The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-09

Chicago, May S.-The Hon. William
A Vincente has decided the bet made
by two we'll known Democrats of this
city, ex-Mayor Hopkins and William
S. Forrest, as to the unit of value
from 1892 to 1875. Mr.. Vincente was at
one time chief justice of the supreme
court of New Mexico and was removed
by President Cleveland owing to his ap-
pointment of Stephen Dorsey as jury
commissioner.
During a recent discussion at the
Iroquois club between Hon. Washing
ton Hesing, Hon. John P. Hopkins,
Sigmund Zeisler and W. S. Forrest, the
trUthfulness of certain statements in
regard to the unit of value in the
United States from 1892 to 1875 was
questioned. This argument resulted in
a controversy, which, by agreement of
the parties, was referred to Judge Vim
cente for decision.
In his decision he says in part:
In April 1870, Congress referred GER
tain matters relating to the establish
ment of mint to Alexander Hamilton,
Then secretary of the treasury. On
January %, 1871, he communicated the
result of his inquiries and reflections
TO the House of Representatives This
report is an exhaustive treatise on the
subject of currency, on which Hanlil-
ton was almost universally conceded to
be the best informed and most pro-
found student of the nation
Hamilton evidently asked Thomas
Jefferson to examine the report and
express his judgment on it, because in
February, 1892, or two months before
the passage Of the act under discus
sion, Jefferson wrote TO Hamilton: I
return you tie report on the mint,
which 1 have read over with a great
deal of satisfaction. concur with you
in thinking that the unit must stand
on both metals, that the alloy should
be the same in BOTH also in the pro-
portion you establish between the
value of the two metals
Under the question, What ought to
be the nature of the money unit Of
the United States?' Hamilton says,
among other things: AS long as gold,
either from its intrinsic superiority a.
a metal, from it's greater rarity, or
from the prejudiceS of mankind re-
ta1ns so considerable a pre-eminence
in value over silver, as it has hitherto
had, natural consequence of this
seems to be that its condition will re-
main more stationary The revolu-
tons, therefore, which may take place
In the comparative value of gold and
silver will be changes in the state Of
the latter, rather than in the former.
But, on the whole, it seems to be most
advisable, as has been observed, not
to attack the unit exclusively to either
OF the metals, because this cannot be
done effectually, without destroying it
10 the situation of a mere merchan-
disc, which, accordingly, at different
times, has been proposed from differ
ent and very respectable quarters, but
which would probably be a greater
0xr
unit, from the fluctuations in the rela-
tive values Of the metals; especially
II care be taken to regulate the pro-
portion between them, with an eye to
their average commercial value
Tine 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
threee-fourths of a grain of pure gold
and with 81 grains and one-fourth Of
a grain Of pure silver, each answering
to a dollar in the money of account
"InaSmuch as the number of grains
IN a silver dollar was suggested to be
exactly fifteen times the number of
grains in a gold dollar, Mr.. Hamilton's
report necessarily recommends the
adoption of a bimetallic system at the
ratio of Is to l, and his reflections are
made by others years before that time.
Based on the Hamilton report. Con-
sress enacted the law Of April 2, 1892.
"A careful reading of Secretary Hamil-
tons report and the act Of April , 1892 |
cannot fail to convince that Congress sub
stantially adopted and enacted all of his
views agreed with those OF Thomas Jeffer-
son.
1T is true that Congress did not pro-
vide for the coinage of a gold dollar Of
a grains and three-QuarterS of a grain, |
as they had recommended, probably for
the reason that it would be too small for
Ilse, also because, as suggested by Hamil-
ton in the same report, In small pay
can accrue from an entire
coins. The chief inducement to the estab-
lishment of the small gold piece is to have
a sensible object in that metal, as well
as in silver. to express The unit Fifty
at a time in circulation, may
suffice for this purpose.
1T has been suggested, and seems 70 be
true, that if the provision Of the silver
dollar in the act of 1892 has been omitted,
we would still nave had a unit of cne-
tenth of the eagle. or 24S4 grains of goId
as recommended by Hamilton, as the idea
was to have the value OF denomination
made equal in gold and silver. 1t was
intended by Hani:lton's report and the act
of 1892 to have free and unlimited coinage
of gold and silver after deducting one
half of one per cent, as in said act pro-
vided, at the ratio of Is 10 l at the then