Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-05-21

nearly corresponding TO the real val
! ues, and both failed-in one case be-
cause silver was Over-vauled, and in
/ the other case gold. A very small
/ difference between the legal ratio and
| the commercial ratio has always been
sufficient to drive the under-valued
metal entirely out, and no Congress
nor Parliament can alter the natural
| law Of trade by which this movement
| Of the metals is governed.
In 1883 Congress reduced the weight
/ Of the metal contained in subsidiary
coins and made them legal tender only
/ in the payment Of sums not exceeding
| five dollars in amount. The value of
the bullion in two half dollars, four
/ quarters, or ten dimes was not equal
to either a gold or silver dollar, and
| consequently these small limited legal
| tender coins went into circulation and
remained in use until expelled by the
/ cheaper paper currency issued during
the war; not being full legal tender,
/ they could not drive out the gold
coins.
THIS WAS THE CONDITION
of our monetary system in 1873. Our
legal position was bimetallic, but our
actual measure of value was gold, and
our actual circulating medium was
paper, with a purchasing power meas
ured by the gold standard. We had
no silver and it had no influence what
ever on our prices, or on our ability
to pay debts. There was never in our
whole history one-third as much legal
tender silver in use in the United
States at one time as there is now, an6
it is used without depriving us of all
our gold. which was never done before.
Silver is not demonetized in this cOUn-
try, but its coinage has been so limit
ed and regulated that its purchasing
power has been preserved. I'repeat
that silver is not demOnetiZed, and
the question presented is not whether
it shall be demOnetized in the future,
but whether the mints of the United
States shall be thrown open to all the
silver in the world to be coined into
legal tender dOllaTs-legal tender in
the United States Only-at 16 to 1.
Free coinage at Is to means that
any owner of silver bullion may have
it coined. at the public expense, into
dollars each containing 41215 grains of
standard silver. the dollars when coined
to be delivered to the owner OF the
bullion, and all the people of the United
States to be compelled by law to re-
ceiye them as dollars in the payment
Of debts, although not intrinsically
worth more than fifty cents each.
Sixteen pounds of silver cannot be
exchanged for one pound Of gold any
where in the world, but it requires
about 80 pounds of silver to procure l
pound of gold everywhere. The value
of gold is determined by its purchas-
ing power in the markets of the world,
and the value Of silver is determined
in the same way.
In the United States 16 pounds of
silver. coined into dollars. viii now
purchase as much as I pound of gold
coin. because the government is bound
by good faith and positive declarations
in the statutes. to maintain the parity
of the two metals. But, if the present
system Is TO be abolished so that pri-
vate individuals can have their own
bullion coined at the public expense
and have the coins delivered to them
for their private use. the government
would be under no obligation whatever
legal or equitable. to keep them as
good as gold and, in fact, it would
be impossible for it to do so, because
the coinage would be unlimited and the
volume of silver i'm circulation would
become so great in proportion to the
GID the government could procure that
lhe attempt would necessarily fail. The
most extreme advocates of free coinage
have not yet venured to suggest that
the government would be under any
obligation to guarantee or maintain
the value of silver dollars coined with
out charge fer private parties and
without such guarantee it is clear the
dollar would be worth no more than
the commercial value of the bullion
contained in it. just as the Mexican
dollar is now. Those of us who
OPPOSE THE FREE COINAGE
Of silver at 16 to 1 are proposing no
change in the measure of value exist
ing. nor TO discontinue the use Of silver
as money. know that silver cannot be
kept in circulation along with gold by
means of any ratio the law of any
one country may attempt to establish
of both is to make one the standard
and so limit the coinage of the other
that the government may be able to
maintain their eXchangeability. l am
i'm favor of the preservation Of the eX-
listing standard value with such use OF
full legal-tender silver coins, and paper
convertible into coin on demand, as can
be maintained without impairing or en-
dangering the credit of the govern
ment or diminishing the purchasing or
debt-paying power of the money in the
hands of the people. This is what l
mean by the term sound money
Free coinage at Is to 1 would at once
establish silver mOuOmetallllsm. How
long do you suppose the $625,O0O,OOO Of
gold in the country would remain here
and be used as money? The great
financial institutions. which own and
hold the greater part Of this gold,
would sell it for silver-abOut two dol
lars for one dOllar-Or they would eX-
change it for silver bullion in the mar
ket at the ratio of about 50 pounds OF
silver for each 1 pound of gold, have
the 80 pounds of silver coined into dol
lars at tie expense of the people, and
with this cheap money pay the demands
of their depositors and other creditors.
The masses of the people cannot do
this. for they have no gold nor have
they any silver bullion to be coined
at the expense of the government.
But it is said that although the
masses Of the people have no bullion,
many Of them are in debt and that the
free coinage of silver would increase
prices and give them more money, thus
enabling them to discharge their obli-