The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-18
FREE COINAGE OF SILVER.


that we must have the same money
thai the other great commercial ma
lions have. We never stop TO investi-
| gate. This nation can have an in
dependent financial system without
any reference whatever to the balance
of the world, and can carry on its
own commerce by ocean and by land
with the other governments of the
! world Notwithstanding. We do not
now settle our balances with Europe
IN coin, except on its commercial value
and by weight Our coinage has moth
! ing to do with 1t. Primarily, balan-
ces of trade are settled with trade.
| We give them our wheat and we take
their silks and the balance that we
may owe them or that they may owe
us will be settled just as the merchant
between the importing paints may
! agree to settle. They can settle 1t n
gold for so much a pennyweight, as
measured in the money of their
! country or our country, or in so much
! silver or in so much copper, or SO
much of any other merchandise may
be agreed upon between them and
| their relations.
No International Money.
There is no such thing as an inter
| national money. What we are con-
tending for is the opening of the minis
to the free coinage of silver Ghey are
now open to the free and unlimited
! coinage of gold, and have never been
/ closed to that metal, and the estab-
! lishment OF bimetallism on those sim
pie and fixed principles that were
adopted by those statesmen who had
in view the interest of no class but
all the people. What we want is BIZ
metallism and scientific bimetalllsm
is this:
F'irst-Free and unlimited coinage of
both gold and silver, these two metals
to constitute the primary or redemp-
ton money of the government.
Second-The silver dollar of 31E
grains of pure silver to be the unit
of value, and gold to De coined into
money at a ratio to be changed if
necessary from time to time if the
commercial parity to the legal ratio
shall be affected by the action of for
eign countries
Third-The money coined from both
metals to be legal tender in the pay
ment of all debts
Fourth-The option as to which of
the two moneys is to be paid in liqui-
dation of a debt to rest with the debtor
and the government also to exercise
that option when desirable when pay
Ing out redemption money.
silver E[mHScuI1IeQs
The minis are now open to the I'M
limited coinage of gold. Such portion
of the product of that metal as does
not find an immediate demand to be
used in the arts and manufactures is
taken to the minis and coined into
money and becomes at once the object
for which all other products seek the
market. 1t thus has an unlimited mar
ket, as the minis are open TO all of it
that comes.
This was true also as to silver
prior to 1878, but by operation of Sec
ton Is of the act of that year the
minis were closed to the unlimited
coinage of that metal. Hence when
silver now seeks the markets and eX-
hausts the demand supplied by the arts
and manufactures and the small pur-
chaSeS Of the government to coin it
into token money, the demand for it
ceases. Silver is now a commodity. to
be measured in gold. 1t is an object to
be gored and kicked by bulls and bears.
It is shut out from the United States
mint. It is token money. 1t has been
deprived of that unlimited demand it
enjoyed prior to 1873. We would re-
store it to that unlimited demand; we
would open the minis to it again: we
would leave the minis open to gold
as they are now; we would give silver
the same privileges as gold. Restoring
to it this unlimited demand would
cause the value Of silver to rise as
compared with gold. This is what we
want; this is what we would do.
We would again make the standard
silver dollar the unit of value as 1t
was before 1873. 1t would thus be a
dollar and the bullion in it would be
worth dollar as the number of grains
OF bullion in a dollar, would have the
right to walk into the mint and be
coined into a dollar. No man would
take less for it when he could have it
coined at pleasure into a dollar. We
would make gold coins of the value of
so many silver units or dollars. as the
law existed prior to 1873.
The Peoples Money.
Silver is the peoples money. It
was so regarded by our forefathers
and was the favored money Of the !
two. II was given the position Of |
honor in the coinage of our two met
ais by having the unit Of value made |
from it and gold, its companion metal, |
measured in it. Gold was and is the |
money of the rich. This was to be |
a government of the people and the |
peoples money was to be the most IA
vored. Twice when the commercial |
ratio of the two metals made it adj |
ratio, the change was made
by recoining the gold coins.
This was in 1884 and 1887. The spirit
Of our forefathers then lived in their
sons The gold coins were changed in
weight and size. In 1884, the gold
eagle had II grains taken out of 1t.
IN 1887, the gold eagle had two-tenths
IF grain added to 1t. No change
was ever made in the quantity OF
pure silver in the silver unit. There
vas to be no two yard sticks. The
,ich mans money-gold-was recoined
when the commercial ratio interfered
With the legal ratio. This is the law
We would re-enact.
We would make both legal tender in
he payment of all debts. We would
-epeal the law of 1873 and the Sher-
nan law of 1890, authorizing contracts
bonds, notes and mortgages), to be
AIKEN payable only in gold. We
would allow no discrimination to be
made between the legal tender char
.cter of the two metals.
No Private Dictatton.
We would allow no private individual
o dictate to the government what its
sgaI tender money should be. We
7ould place the white metal on an
cual footing with the colored metal,
without regard to previous condition
( race or servitude."
We would give the option to the
ebtor if there was any preference as
D which of the Swo ne would use in
be payment of a debt. A break in the
parity causes the cheaper
letal to be used. This increases the