The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-10-10
noN,r JuGGLE WITH TRUTH.

In DIS SpetCH at tIt
ire on Saturday night last Senator Daniel
said that he had never experienced but
two troubles with the silver dollar one
OF these was to get II, and the other
was TO keep IL after he had got 1t. lie
emphasized the assertion that the silver
dollar was an honest piece OF money, ana
Il Il wasn't he wanted to know why the
very people in that audience were passing
those dollars upon their neighbors. rms
is the stock argument which misleads so
many men who do not think Because
they see the silver dollar performing
every day all the functions Of a dollar.
paving debt and exchanging as dollar
for cloth and food. they are deceived
into believing that the same would hold
good OF them If there were an indefinite
and unlimited supply of them. But when
men allow themselves to be msled into
this opinion It is because they do not
pause and think seriously over the mat
ter.
If you take the silver in a silver dollar
and the gold in a gold dollar TO a Jew
eler he will give you just double as much
for the gold as he will for the silver. If
you trade them with him, for instance,
for diamonds. he will give you diamond
for the gold that is just double as valua
bic as the one ne will give you for the
silver. IL is absurd, then, to say that
one of the coins Is as valuable as the
other. 1t Is not SO, and nothing can make
It so. But great, powerful govern
ment like ours, with its almost unlimited
credit, can put out a large number of
these silver coins, worth In fact only
fifty cents each, and cause them to per-
form all the functions of coins worth
double That. How? BY always treating
them in all It's transactions as gold dol
lars and always giving gold dollars for
them when demanded. But If the gov
eminent should cease treating them just
as 1t treats gold dollars, or If the public
was unable to exchange them for gold
dollars wherever 1t pleased. they would
not longer perform the functions OF dol
lars, but would at once take the place
that their bullion value condemns them
TO. Ii Is confidence, then, in the ability
and willingness of the government to re
deem these debased silver dollars in good
gold dollars that makes them circulate
as dollars IL is not necessary to resort
TO silver TO have an overvalued dollar
that will nevertheless circulate as a dol
lar. The government can do II with any
substance. Ii can turn copper cents into
dollars. and make them circulate as dol
lars so long as 1t is willing and is able
to give gold dollars in exchange for them.
1t does stamp bits of paper as dollars
and they circulate as dollars, for the
gold dollars for them when they are de-
manded. But the sine qua non Of the
whole business is that the thing which
is not really dollar shall be always
considered and treated by the government
In ali it's transactions as dollar. SO long
as these cheap dollars are not so numer-
Gus as to make the government unable |
TO redeem them all with gold dollars they |
will circulate as gold dollars. But the |
moment they have been manufactured |
and issued in such quantities as TO cause |
men TO doubt whether the government |
will be able 10 redeem them all with gold |
dollars they will at once fall TO their |
bullion value. We saw ourselves APP |
preaching state Of this sort eighteen |
months back, and we saw II precipitate |
this country into the most dreadful panic |
and financial disorder that II has ever |
suffered.
We are constantly pointed to France |
as country which shows that an I'M |
limited quantity of legal tender silver |
can be kept afioat. France, on the con. |
trary. perfectly illustrates the truth OF all |
We have said. Some twenty years back, |
France had coined very large quantity |
OF nve-franc silver pieces-coins which |
correspond TO our dollars-whlch were
legal tender in payment OF any amount
Of debt. But silver began about that |
lime To decline in value very seriously,
and France stopped minting these coins,
ad has put out no more of them since. |
like 500. 200. 0o0-and these
pass as current money at par. But why? |
Because Frenchmen and the world at |
large know that rich and powerful
government like France has no difficulty |
In always redecming 500. 10000 of de- |
based silver dollars in gold dollars; they
have perfect confidence that she will |
always dc II. and they have her assurance |
that she Will not increase the quantity |
Of them. This Is why she is able 10 keep |
this large sum OF debased coins afioat. |
II. however, she should do the unwise |
thing Of threatening TO issue any more
= them (Which she has far too much
ponss ever 70 do>. her credit would be-