The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-04-20
and beneficial
health and happiness and possibly prlong
Free toinngr.
IGOMMUNICAIEb

Free CoinnEr.
[coMMUNICArEp
There was lately delivered before the
Legislature ut Harrisburg an address
against opening the mints to tho coinage
OF silver, In 1t was made the usual state.
manL that during the period OF frea coin
age. up to 1873 thai oniy eight millions OF
silver dollars were coined, evidently in
tobding to convey thaimpresslon that that
was all the silver that was coined. which
is false, as there was over onA hundred
III mlllion dollars worth of silver coined dur
ing that time.
The idea intended to be conveyed Is that
there is not much silver used anyhow.
I he argument however is OF no value; Tor
II that WAS oil the Ftlver was coined.
where Is the objection to free coinage?
The position assumed by these mon ID That
this country Is now on monometalisin; /
that we are not on blmetalism; that gold |
only Is money; that silver Is not money, /
| is also false. We are now on bimetaiisn. !
without the assistance Of any other coun.
| try and we do not want thc!r assistance. |
Every country" should DO free in its II nan
| cla matters and 1t would be wrong 10
bind ourselves by any agreement with
other nations, Moreover. II would not
amount TO row OF pins.
One Congress cannot bind another IN
such matters. There was Inade another
statement thnt the saving bank1 held
seventeen hundred millions OF dollars on
|, GepoSlt, when wOulu b6 Diminished very
muoh IN value II tho mints were opene
10 the courage OF silver. That also d
| false. The opening of the mints would
have no effect on theSr deposits. But II
the gold men could succeed in demone
t!zlnE silver agaID, as thoy did in 1873 then
these Institutions would make SOM hun
drel.s OF millions OIL OF the rOst OF tha
people, and especially oil oil the property
hOlGers.
l,,n tgaI ba n rp,il natltB
will permit any such sharp pructlea, Tor
when the American people found cat what
hUd hecu done 1T 1873 the Congress re.
munetiHed silver again. over President
Ilayes veto. by two-thlrds majority oil
buth houses Without regard to party.
1hey say that II our mnte were open 10
ths rolnapa OF both metals the States OF
Europe would dump their silver ON TINS
country.
Ihls, however, is a mere assertion, with
out shatOw of proof. The nutions OF
Europe would not be 80 slily as to part
with their silver. and none of them have
any 10 spare. much less, when their ratio
OF coinage Ia l5lg to |. would they send
II hero TO lie coined at rallo OF IL 10 /
But If they did tLey would not give IL
AWAY. The only way that they could Rai
1t into circulation would be by bdying
houses. lots and farms, which would
bring n hoom ut once by the increasing
quantity of money.
these men represent the views of the
| silver men as theoretical and tancll III
Bul 1t is not 3d. There ii struggle OF
real interest, with his satanic majesty OF
The gold side They would ike to double
their wealth by stroke OF the pen, with
out doing my work for it. and CORE
spopdDgiy decreasing the wealth ol
verybody else
Now, II they would destroy hnlt the
gold and half the silver, In order 70 III
uiense the value Of the other half, thai
would be bad enough; but they would ue
G slIoy oEly the silver.
Now silver has an entirely different
function TO perform IN the transaction oi
life which gold cauhutiill Silver Is need
Ell for all the myriad exchanges af com
. | mon life aud Is even OF more necesslt.
tlan gold lis absence then embafrasset et
all tile daily business oil lie. Now VII
make a proposition 10 these mon Which
will test their motives.
kB frnciionalsilver currency Is not lega
tender to any amount. why not open IN
mints to the coinage of minor coins
but they will not agree to this. Tor ma
would Increase the value oil silver bulllon
which the great money doalers do no
want.
They want TO buy cheap silver, and ar
making immense Iorlunes Mt 1t. lhcs
an men assert the fall In the value OF silVe
39 bullion measured in gold was due to opel
o0 production aud not to the closing OF th
% hints. They admit the law Of supply All
~ demand ruled tho price OF all other arr
s9 | cles aud it ID the Same with silver. An
~ | business man knows that when the u'
eo mand for an article OF general utility I
suddenly cut OIL the price will FALL )
80 when our mints refused to coin silver u
80 chief demand for IL ceased ut once.
30 When our mlnts were Closed to sllve
30 while they were open to gold. the relatis
90 price OF the two metals changed at ono
80 Silver bullion. compared with gold, Toll
10 eighty cents, aud afterwards when u
90 mints Of Indiu were closed 1t tell to ski
tI4aH iTif IA A