Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1895-10-25
BURROWS POSITION.
THE MICHIGAN SENATOR ARGUES
AGAINST FREE COINAGE.

aud Cause - Disastrous I'anic-Ecsuit
OF Having Tu" Dollars OF Different Val
ucs--Iviis of IA Silver basis.
In.hu address, delivered at BY View,
/ h;ich., Senate: Burrows Of Michigan
vigorously opposed The free coinage ful-
lacy and upheld our plr cnt financial
! system. After reviewing our mometury
/ Legislation be said
. In the first place the free and I'M
limited coinage of silver at rs to !
would in my Judgment expcl from our
circulation rot only oUi entire volume Of
gold, but every dollar oi papcr money
rcdcemablc in gold, and cause ii contrac-
,iCn Of the currency and II resultant
panic tho like Of which has net been
seen in this generation.
'"This would follow no the inevitable
result Of that law Of monetary science
which where two moneys are issued of
unequal value the cheaper will always
rxrcl Tic dcarcr from circulation II
certainly Needs no argument to- DEMON.
strate tie truth Of the proposition that
If two dollars are issued. onG worth 30
cents and the o.hcr 100 cents, tho 80
cent dollar will hc the only dollar in
circulation and the 100 cost dollar will
he hOarticI by the banks and Individuals
until tie whole volume uf such currency
entirely disappears. This law is uf uni
vcrsal application and las SIS origin in
human na;mo itself No debtor owing
800 would discharge that Indebtedness;
i'll the mono valuable of two moneys lie
would surely make use Of the chcaptr
and retain TIE 1rarcr. 1t WAS the knowl-
edge Of this law that guided the fathers
III fixing tho ratio in Inc beginning Ut
IL to ].
''fhcy knew that dollars Of UNEQUAL
commercial value could not he made 10
circulate permanently side by side, aud
So. having usceriaincd that 2la, grains
of pare gold were Of equal value with
~ i gains If pure silver, they pro-
vidCd for tic coinage Of these two net
ais into dollars at the ration OF Is to /.
But tie truth of this principle has been
demonstrated over ami over again even
IN our own history. Tho gold and silver
coins issued ut the ratio of 10 10 un-
der the act of 1892 shortly became uf
uncqual commercial value, the bullion
Than the bullion in the silver dollar.
The silver dollar became cheaper than
the gold dollar, and tie consequence
was that oliver alone circulated and
gold Erii,i,mliy disappeared Indeed.
ai!u for the same reason, the coinage Of
gold declined. for the 2iai eiains of
pure gold provided for i'll the gold dol
lar wore worth moro ucoincd than
when coined, and therefore its coinage
naturally ccnacd, AMI silver bullion
alone found its way to tho minis of tho
United States.
1t remains only Ia he inquired what
would be the probable effect uf adopting
the silver dollar of 37i;a grains ms our
single standard Of valuc. The first and
most patent result, as already noticed,
would ho to drive from oar riicn la,inu
avery other dollar Of superior value.
whether Of coin or paper. Oar 5000
U0o, 600 of gold, constituting mc-thirh
ut the entire volume Of uur. money.
would he quickly eliminated from, our
circulation by being bearded az sent
abroad. followed by The ret irrncnt Of
our #lc0, o00. o00 Of paper currency ro-
'iccn,ab!c in gold, producing cuutrac-
ton ri the currency, uneXamplcd in uur
history. of over LOCO, O0O. COO. TO DO
followed by II financial comvnlsion uu-
prcccdcntcd in modern times. 1t Will
not do To say that with FREQ and unlin,-
it"d collage this vacuum would To
qui Sly supplied, for it would require
~ years. with the present capacity uf
en- "ihts, to replace This vast volume
nj currency with silver.
This consideration alone mglt to be
sufficient to deter us from vcntmring
npun such IL hazardous policy Moro
than this. The silver dollar of Blk
grains produced under FREQ coinage and
not maintained ut IL panty with tho gold
dollar, rs IL surely would NOT be, would.
as we have seen, at once sink to the level
ni its bullion valua and be worth only
about 10 cents. Every depostor in saw
inSs national and state banks, the hold
ors of policies i'll life, fire and al other
insurance companies, Investments III
loan and building associations, represent
ed by great body of people Numbering
more than 20, 600, 900. would be forced
to receive i'll return for their deposits,
premiums and Investments Il dollar of
only ono-half the value Of that with
which they parted, 10 tho enormous and
mcalculable advantage of these great
corporations. Suppose an importer of
| foreign goods should become indebted to
the government of the United States i'll
the sum of $4,000 for customs dues,
what wouid prevent him from purchase
ing 5000 of silver bullion and under
FREQ coinage comforting it into 10, 900
silver dollars; aid with these liuuidato
tho Indebtedness to tho government!
Every rensioner would find his mcager
stipend lcsScned enc half. ard many of
them would be reduced to hcggary Not
only this, hut I'LL the recipients Of fixed
salaries, every clerk, tcacEer, railway
| employee and receiver OF cd in
come would ho forced TO take money
which iii prCcn,ng the necessities of
life for himself and family would pos
seSs only enc half of its former purchas-
ing power, for it must he icmeinhc. I'd
the price of everything would advance
Us tho Value of our money dec lined