St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-10-04
BURROWS POSITION.
THE MICHIGAN SENATOR ARGUES
AGAINST FREE COINAGE.

of Having Two Dollars of Different Val
ues-Evils of a Silver Basis.
In an address, delivered at Bay View,
Mich, Senator Burrows Of Michigan
vigorously opposed the free coinage fall
lacy and upheld our present financial
system. After reviewing our monetary
legislation he said:
"In the first place the free and I'M
limited coinage Of silver at 16 to l
would in my judgment expel from our
circulation not only our entire volume Of
gold, but every dollar OF paper money
redeemable in gold, and cause q contrac-
tion Of the currency and resultant
panic the like of which has not been
seen in this generation.
"This would follow as the inevitable
result of that law Of monetary science
which where two moneys are issued of
unequal value the cheaper will always
expel the dearer from circulation. 1t
certainly needs no argument to demon
strate the truth Of the proposition that
IL UMO uOlltlO arc lEDuthj OhO WI VII wv
cents and the other 100 cents, the 80
cent dollar will be the only dollar in
circulation and the 100 cent dollar will
be boarded by the banks and individuals
until the whole volume of such currency
entirely disappears. This law is Of uni
versal application and has it's origin in
human nature itself. No debtor owing
500 would discharge that Indebtedness
in the more valuable Of two moneys. He
would surely make use Of the cheaper
and retain the dearer. 1t was the knowl-
edge Of this law that guided the fathers
in fixing the ratio in the beginning at
Is to !.
"They knew that dollars Of unequal
commercial value could not be made to
circulate permanently side by side, and
so, having ascertained that 24$l grains
Of pure gold were of equal value with
37l1l grains Of pure silver, they pro-
vided for the coinage Of these two met
ais into dollars at the ration Of 10 to l.
But the truth of this principle has been
| demonstrated over and over again even
in our own history. The gold and silver
coins issued at the ratio Of 10 to / un
der the act of 1892 shortly became of
unequal commercial value, the bullion
in the gold dollar being of greater value
than the bullion in the silver dollar.
The silver dollar became cheaper than
the gold dollar, and the consequence
was that silver alone circulated and
gold gradually disappeared. Indeed,
and for the same reason, the coinage Of
gold declined, for the 24M grains Of
pure gold provided for i'll the gold dol
lar were worth more uncoined than
when coined, and therefore its coinage
naturally ceased, and silver bullion
alone found its way to the minis of the
United States.
at remains only to be inquired what
would be the probable effect Of adopting
the silver dollar of 371I grains as our
single standard of value. The first and
most patent result, as already noticed,
would be to drive from our circulation
every other dollar Of superior value,
whether of coin or paper. Our $780,
600, 900 of gold constituting one-third
of the entire volume of our money,
would be quickly eliminated from our
circulation by being boarded or sent
abroad, followed by the retirement OF
our $500, 600, 900 of paper currency re-
deemable in gold, producing contrac-
ton of the currency, uneXampled in ou1
history, of over $1,000, 000,0 to be
followed by financial CONFUSION I'M
precedented in modern times. 1t will
not do to say that with free and unlim-
tied coinage this vacuum would be
quickly supplied, for it would require
20 years, with the present capacity OF
our mints, to replace this vast volume
of currency with silver
"This consideration alone ought to be
sufficient to deter rs from venturing
upon such a hazardous policy, More
than this. The silver dollar of 81 =
grains produced under free coinage anC
not maintained at parity with the golC
dollar, as it surely would not be, would
as we have seen, at once sink to the leve
of its bullion value and be worth only
about 80 cents. Every depositor in saw
ings, national and state banks, the hold
ers Of policies in life, fire and all Other
insurance companies, investments il
loan and building associations, represent
ed by a great body of people numbering
more than 100000 would be forced
to receive in return for their deposits
premiums and investments a dollar o.
only one-half the value Of that will
which they parted, to the enormous ant
incalculable advantage of these grea
corporations. Suppose an importer o.
foreign goods should become indebted tt
the government of the United States il
the sum of $4,000 for customs dues
what would prevent him from purchas
ing So, 900 of silver bullion and undel
free coinage converting it into 10, OO(
silver dollars, and with these iquidat'
the Indebtedness to the government
Every pensioner would find his meage
stipend lessened one-half, and many O
them would be reduced to beggary. No
only this, but all the recipients OF fixet
salaries, every clerk, teacher, railwa.
{ employee and receiver of stated in
( come would be forced to take none,
, which in procuring the necessities O
$ life for himself and family would pos
sess only one-half of its former purchas
8 ing power, for it must be remembered