St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-20
PRACTICALLY FREE COINAGE

Z
The reception accorded the currency
plan proposed by Senator Jones indi-
Gates the line of division of opinion in
this country. There is an element that
is opposed to any further utilization of
silver as a money metal except as a
mere token coin These are the strict
gold monometallists. They and their
organs without exception denounce the
silver feature Of the senator's bill as
utterly impracticable and absurd. An
tipOdal to these are the free coinage
men of the silver states. whose sole pur-
pose is to obtain a market for their Co.
cent silver at S1.29 an ounce. They
'denounce it as being compromise and
surrender Of principle and all that
sort of rot.
Neither Of these two extremes repre-
sent the thought of the great intermedi-
ate mass Of the people of the country.
They believe, and there is no reason
why they should not believe, that silver
is still suitable money metal and
should be used to its fullest capacity.
They do not see how any danger can
arise from all initiation of metallic
money. They cannot conceive of con-
dition where til ere would be an over
supply of it. They look with surprise
and incredulity upon the proposition to
increase the amount Of paper currency
i'll the country made by men who, with
the same breath, oppose the increase of
metallic currency. By this great mid
die class, any proposition that permits
the use of silver as money metal
without endangering its solyency on the
one hand,o giving to bullion producers
an unmerited advantage on the other
hand, will be received with favor.
The proposition of Senator Jones to
permit silver bullion owners to eX-
change their bullion at the mint for
standard dollars, receiving in the latter
the equivalent of their market value in
the bullion,is practically the free coinage
Of silver at the commercial ratio. Elk
cepting that the bullion owne does not
get dollars of weight equivalent to
those which would be produced under
coinage at the commercial ratio, he does
get the value Of his product in the same
number of dollars as if the ratio were
80 to instead Of 16 to l.
The attitude In which the bill proposes
to place the government in relation to
coinage is practically this: 1t is not
advisable yet to make readjustment of
the ratio, and either coin the new metal
now or recoin at the new ratio This is
not advisable for the reason that the eff
feet of the admission of silver to the
mint under thi measure upon the price
| of silver bullion cannot be moves timated,
and it will take some time under the o D.
Grafton of the demand for silver at tn
| mint and in the arts to permit it to eS-
tablIsh an equilibrium of value. Until
| that time comes we will continue to
! emit 41213 grain dollars in exchange for
the silver bullion, retaining in the minis
| the difference between the bullion and
the coinage value of the metal, to be
used in a recoinage of all the col rs at
that time in the future when stability
shall have been so pproXimately OBJ
tanned as to render new ratio feas BILE
The opposition Of the silver mine
! owners TO Senator Jones' measure arises
from the fact that they appreciate that
it is practically a free coinage of silver
at the com mercial ratios that may exist
from day to day and month to month
under the operation of the market,
That they want more than this only
illustrates their greed and their audacity.
Precisely Oh plane with their position
would be that Of the farmers of the
country demanding that the govern
ment purchase of them all their wheat
| at dollar bushel when it is worth. say
| fifty cents in the market.