Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-08-29
Judge Thomas to the Rescue!


the silver question. to Judge w. j.
Kirk of jefferson county, which APP
peared in Fridays Republic. gives point
to our article of last week advocating
extra pay to the Federal officials now
engaged in saving the country.
In regard to the facts, we regret to
say that Judge Thomas is quite as
much confused as he imagines his
friend Judge Kirk to be. As a side
light to his I'd proposition, the Judge
might have stated that when the ratio
was changed from 10 to 1 to 16 to /,
| the gold in the gold dollar was re-
duced in quantity, and that under the
system of free coinage then prevailing
it was impossible for huctuation to car
ry the commercial value of either met
al below the ratio of 10 to /. because
our minis furnished an unlimited de-
mapd for both metals at that ratio.
That he is mistaken as to his fourth
proposition, that the coinage of gold
and silver has never been made party
issue, we appeal to every Democratic
platform, to every Democratic speech
that appears in the Congressional Rec
ord or elsewhere for the first fifteen
years after 1873, to bear witness. AS
| we'll say that thz tariff question was
not party issue because German and
Brice opposed Tariff Reform from the
beginning.
To his sixth proposition, we reply
that in 1878 the minis of this coun-
try were not opened to the coinage
of silver as money of final account.
Silver was, after that date, coined as
paper is coined.
In his seventh proposition, Judge
Thomas states that the worlds produc-
ton of silver was Ss1, 800. 900 in 1878,
and for the year 1892 $196, COS, 900
ian increase in 20 years of one hun
dred and forty per cent" We infer
that the Judge introduces this state
ment for the purpose of showing that
the production of silver has increased
so rapidly that it has ceased to be a
precious metal. Now, what are the
| actual facts? According to Mulhall.
| the London statistician, there were in
the world, in the year 1000, % tons of
silver to one of gold; in the year 100.
"a tons of silver to one of gold; in the
year 1900, 80 tons of silver to one OF
gold; in 1913, 81 tons of silver to one
of gold; 1880, IS tons of silver to one
of gold; in 1890, Is tons of silver to
one of gold So that silver, instead
of being more plentiful, is less plenti-
full, which fact Judge Thomas should
have stated-but perhaps he did not
know it to be a fact.
If, in his eighth proposition, Judge
Thomas had stated that silver, as
measured by every staple article not
trust protected, except gold, had re-
manned almost without fiuctuatiOn
since 1873, as it had before that time,
he would have stated a fact-gold hav-
ing risen since then, and silver re-
naming nearly stationary.
In his ninth proposition he states
that from 1892 to 1898 the government
coined only little over eight million
silver dollars. AS matter OF fact.
between the years 1906 and 1910 there
was coined at our minis of silver $52,-
1928, 1866; of gold, $25, 44O, 372. so.
Eight millions of this silver was coined
into silver dollars, and hundred and
lforty three million of dollars of foreign
silver coins circulated. in this country
at par.
His eleventh proposition, that prior
to 1873 we had 1.-TWO units of value, y
we deny as being wholly and absurdly
false. The law reads, ssdollars or
units, each to be of the value of a
Spanish milled dollar as the same is
now current, and to contain 3714
grains of pure, Or 416 grains of stand
ard, silver" This fixes the unit in
silver. In dealing with gold, the
same statute enacted that the Eagle
should be of the calue of ten dollars or
units. The unit was fixed in silver,
4 and the gold dollar had to conform in
value to that unit. The silver dollar
of 1892 bears upon its rim the legend,
''dollar or unit"
| In confirmation of our contention
that silver was the only unit, we call
the attention of Judge Thomas to the
fact that whenever a change in ratio
of the two metals was necessary, the
gold coin only was changed, thus show
ing that it had to conform to the silver
unit, which, being the thing itself
the dollar-could not be changed with
out violation of every contract made
under the laws of trade and commerce
Instead of this country having per-
capita circulation of $24.34, as stated
in his fourteenth proposition, it has
now per-capita circulation of little
over S. IS of money of final payment,
1. e., gold: there being $685.. 200. 900 of
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