St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-05-09

| to attach the unit exclusively to either
| of the metals, because this cannot be
done effectually without destroying the
| office and character of one of them as
money, and reducing it to the situa-
| ton of
A MERE MERCHANDISE,
| which accordingly at different times
has been proposed. from different and
very respectable quarters, but which
| would probably be a greater evil than
occasional variations in the unit from
| the fluctuations in the relative value
| of the metals; especially if care be
taken to regulate the proportion be-
| tween them with an eye to their av-
erage' commercial value.
|
THE conclusion to be drawn from
the observations which have been
made on the subject is this: That
| the unit in the coins of the United
States ought to correspond with "a
! grains and q of a grain of pure gold
and with 81 grains and 4 of a grain
J of pure siver, each amounting to a
dollar in the money of account" In
| asmuch as the number of grains in
| a silver dollar was suggested to be
! exactly fifteen times the number of
| grains in gold dollar, Mr.. Hamilton's
report necessarily recommends the
adoption of a bimetallic system at
the ratio of 10 to l, and his sugges-
tions are certainly of greater value
than those made by others years be-
| fore that time. Based upon the Ham
ilton report congress enacted the law
of April 2, 1892, sections and II of
which read as follows:
Section 8. There shall be from time
| to time struck and coined at said mint
coins of gold, silver and copper, of the
! FOLLOWING DENOMINATIONS,
| values and descriptions, viz: Eagles,
each to be of the value of ten dollars
| or units, and to contain 247 4-S grains
| CT pure or 270 grains of
standard gold. Half of the eagles,
| each to be of the value of s., and to
! contain l23 6-8 grains of pure or 135
| grains of standard gold. Quarter ca
/ giles, each to be of the value of $3.50,
and to contain 61B grains of pure or
67 As grains of standard gold. Dol
lars or units, each to be of the value
! OF a Spanish milled dollar as the same
| is now current, and to contain 81
! grains and AIS parts of a grain of
| pure or 416 grains of standard silver
Half dollars, each to be of half the
value of the dollar or unit and to con-
tain 1S5 grains and 1916 parts OF a
grain of pure or 20S grains of standard
) silver. Quarter dollars, each to be of
one-fourth the value of the dollar or
unit and to contain 92 grains and
1916 parts of a grain of pure or
104 grains of standard silver. Half
dimes, each to be of the value of one
twentieth of dollar, and to contain
IS grains and 9-16 parts of
grain of pure or 20 grains and as
parts of a grain of standard silver.
!, hundredth part of a dollar, and to con-
! tain II pennyweights of copper. Half.
| cents, each to be of the value of half
a cent, and to contain 5 pennyweights
and half a pennyweight of copper.
| Sec. IL. That the proportionate
value of gold to silver in all coins
which shall by law be current as mon
ey within the United States shall be 10
to l. according to quantity in weight
| of pure gold or pure silver; that is to
say, every fifteen pounds weight of
! pure silver shall be of equal value in
| pure gold, and SO in proportion as to
any greater or less quantities of the
respective metals.
! A careful reading of Secretary Ham
| ilton's report and the act of April 2.
1892, cannot fail to convince that con-
gress substantially adopted and en-
acted all his views on the subject,
as it would be very apt to do when his
views agreed with those of
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
1t is true that congress did not pro-
vide for the coinage of gold dollar
of "a grains and q of grain, for the
reason that it would be too small to
be practicable for use and because, as
suggested by Hamilton in the same re-
port, I'm small payments it is not
perceived that any inconvenience can
accrue from an entire dependence on
the silver and copper coins. The
chief indictment to the establishment
of the small gold piece is to have a
sensible object in that metal as well
as in silver, to express the unit. Fifty
thousand at a time in circulation may
suffice for this purpose"
1t has been suggested and seems to
be true that if the provision for the
omitted we would still have had
unit of one tenth of the eagle or 24s4
grains of gold, as recommended by
! Mr.. Hamilton, as the idea was to have
the value or denomination made equal
in gold and silver. 1t was intended
by Hamilton and the act of 1isz to
have free and unlimited coinage of gold
| and silver after deducting one-half of
I ny1n cot s1AI ~
ratio Of 10 to l, the then commercial
values of the two metals, and both were
made a legal tender for all debts 1t
is undoubtedly true that the Spanish
milled dollar, as it was then current,
was the starting point and the number
of grains to compose gold dollar was
ascertained by dividing the number
of grains in the silver units by Is,
but this does not alter the fact that
units were expressed in gold and silver
On the contrary, it seems to show that
both were made units of value The
word unit" was employed as the
equivalent of dollar, and the dollar was
to consist of either one of two different
things-one-tenth part of A7s4 grains
of gold, or Bin grains of silver, just
as equal values might be embodied in
given weights of any two given COM
modities such as wheat or corn.
A UNIT OF VALUE
Is the unit in which values are ex-
pressed; the values of both gold and
silver are expressed in the act of 1892
so we had two units of value. If both
had not been so expressed we could
not have had bimetallism. The unit
is simply the starting point in the
reckoning of money. In England the
unit is the pound sterling, in Germany
the mark, in France the franc, while
section 20 of the act of 1872 provides
that the money of account of the
United States shall be expressed in
dollars and units etc.
The language of the proposition SUBJ
mitted for decision is not as clear
and satisfactory as might be desired,
but / am of the opinion that under the
act of 1882 the unit was to be the dollar.
The value of this unit was to be meas
ured In both gold and silver, 24a4