Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1895-08-03
No Good Reason for FREQ Coinage.


TO the opinion that vast majority
of the Democrats of Accomac are in
favor of free coinage" His reasoning
to show it, reminds me of Simple
Simon fishing for whales in his
mothers rain barrel and now and
then catching fly or grasshopper--
he holds them up in great triumph
and oxclaims, there are great fish IN
the sea, and he hopes from such cir
cumstances as these, I will perceive
the s.unmistakable manifestations of a
large majority of the Democratic
people of Accomac favoring the free
coinage of silver with all the blessings
certain to flow from IT," He has not
enabled me to perceive any nantes
tations of our people towards free
coinage, and l cannot believe in its
blessings.
He did not tell us what the bless
ings were, or how they would flow
from free coinage. His reason why
our people favor it, rests upon one
idea-and here it is, Hon. Baker P.
! Lee and Hon. w. a. Jones were can
didates for the Legislature and Con
gress, they discussed it, the people
applauded-and elected them. Sena-
tor Daniel also discussed it-and the
people applauded-and actually pass
ed resolution endorsing his course
in the United States Senate; Senator
Daniel had not then delivered his
speech in favor Of free coinage in the
Senate). Well, what of all this? Did
any or these gentlemen run for Office
on the free coinage issue? Not at all,
for no such issue was in the Demo
cratic platform-suppose it had been,
was there anyone opposing these
gentlemen to discuss the fallacy of
free coinage? No one. The fact is
and state it again, the Prohibition
lists and Populists are the only par
ties in this State which have free
coinage in their platform. These
parties adopting free coinage, and
our people voting against them, the
reasoning seems to be conclusive,
that our people were not applauding
these gentlemen on account of their
free coinage views-but because Sen
ator Daniel and Mr.. Jones eloquentlY
denounced the Force bill, and man
fully stood up for Tariff Reform.
Major Lee, had been honored by Mr..
Cleveland, and all of these gentlemen
were in accord upon every principle
of the administrator with MIR. Cleve-
land-save the free coinage of silver,
and that no issue in the campaign.
cannot accept such logic as this to
prove that Accomac Is in favor OF
free coinage.
Instead of Civis giving us some rea-
son for his faith, he says my view is
TRADE against silver money-and
does not attempt to meet my argu-
ment. Why did he not show | was
in error? | like silver money and
favor it's free coinage just as the
Chicago platform does, whenever the
silver dollar is made just as good as
the gold dollar, and Civis asks US to
believe that it is just as good. be
cause we pass them and | would not
take fifty cents for my silver dollars,
and that proves that a silver dollar
is as good as gold dollar. If this be
true, what are the free silverites
complaining about. If one dollar is
as good as another and worth as
much-then silver is not demonetized
and the law of 1878 was no crime
against silver. We all as yet take
them though their market value is
only fifty cents. Such reasoning as
this for the soundness of silver dol
lars is blind casuistry. It's wretched
sophistry. Does this make it right,
or is silver dollar really as good and
valuable as gold dollar, because we
pass them? Then a bogus counter
| felt is as good if we but succeed in
passing it. The fact of passing the
coin has nothing to do with its value.
the market determines its worth, and
do contend that so long as the parity
is by law 16 to land the market
value 80 to 1. every silver dollar
stamped by the government is dis
honest dollar. and what is worse we
are compelled to take them for debts
due, because they are a legal tender.
The fact is silver has appreciated
| by what means is question. do
not think the act of 1878 is the cause,
but that the cause is commercial in
dependent of legislation. More'sll-
yer dollars have been coined since
1878 than from 1892 to 1S73-a period
of eighty one years The silver dol.
lars now in the hands of the people
is so, 900 900, or less than one-eight the
More than seven-eights of our silver
dollars refuse to circulate-although
the government has spent $780,
trying to circulate them. In 109O
there were 100000 silver dollars III
circulation, to day there is but
80, 0O0,0 600, This shows the people do
not love the silver dollars. | find too.
more silver has been coined without
free coinage laws--and still we must
open our minis to free coinage to
give a market to a few mines when
the coined article refuses to circulate,
but we do to some extent receive
these dollars, this will last perhaps
for little while, but look out
for the hour when Accomac people
will require their contracts to
be paid in gold. This will:
in my opinion, surely come if
we follow "Civis.' Free coinage
leads to it. Suppose the government
should make wheat and corn a legal
tender, and fix the price of each at
$1.00 per bushel. This is fixed as the
parity, because its the market price.
For some time the parity continues
good, but in a few years corn declines
TO nfty Genus IN the market. NOW
owe Civis 800 which he loaned me in
gold. I go to him and offer him the
legal tender payment, one hundred
bushels of corn, worth in the market
fifty cents-but valued by law at one
dollar per bushel-would Civis re-
ceive it without protesting that it
was fraud upon him? l think not,
and the next money he loaned me he
would insist it be returned, not in
corn, but in gold. This is just the
situation now with silver. Such a
law would not bind any foreign coun-
try, nor would they obey it. A short
time ago Venezuela owed England
$50, 900 and offered $4,000 silver dol.
lars in payment, but England refused
to receive it, and said, as silver is
worth only fifty cents in the dollar