherman law show that they
are still under the glamour of the fal.
lacy that purchasing silver bullion was
the prime cause of the commercial
troubles of 1898. They are as much
mistaken on this question as they were
on that
The drain of gold they contemplate
seems to US also either an intantiona.
or mistaken perversion of the intent d,
the bill. Its purpose is to retire the
Treasury notes which have hitherto
been redeemable in gold and substitute
silver certificates which will he pay
able in silver.
In making these remarks we do 10