Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-10
SILVER'S PARADOX
Representative Coombs States Some
Interesting Facts.
NO REAL DEMAND FOR FREE COINAGE
Revision Of Banking and Currency
Laws Wanted.
ATE BANKS OF ISSUE

Congressman William ]. Coombs Of Brook
Ign is unequivocally opposed to the free
coinage of silver. which is being so per-
sistently agitated by the free silver ele-
ment of the various parties throughout the
country.
In a conversation with a Star reporter
this morning Mr.. Coombs was asked his
opinion in regard to the attempt being made
to force the free coinage Of silver in this
country.
1.-The crusade in behalf Of the free coin
age of silver has some peculiar features
that are deserving of comment. It is
claimed that a majority Of our people want
silver and resent the discontinuance Of its
coinage. / find nothing to justify this
claim; but. on the contrary. 1 find that dur
ing the last four or five years, in which the
silver contest has been the hottest there
has been a growing ind.sposition on the
part of the people to use 1t as a medium
of exchange in their daily transactions.
This can best be Illustrated by the follow
ing comparison taken from the reports of
the Treasury Department:
I'VE find that in 1880, when the total
coinage of silver dollars was about three
hundred and e.ghty-one million, there were
In actual circulation among the people
over $bJ,000,00O. While at the present time,
when the coinage has been Increased to
nearly 100000 there is little less than
$34,OOO,G'D in circulation. A decrease of
more than 81 100000. In 1890 the percent
age of coined dollars in circulation was
about lt1a per cent. while today 1t is only
12H per cent. This falling off has not been
due to any lack of effort on the part of the
government to increase the circulation, for
the Treasury Department has at all times
stood ready to pay the freight on the silver
to any point in the United States. In fact,
large sums have been expended for that
purpose.
The Struggle to Maintain Parity.
I'm the meantime the government has
also expended immense sums in various
ways to maintain the parity between gold
and silver-and has maintained 1t up to
the present time. The claim, therefore, that
our stoppage of coming has limited It's
circulation must fall to the ground. We
nave coined eight times as much as the
people will take and In order to make the
other seyen-eighths available for the .pur--
pose OF the government. have been obliged
to resort to the expedient of issuing silver
certificates for the dollars that the people
refused to take into circulation.
III you want an object lesson go to the
treasury apd see the enormous vault full of
the coin that the people have rejected. was
there few days ago and saw that in order
to prevent the walls of the vault from
bursting open they had been obliged to
brace them from the outside. Why, think
OF it, the government has stored up In
the treasury in this city and in the va
rious subtreasuries of the country over
three hundred and sixty-nine million sill
yer dollars, which it holds awaiting the
demand for silver that we hear so much
about.
I'm addition to the coired dollarswe have
silver bullion that cost us more than one
hundred and twenty-four million dollars
that can be coined into money as soon as
the people have found use for the dollars,
already coined. Instead of drawing out any
OF 1t they are every month depositing more
and taking paper in its stead.
mo civilized nation of modern times has
sacrificed so much In the effort to main
tain the value of silver we have done.
We can do nothing further unless we are
prepared to sacrifice every other interest
to 1t.
No Effect on Prices.
'Tn view of the above statement, the ac-
curacy of which one will dispute, the
assertion that our stoppage of coinage
has had the effect Of lowering the price of
wheat, cotton or any other Of our products
has 10 foundation whatever. The long ar
ray of figures and fluctuations designed
to prove the contrary are found to he
worthless and misleading in face of the
fact that we have coined eight times
much silver as We can circulate. No one
in his senses will claim that the further
coming of silver dollars and storing them
up in the minis and treasury can have any
possible effect in the way of increasing the
Of the action Of other countries in mis-
matter n,av have baen wa csrtainIv have
had no share in IT 7 do not heIieye thai
there is any astahrsbed raIation hetwaan
tbe nrices of What and cotton and silver
tbev ara ali tbrae e-fvarned nv the iaws
Of supnIv and damand and are ,nfluancad
nv ths constaotiv cbangine conditions that
govern the world
an tho n,isieadinp statemaDt issuad nv
the silver onaaanda bv which n attemnts
70 show thai tha Iowaring Of the Dricas of
silver has Mad the efracf Of Iowerinp In
a corrasnondina degraa tho nr,cas of wheat
ami COTTON and which tbey illustrate NV
naralIeI coIrmns thew ignore every other
~ the forcaa that have inf1uancSd tha
world durira me last eeDeyation Let us
see whst tbav arc
Forces That Are Ignored.
1.-THE extending of the area of produc-
+,o., oo,aad h., tho h,,15,r, Of r.i,roods
io "
anu not oiiS LII our own country pu' IN
1udia. the ArgentineS, ana Chiie, as well
as the opening Oh inc oueh cahaL
NO cneapeniiis e.iect VI ooihpeei'ioii NOT
oaiiE LII iretsht' Dut III the proouo''on Vi
me Ear srucie llSetI.
saving machinerv Of ali kinds.