The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-13

yfdtng for the payment OF the private
nore and OF the redemption OF the public
IN coined money OF the country. This need
Is not a natural one. II Is altogether artl-
fetal. and it Is csnsed by the thing wnlch
i called credit. Credit. that creature OF
legislation. that product OF the statutes. !.
credit the promise OF today. the cash OF
;orrorr,w looking TO the power OF the
government for the collection and en-
forrernenr Of its obligations. cannot gain
sav ,ha right q the same power TO enact
What sorA and what quantity OF coined
money snail he paid and shall be received
in discharge and liquidation Of the same
such is the legal quality. and, though u
fs highly artificial yet il is doubtless one
OF me most valuable functions of coined
money lie who would deprive one sort
Of coin OF this quality. and leave it only
with the other. where two kinds had been
,,se-f hafors from time i'rlmemorial-from
the origin OF the credit SYSTEMS guilty
Of gross Injustice And that equivalent
rolicv another way Of doing the same
thing which would permit only the max
ing and use OF one sort OF coined money
and which would prevent the free ana
further making and use OF the other.
where both had formerly been coined and
used as the money Of final liquidation.
perpetuates and maintains system OF
bondage.
These great artificial functions OF coin
"a money were not the cause Of its pT1-
mary worth and use, although they have
addsd very largely 10 IL in both these re-
srects. Coined money has always been
and vet is in Itself a thing OF value, ana
this value is Of two kinds-a general value
derived from the material out of which
IL is minted and a specific or particular
va,pe determined by law. The first is
hfsf a
second is known as the money worth or
legal vahle The latter is always a matter
of law. the bullion value is one of esti-
-natjon and opinion. Neither OF the two
coined metals of the world has the best OF
highest elements OF intrinsic or inherent
value Both are used in the arts, but IL
the use 10 which a thing is put is to be
sole measure of the value. iron, with its
necessary product, steel, is the most Falu-
able. as it is the most useful of all metals.
But the vast abundance of this useful
metal. denotIng a supply unlimited. mas
deprived il Of monetary functions. Silver
and gold. in order, have been from the
earliest times and yet remain the principal
coin metal among mankind. Silver ana
gold have been deemed and called the
preciOus metals. The word precious lndi-
Gates their money use and origin. II leads
diretly 10 price. il is not only closely re-
lated To- but Is connected with price. Price
is the name of that sum of money In coin
which we pay in exchange for what We
wish 10 purchase. and IL must have al
WAYS been in itself a thing of value-a ma
teriai capable Of easy carriage, of other
qualities suitable for coinage-and ii must
have always had relative 10 other
commodities the quality of scarcity or
scantiness in supply.
For 1900 years gold and silver have
been mined, coined and used as money.
During all that time those two precious
metals have-been furnished. both as 10
Quality and as 10 cost OF production. in
such manner and amount as not 10 he
compared with any other commodities, as
10 admit of no comparison save with each
other. II has already been said that the
bullion value Of the coin metals was large
ly matter OF opinion and estimation The
bullion value of silver and gold. here and
elsewhere has always rested, and rests
today upon one conception. upon one opin-
ion. upon one single and simple item OF
belief II is an old belief universally
credited. based upon the actual experience
of i00 generations of tse human race. 1t
is this. That as there has been in the
ages past. so there will he I'm the years 10
come no discovery Of either of such
metals which, as to quantity or as to the
expense Of producing. shall make them
comparable in value with any other ma
terials suitable for the use Of mankind
as money. The faith and credit of man
kind in the natural and unconquerable
limitation OF supply as 10 those materials
rests unshaken and undisturbed, as il did
at the first dawn of commerce. as 1t did
i'm the days Of the old patriarch whose sill
Yer was current money with the mer-
chants.
There has always been a difference be-
tween the commercial or bullion value OF
the two metals and the legal coinage
value. This characteristic Of difference
attaches TO both. No denomination OF the
gold coinage of the United States has
bullion value equal 10 the legal tender
value thereof. The gold dollar is not
what II purports TO he. The whole series
OF these gold coins is made from bullion
only nine-tenths fine. / do not go into
the reasons for this state the fact The
whole Of the gold coinage is tithed-
il is placed under the par bullion value OF
the subtraction Of one-tenth-this is why
these coins outside OF our own country
pass only by weight. not hy count The
missing tenth is what they call alloy. This
alloy Is not gold at ali-it is n mixture OF
copper ami silver, only one-tenth Of silver
and nine-tenths Of copper OF course,
this alloy reduces the commercial value
2 metal
This is nowhere spoken Of because of a
very curious claim made by the advocates
Of gold nono-rnetaIlism that a piece of
money whose bullion may he less than its
legal value Is unsound ana is dishonest.
1T is the same with the silver coinage,
the dollar and that part called subsidiary
money. This is coined under par CONNER
ciaTy Like the gold coins the alloy is
onc-tenth. wholly of copper. and beside
that the proportion of grains of metal
used diminishes with the denomination OF
he coins. The half dollar has but l9z
grains. n good deal less than half the
number OF the dollar. the quarter dollar
ras only e. grains; the dime has only IS
grains The holder Of ten dimes has only
s>l grains. Vet he can GET halves or quar-
tors or the Whole FOR those dimes. not
withstaudIng that the cost price OF the
metal I'm them is far below its lawful
value The nickel passes for 3 cents. hut
The bullion value or the metal which com
poses il Is not half the legal value. The
cent coined hy the nito1 states made OF
81 parts Of copper and parts of tin and
zine is worth as metal not more than one
third SIS lawful or legal value which IS
the oro-huudrcdth part II A dollar. Still
We have no other coin than this All our
balances. when settled in coin. are paid in
;- The largest payments are made In the
aIoyei gold and the silver dollar. with Us
e~oun - fractional paris and subsidiary
coinage performs the functions Of money
rsssal. raid aud received as coin 81 uIu-
mate liquidation. Is this an honest con-
9ttton OF finance and business
According 20 the test OF the enemies
os bi-uctallisn. that the legal value OF
coined money mast he the same as the
commercial or bullion value OF the metal
t9 IL. nothing could 10 more dishonest.
According 70 that test there is not ana
cannot ne an honest dollar of either gold