The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-01
MORE SILVER FALLACIEs.

The Journal has called attention to
the fact that the first page Of a mis-
chievous publication entitled Coins
Financial School," which is now being
extensively circulated in this State. is
devoted entirely to forgery. 1t con-
sists Of a passage purporting to be
quoted from the report of a government
commission on the silver question which
was never written by any government
commission or printed in any official
report.
The second page of the same publica-
ton contains only the following:
The new world in 1893 celebrated the dis
covery of America by Columbus, during
period of depression brought about by the
destruction by law of one-half the precious
destructive is the effect the people are be-
ing reduced to poverty and misery. the
selfshness is the only thing consistent with
the instinct of self-preservation: all public
spirit. all generous emotions, all the noble
aspirations of man are shriveling UP and
disappearing as the volume of primary
money shrinks and as prices fall. Honest
labor seeks employment it cannot find, and
hungry and she1terless our unemployed are
seen daily around the Columbus statue
without hope and in despair.
This is accompanied by a coarse
picture representing statue of Column
bus, around the base of which are gath
cred number of beggars and tramps.
Among the millions of Americans who
visited the worlds exposition in 1898 it
is safe to assert that one of the most
pleasant memories with a majority is
that of the vast throng Of prosperous
and contented looking people they saw
there. They were there by hundreds of
fhOy1S mr. fr,y,, oil y.fC of
try. typical representatives of American
prosperity and American citizenship If
there were any beggars or tramps clus-
tered around the statue of Columbus
the fact was not mentioned in the news
of the day or noticed by the millions
of visitors to the fair In truth, there
were none. The picture is libel and
the statement a lie. 1t is a fit COM
panion piece to the forgery printed on
the first page of the same book 1t is
entirely in keeping with the principles
and methods of the opponents of honest
money and the advocates of a debased
currency that the first page of book
advocating their principles should be de-
voted TO barefaced forgery and the
second to a notorious lie.
al ~ 4di do Tic lOTcSOiLS extract dI-
tempts any argument it seeks to prove
or create the impression that the beg
gary and trampisnn alleged to have been
visible at the worlds fair were caused
by the discontinuance of silver-dollar
coinage in 1873. The demonstration
consists in simply assuming it to be
true, and it is then asserted that this
action was equivalent to "a destruction
by law of one half the precious metals
as primary money. In other words
the author of this preposterous book
asserts that when the coinage of silver
dollars was discontinued there was as
was gold coin. The assertion simply
proves his dense ignorance or his utter
reclSlessness. The coinage of silver dol
lars was discontinued in 1873. At that
time the total gold coinage of the
United States amounted to 1871, $50, 541
and the total silver coinage amounted to
$142, 10000, of which s8.045,s67 was in
silver dollars. and the balance, $134,151,-
023, was in silver coins less than dol
lar. From 1905 to 1886 not silver dollar
was coined in the minis of the United
States. From 1886 to 1873 there were
coined 5,276,22s. Thus the discontinuance
of silver-dollar coinage in 1873. instead
of destroying "one-half the precious
affected only $S,045S67 out of a
total gold and silver coinage of $685.
S52, 631. AS a matter OF fact it did not
destroy single dollar. for the act of
1873 did not take away the legal-tender
power of the silver dollar. 1t simply
dropped out the silver dollar from the
list of coins which were thereafter to
be issued from the mint. Every silver
dollar coined before or since that time
is still legal tender to any amount.
The forgeries and misstatements of
which this book is principally composed |
are made as a foundation for an argu-
ment in favor of the free and unlimited |
coinage of silver by the United States |
on the ratio of 16 to /. If the United |
States were the world it might do that. |
but being only one country and sustain |
ing close commercial relations with |
other countries which refuse to recog- |
nize silver on that ratio it would be |
suicidal to attempt such thing. The |
only safe road to bimetallism lies |
through an international agreement and |
ratio.