The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-05-21


free and unlimited coinage on individual
account as is now proposed. but by pro-
more than four million dollars worth, nor
less than two million dollars worth of sill
yer bullion each month by the government
itself. Under this act and the so-called
Sherman act, and the act providing for the
recoinage of the trade dollars there have
been coined al the minis of the United
States and put in circulation during seven
teen years $50. 652.S73 in full legal-tender
standard silver. as against $S050.0O0 coined
governmental period OF eighty-nine years.
In other words, there have been coined
and put in circulation among the people.
In coin itself or in certificates Issued upon
1t. nearly fifty times many full legal
tender silver dollars were produced at
the mints OF the United States from 1872
10 1873. and yet some gentlemen are writing
books and making speeches to convince
their fellow-citizens that silver is demonet-
in our whole history one-third as much
legal-tender silver in use in the United
States at one time as there is now, and it
which was never done before. Silver is not
demonetiZed in this country. but its COIN
law and the financial affairs of the gov
eminent have been so conducted that up
to the present time its purchasing power
has been preserved and its circulation to
large amount has been maintained concur
rently with other forms of money, notwith-
standing it has been coined at ratio
which does not conform TO the real value
OF the metal contained in it, / repeat that
silver is not demonetized, and the question
presented TO US by the agitation now GO
ing on is not whether il shall be de-
monetized in the future, but whether the
mnts of the United States shall be thrown
open TO all the silver in the world that
any individual or corporation may desire
to have coined, free of charge. into legal
tender dollars-that is. legal tender in the
In order to discuss this subject intelli-
gently We must understand distinctly what
Is proposed by our opponents. and fortu-
nately there is no difficulty upon this point
WHAT FREE COINAGE MEANS.
Free and unlimited coinage of full legal
tender silver dollars at the ratio of 10 to |
means that our law shall be changed that
any owner of silver bullion may send it to
the minis and have il coined. at the public
expense, into dollars each containing Az
grains Of standard silver the dollars when
coined to be delivered to the owner of the
bullion, and all the people of the United
States to be compelled by law to receive
them as dollars in the payment of debts,
although not intrinsically worth more than
80 cents each. The p $40 grains of standard
gold contained in gold dollar is worth
lVO cents, or the equivalent of 100 cents, all
over the world in silver-standard countries
as we'll as in gold-standard countries, and
II Is worth just as much before 1t is coined
as afterwards; but the 4l2i5 grains of
sra nef SILVER contained in IA silver dollar
than % cents. Or, TO put the statement in
a different form, sixteen pounds of silver
cannot be exchanged for one pound of gold
anywhere in the world, but ii requires
thirty-two pounds of silver to procure one
pound of gold everywhere.
But some one may say that this is not
value of silver by. gold The answer TO
this objection is that the statement does
not attempt to measure the value of either
of the metals, but simply to compare them,
one with the other, and that for the purt
pose of making the comparison the value
OF gold is determined by its purchasing
power in the markets of the world, and
the value of silver is determined I'm the
will purchase only about one-half the guam
tity OF commodities anywhere that one
pound of gold bullion will purchase and
their actual and relative values
In the United States sixteen pounds of
silver. coined into dollars. will now pur-
chase as much as one pound Of gold coins,
but this would not be the case under a
system of free and unlimited coinage
individual account. The coinage of silver
dollars here has been limited by law for
the purpose of preventing excessive is
sue. and they nave been coined by the gov
eminent on its own account and paid out
for public purposes as dollars of full value.
and consequently the government is bound
by every consideration of good faith. to
say nothing of the positive declarations
contained in the statutes, to keep them
as good as gold, or. in other words. to
this it has done and will continue TO do
as long as the present system exists. But
a new one established. so that private in
dividuals and corporations can have their
own bullion coined at the public expense
and have the coins delivered to them for
their private use, the government would
be under obligation whatever, legal or
equitable, 10 keep them as good as gold,
and. in fact, il would be impossible for it
to do so, because the coinage would be
unlimited and the volume of silver in cir
culatiOn would become so great in proper
ton to the gold the government could pro-
cure that the attempt would necessarily
fail.
SILVER DOLLARS WOULD DEPRECI-
ATE.
The most extreme advocates of free
coinage have not yet ventured to suggest
that the government would be under any
obligation to guarantee maintain the
value of silver dollars coined without charge
for private parties. and without such guar
antee it is clear the dollar would be worth
no more than the commercial value of the
bullion contained in it. just the Mexican
dollar is now. l admit that if the United
States could coin without charge TO the
owners all the silver in the world availa BILE
for coinage purposes, 4l2ls grains OF stand
ard silver, in bullion, would be worth
the real question is, What would the silver
dollar itself be worth? That it will not be
value is no not oniy admitted. but openly
urged as one OF the chief arguments in
favor of its. free coinage. Every where the
people are being told that under free COIN
age IL will require twice many dollars
TO procure any given quantity of commodi-
ties as are required now and this means,
of course that the money will be only one
half valuable as IL is now. When the
public judgment is finally passed upon this
subject | think il will be found that the
people of the United States determined
not to have a deprecated dollar. whether
il be gold, silver or paper. They are, I'M
dOubtedly, entitled to have for use in their
business just good money any other
people in the world have, and no political
party that attempts to deprive them. of il
will ever enjoy their confidence or receive
their suffrages.
Those of us who oppose the free coinage
of silver at the ratio of 10 to | are opposing
no change in the measure or standard of
value now existing, nor are We proposing
10 discontinue the OF silver as money.
/ have never been. and not now,
to see IL excluded from the monetary sys-
tenn OF the United States. of any other
country. but | know that ii cannot be kept
in circulation along with gold by means of
any ito the law of any one country may
attempt 10 establish between the two met
ais, and that the only way TO secure the
use of both at the same time is to make
the coinage of the other that the govern
ment which issues them and receives them
for public dues may be able at all times to
maintain their exchangeability, either di-
rectly or indirectly through the operation
of its fiscal system.
l am. therefore. in favor of the preserva-
ton of the existing standard of value with
and paper convertible into coin demand.
as can be maintained without imDairing or