The record-union., 1895-05-22

them. Neither law nor custom requires
that the particular clauses of bills in Con-
gress should be noticed by people who
are not members of Congress. The clause
in question was not mere omission of
one coin from list of coins. AS the bill
passed the House and went to the Senate
it was in these words:
THAT the silver coins of the United
States shall be dollar, half-dollar or
50-cent piece, Quarter-doilar or 25-cenr
piece, dime or lO-cent piece; and the
weight of the dollar shall be 1884 grains;
the half-dollar, quarter-dollar and dime
shall be respectively One-half, one-quar-
ter and one-tenth Of the weight of said
dollar, which coins shall be legal tender
for their nominal value for any amount
not exceeding S. in any one payment"
Another section of the bill provided
that no other silver coins than these
should be issued from the mint. And
third clause said that the gold dollar
should be the unit OF value. Here were
three distinct notifications, and each was
sufficient to call attention to the fact that
all silver coins were hereafter to be SUBJ
sidiary and not full legal tender. But
attention was called 10 1t in other ways.
-Four members OF the House (Clarkson y.
Potter. w. l.. Stoughton, Samuel Hooper
and William d. Kelley discussed the
omission of the silver dollar and the con-
seQuent establishment OF the single gold
standard i'll the House on the 9th of April,
1872.
MIR. Hooper said: GAS the value of
the silver dollar depends on the market
price of silver, which varies according 10
the demand and supply, it is now lntrin-
sically worth. as before stated, about three
cents more than the gold dollar. By the
Act of January Is, 1887, the standard of
silver coins was increased to nine hum
dred thousaudths tine, which reduced the
weight of the dollar from four hundred
and sixteen to four hundred and twelve
and half grains; the amount OF pure
silver, however, remained the same,
namely, three hundred and seventy-one
and one-tourIh grains. The committee,
after careful investigation, concluded
that twenty-five and eight-tenths grains
oil standard gold constituting the gold
dollar should be declared the money
unit or metallic representative of the
dollar Of account. t."-Congressional Globe,
Second Session, Forty-second Congress,
p. 2,305.
y =
Section 16 re-enacts the provisions of
existing laws defining the silver coins
and their weights respectively. except In
relation to the silver dollar, which Is re-
duced in weight from four hundred and
eighty-four grains, thus making it sub
diary coin i'll harmony with the silver
coins of less denomination, to secure its
concurrent circulation with them. The
silver dollar of four hundred and twelve
and half grains, by reason OF its bullion
or intrinsic value being greater than It's
nominal value, long since ceased 10 be a
coin of circulation, and was melted by
of silverware. 1t does not
,iarn oil fro or
with any country, and the convenience OF
those manufacturers In this respect can
better be met by supplying small stand
ard bars of the same standard, avoiding
the useless expense of coming the dollar
for that purpose. The coinage of the half
dime is discontinued for the reason that
its place is supplied by the copper-ulckel
tive-cent piece, of which large issue has
been made, and which, by the provisions
of the Act authorizing its issue, is redeem
able in United States currency" Ibid,
2, BOG.
Mr.. Stoughton said: aside from the
three-dollar gold piece, which is devia-
ton from our metrical ratio, and there
fore Objectionable, the only change in the
present law is IN more clearly specifying
the gold dollar as the unit of value. This
was probably the intention and, per-
haps, the effect OF Act OF March 3, lo49,
but 1t ought not be left to inference or I'M
plication. The value of silver depends,
in large measure, upon the fluctuations
of the market, and the supply and de-
mand. Gold is practically the standard
OF value among all civilized nations, and
the time has come in this country when
the gold dollar should be distinctly de-
clared to be the coin representative OF the
money unit."-Ibid., p. 2,3OS.
Mr.. Potter said: ''Then, in the next
place, this bill provides for making of
changes in the legal tender coin OF the
country, and for substituting as legal
tender coin of only one metal instead as
heretofore of two. l think myself this
would be wise provision, and that legal
tender coins, except subsidiary coins,
should be of gold alone; but why should
we legislate on this now when we are not
using either of those metals as circulat-
ing medium? The bill provides also for
q change in respect of the weight aud
value of the silver dollar, which L think
is a subject, which, when we come to re-
quire legislation at all, will demand at
our hands very serious consideration.
and which, as we are not using such coin
for circulation now, seems at this time to
be an unnecessary subject about which
to legislate." Ibid. p. 2,3l0.
Mr.. Kelley said: II wish to ask the
gentleman who has just spoken Mr.. Pot
ter) ii he knows OF any Government in
the world which makes its subsidiary
coinage Of full value? The silver coin of
England is 10 per cent. below the value of
gold coin. And, acting under the advice
of the experts of this country, and OF
England and France, Japan has made
her silver coinage, within the last year,
II per cent below the value OF gold coin.
and for this reason: 1t is impossible TO
retain the double standard. The value
of gold and silver continually fluctuate.
You cannot determine this year what
will be the relative values OF gold and
silver next year. They were Is to l a
short time ago; they are 16 to now.
Hence all experience has shown that
YOU must have one standard coin, which
shall be- a legal tender for all others, and
then you may promote your domestic con-
venience by having subsidiary coinage
of silver, which shall circulate in all parts
of your country as legal tender for
limited amount, and be redeemable at its
face value by your Government" Ibid,
p. 2,316.
The proposed dollar of 3s4 grains, which
had been inserted in the bill because it
was exactly the weight OF two half dollars,
and almost exactly the weight of the
French five-frano piece, was stricken out
by the Senate and the trade dollar OF 420
grains was inserted in its place. This
was coin intended to circulate in China.
1t was considered to be convenient in
got for the sale of American silver to
oriental countries. and was made little
heavier than the Mexican dollar in order
to supersede that coin i'll the far East.
The law of 1873 was not passed secretly
or silently, or without due consideration.
The silver dollar was an obsolete coin.
Not one man in ten of mature years had
ever seen one. 1t was worth two or three
cents more than the gold dollar. Nobody
could anticipate tnat it would be worth
less than the gold nollar. The law of
1873 was enacted by the people of the
United States, in the only way they ever
enact law. 1t has remained on the
statuta book nearly q quarter of cen.