Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1895-10-19
OUR GOLD BASIS IN leel.
Prevailing Monetary Conditions Previous
to the Crime of 1873.


which prevailed previous TO what they
are pleased to call "the crime of 1879.
which means that this country was not
allowed to resume in 1873 in ninety-two
per cent. silver dollars, to gradually de-
cline to fifty cents, they would find good
and interesting reading in the annual
report of Mr.. James Pollock, director of
the mint, to Secretary Chase in 1861,
being twelve years before "the crime of
1873" The salient portions of the re-
port are published by the New York
journal of Commerce. Director Pol
lock stated the facts in regard to silver
and gold as they existed at that time,
before either of those metals had been
displaced by government issues of pa
per currency. He alludes to the gold
dollar as "the standard of value for all
foreign coins used or employed in COM
mercial or governmental transactions
with other nations" and describes it as
Conforming in standard value and dec
iinal character to all the gold and silver
coinage of the country except the silver
dollar"
AT the date of the report silver was
so much undervalued in comparison
with gold by our coinage laws that the
bullion in the silver dollar was worth
several cents more than the face of the
coin. Hence the mint could not afford
10 deliver silver dollar for a gold dol
lar or to purchase silver for minting,
while not only was there no induce
ment to citizens to wish to have silver
,,ni,,nl fr,, i,,t0 lc1lo htt ~
far cheaper to put the silver dollars into
the melting pot than to buy silver bull
lion for use in the arts. Therefore the
country was actually on gold basis,
gold being the cheaper metal according
to the legal ratio. The following eN-
tracts from the report are worthy of a
careful reading to-day:
"The gold dollar of the United States,
conforming in standard value and deci
NAL character to all the gold and silver
coinage of the country, except the sill
yer dollar, has been properly selected,
and should be retained MS the standard
of value for all foreign coins used or en-
ployed in commercial or governmental
transactions with other nations. The
silver dollar of the United States,
differing as it does in commercial and
decimal value from the other silver
coins of our country, cannot, without
disturbing our decimal system and
producing confusion in the relative
value of our gold and silver coinage.
be used as a standard. The legal
weight of the silver dollar is 412.50
grains; of two half dollars, or other
component fractions of the dollar, 1884
grains-a difference of $3.50 grains.
"The silver dollar, as it now is, has
actually three values: 1. 1t is, by law,
"a dollar simply, or 100 units or cents,
.. BY the mint price of silver it is
103.9S cents, which is it's true CONNER
cial value rs compared with gold.
). 1t has an interior or mint value,
which is determined by its relations
to the silver contained in the half
dollar, which makes it 107 27-64 cents;
for which reason single pieces are paid
out at the mint at the even price of 100
cents.
''As the dollar, which is the unit of
our money, is represented in gold coin,
it would seem desirable not to have
another dollar in another metal; but
if this is inadmissible, and the silver
dollar should be retained, then it
should be reduced to eight-tenths of
an ounce to be in true relation to our
other silver coins.
1.-TWO reasons seem TO have influenced
congress in retaining the silver dollar
at its present anomalous terms: First
that it preserves the old dollar, known
from the beginning of our coinage, and
often exactly stipulated for in deeds OF
rent charge, mortgages, and other mon
eyed securities. To this 1t may be sue
cessfully replied that such payments
are now always made in gold, because
it is legal and usual tender for all sums
exceeding So, and because silver dollars
are no longer to be had, or are very
rare. In the second place, it was sup
posed to he needed for our China and
East India trade; but our consular adj
lars are very reluctantly taken at the
ports and not at all in the interior o1
China. They are believed by the
Chinese to be of less value than they
really are. The reason for it's reten
ton having ceased, either we should
cease to coin the silver dollar or it should
be made to conform in weight and value
to our smaller silver coins.
THE reduction of the standard value
of all American coins except the silver
dollar was made to check the export Of
specie from the United States; but
the commercial character of specie
and the facility with which the coins o.
one nation can be converted into thu
peculiar and distinctive denomination!
of another, have prevented the realiza
tion of that expectation. The relative
and commercial value of the peculiar
coinage of any country must and viii
be determined by the standard of th'
nation to which it may be sent, ,'and th'
laws of trade also will control values
despite all Legislative enactnents."-
Chicago Tribune.