The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-16


The following question was sent 20 the
Morning News. with a request for an
/ answer:
| If silver was demonetized in 1913 for
/ the purpose Of preventing our national
/ currency from depreciatng. why was it
| demOnetized at a time when the output
I Of silver was not formidable, when no
| decline was threatened. and at a time
/ when the bullion value Of a silver dollar
was SLo2? J. Currie Thompson.
Cameron, Ga.
In 1873 the silver dollar was dropped
| from the list Of silver coins, but it was
not dropped to prevent "our national cur
rency from depreciating." 1t was dropped
| in recognition Of a condition that had
prevailed since 1894. There were no sill
yer dollars in circulation and had not been
| for many years. At the ratio Of l6 to l
| the silver dollar was worth about cents
more than the gold dollar and the silver
dollar, being worth more as bullion than
| as coin, had disappeared from circula-
ton. The small silver coins had not
gone out of circulation because they
were not worth more as bullion than as
| coins. The halves, quarters and dimes
remained In circulation after the silver
dollar had disappeared. because they are
cheaper money than the silver dollar
that is, two halves, four quarters. ten
dimes do not contain as much silver as
a silver dollar. They contain twenty
eight grains less. and they contain that
much less, in order that they shall re-
main in circulation-the cheaper always
stays in the hands of the people.
Nobody in 1878 thought the silver dollar
would ever be of less commercial value
than it was at that time. There was no
way in which 1t could be known. In 1873
gold, as already stated, was the real
standard money. and had been for more
than quarter of a century. 1t was the
standard of all civilized nations, and it
was believed that the time had come
in this country when the gold dollar
should be distinctly declared to be the
representative of the money unit"
The bill which authorized the dropping
of the silver dollar from the silver coins
was discussed for nearly three years, and
the discussion occupies IA columns of the
Congressional Globe. The people had no
objection 20 the dropping of the silver
dollar Only the older people had seen
a silver dollar, and besides it was the
more valuable dollar, and being a stand
ard dollar. might cause complications in
commercial transactions.
1t can readily be seen, therefore, that
the silver dollar was not dropped because
it was thought it would cause depre-
citation in our national currency but for
altogether different reasons.
And we should never have been both
cred by the silver question had not the
enormous output of silver caused the
commercial value of that metal to fall.
1t was in 1878 that the silver dollar be-,
| came less valuable commercially than the
gold dollar, and then the silver mine
owners began the agitation for the open
| ing of our minis to the free coinage of
silver. Owing to that agitation law
was enacted authorizing the coinage of
| 100000 silver dollars per snnum, and
the fun legal tender quality of silver dol
lars was restored. which quality they still
| have. Under that law, and the subse-
| auent Sherman law, the treasury has
been filled with silver dollars and silver
bullion, of which the government cannot
| get rid. And while the government was
coming 100000 silver dollars a year, and
afterwards buying 54,OOO.OOO ounces of sill
yer year, the commercial value of sill
yer. owing to its enormous production.
steadily declined, until now a silver dol
lar Is worth about 40 cents less than
gold dollar The government had finally
to abandon silver or permit silver to be-
come the standard money and our cur
rency TO become debased.
The great money mill between ex-Con-
gresham Roswell g. Horn and w. H. Har-
vey, author of the "Coin" books, will be-
gin in Chicago to-day. Each principal will
have ten assistants and one umpire. Tie
debate will be held upon a stage which
has been arranged pretty much as if the
impending contest were a battle with
five-ounce gloves, instead of battle of
brains. Messrs. Horn and Harvey will
take their places within a twenty-foot
ring. marked off, however. with desks and
| chairs, instead of posts and ropes. Mr.
Horr's assistants will be grouped on one
side of the ring and Mr.. Harvey's on the
other side. Presumably they will clasp
hands in the center of the ring. and then,
at the word will begin. metaphorically, to
slug each other with statistics. Mr.. Horr
goes into the contest with a decided
advantage. He once engaged in similar
bout with Senator Stewart, under some
what different circumstances, however
and knocked him out And besides, Mr..
Horn has the facts on his side.
A correspondent who talked with the
President ct Gray Gables the other day
learned from him that he does not take
much stock in the new woman" fad, and
that he does not expect that his daughters
will ever vote. The Cape Cod folks, &C
cordingto the correspondent, do not care
much whether the President and Mrs
Cleveland bring the little girls up with a
view to the exercising of the elective fran
chise, but they are particularly anxious
that the newest little Cleveland shall be
| 81 I've haf0ro eba Il