The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1895-06-22
UNITED STATES MONEY.

EuStlSn money, UuO tHe cpuuio"
dollar had become the unit Of va.ue.
The continental congress in 1775
in issuing its bills of credit made
them payable in the Spanish dollar.
The law of 1910 made the silver
dollar legal tender at the ratio of
1921 to gold. In 1882 Thomas JEFF
ferson took up the subject of an
American monetary system and
after melting down large number
of Spanish dollars and dividing
them he struck the average of
3711 grains. He made the follow
ing report advising that there
should be a unit or dollar itself of
silver, the tenth of q dollar also of
silver, the hundredth ola dollar of
copper and gold piece equal in
value to ten dollars. He said: "The
dollar is known coin and the
most familiar of all to tho minds of
the people, has identified our cur
rency and therefore happily offers
itself as a unit already introduced.
Our public debt, our acquisitions
and their appointments have given
it actual and long possession of the
place of unit"
In accordance with these sugges.
tions made by Jefferson, Alexander
Hamilton in 1891, when secretary
of the treasury, reported that mas
terly paper which became the
foundation of the monetary system
of our country. He proposed the
free coinage of gold and silver,
that the dollar should be the unit
of value and contain 37l4 grains OF
pure silver, and he proposed that
the ratio of coinage between gold
and silver should be fixed by con-
gress at Is to 1. Hamilton, in this
paper, throws out the idea which
ought to be accepted unhesitatingly
now as it was accepted in 1892 by
our fathers, that no preference
out to be given to either of the
metals for ths monetary unit. He
like Jefferson, held clearly to the
idea that the American dollar
should be one, that it should be ex
pressed by 3714 grains of pure sill
yer end by 24.75 grains of gold.
| Let it be distinctly understood
that these two great leaders, repre-
senting in their natural organiza
tion Democracy and Republican
ism, both agreed on the doctrine o
bi-metallism and that their opin
ions were indorsed by Washington
by congress and the entire peopl,
of the then United States. Neithe
congress nor president stoopet
to ask England what money thi
new American nation should adopt
They created their own monetar,
system; they did not adopt pounds
shillings and pence, but they adopt
ed an American money, dollars
dimes and cents.
1t is interesting to recall the Ian
guage of Hamilton where he says
"a preference ought to be given t.
neither of the metals for the mon
etary unit because this cannot b.
done without destroying the of1ic
and character of one of them a
money and reducing it to the stu
alton of mere merchandise"
Mark how closely these grea
leaders followed the constitution
in their ideas of coming money an
regulating the value thereof an
using both gold and silver. Ham
ilton says: "To annul the use o
either of the metals as money is t
abridge the quantity of circulating
medium" 1t was for the good &
the people, for the ease in calcr
lati0n that Jefferson proposed tn
decimal system of money and ad
vOcated the free coinage of bot
gold and silver. In those days
and in all the days of this repupli
2 down to 1878, bi-metallism and tn
free coinage of gold and silver wa
J accepted by the people and recol
nized in all the laws passed pei
> tanning to the mint or to none!
No man living or dead ever pre-
sented a petition to congress
> have silver demonetized or tn
doctrine of bi-metallism adopte
2 by the fathers abolished. 1t VIZ
done in the interest Of the none
loaning centers of Europe and e
:, pecially of England. 1t was don
stealthily like the acts ofa thi'
i'm the night and now the peopl
are demanding that II new declara
ton of independence shall be d,
:. clared and we are fighting a final
cialrevolution to separate Ourselv'
: once more from the domination
q