The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-02-05
THE STANDARD sILvER DOLLAR.

THE STANDARD SILVER DOLLAR.
Some very pertinent questions as to
the status of the silver dollar have
been propounded to the supposed sill
yer oracle Of the mountains, but which
has promulged more errors on that and
other questions than any paper in the
west. In it's accustomed serpentine
style it squirms away from them and
at the same time pretends to meet
them.
The inquirer very respectfully calls
| for the provisions of law which de-
monetize the silver dollar; which make
the "silver dollar int use but a sub
sidiary coin;;" which compel it to lean
render it "but as an evidence of the
I government indebtedness, which upon
presentation must be redeemed in
goId;" all those statements and other
similar idiocies have been repeatedly
uttered by the Tribune, and the quer-
list asks where the warrant for them
can be found, because he is anxious to
verify them if they are true.
| Instead of quoting the law, as de-
sired, the Tribune merely repeats the
palpable untruth that the silver dol
lar is "a mere auxiliary. or more
properly speaking, a token COIN And
all it can cite in proof Of its absurd
| ity is, that though the law does ''in
direct words make silver dollars ''a
legal tender for all its debts" yet the
government holds itself ready to pay
all demands upon it in gold, and, there
fore, it jumps to the conclusion that
"silver dollars are but as the solvent
mans check"
Not line of law. which
was what was asked for, is
tquoted in answer to the request.
If silver dollars are demonetized their
debasement must have been effected
by law and the law must be quotable.
Where is it to be found? Not word
comes in reply but, instead, a batch
of the sorry sophistry which the Trib-
une so often offers for logic. The prac-
tice Of the Treasury department in
paying out gold when the law merely
Requires payment in coin, is cited as
though that was a law demonetizing
silver!
1t is we'll known that the theory be-
hind the practice which has been fol
lowed of paying out gold on the op-
ton of the holder of bonds or Treasury
notes was to preserve the parity OF
the two metals as money. That in it.
self is dead against the inference
drawn from it by the Tribune
AS to the law it is very plain. The
act of 1873 did demonetize the silver
dollar in that it stopped its coinage
: and limited its legal tender power. But
the act of 1878 remedied the anti
coinage feature partly and the lega
tender matter wholly. The silver dol
lar was restored as money of the
United States. And thus it stands to,
day. It is dollar, not promise to pay
a dollar. 1t is not a token of a dollar
but dollar in its own right. It is
not subsidiary, but absolutely United
States money, good for its face in 1t:
metallic sovereignty as a dollar. Here
is the language of the law:
"That there shall be coined, at tn,
several minis of the United States
silver dollars Of the weight of fou
hundred and twelve and a half grains
Troy of standard silver, as provided il
: the act Of January eighteenth, eighteel
I hundred and thirty-seven, on which
l shall be the devices and superscrip
I tons provided by said act; which coin
together with all silver dollars hereto
fore coined by the United States, O
like weight and fineness, shall be
5 legal tender, at their nominal value
t for all debts and dues. public and PR
Y vate, except where otherwise eX
v pressly stipulated in the contract"
s This was intended to and did actu
: ally restore the silver dollar to it
status existing before the act of 1877
and as defined in the act of 1887, an,
the title of the law shows that it wa
a for that purpose:
r Gan act to authorize the coinage O
Il the standard silver dollar and to re
9 store it's legal tender character"
Thus the silver dollar was mad
money again to all intents and pun
: poses. The only difference as to silve
: as a metal was that it could not b
: coined as before 1873 in unlimited guam
: titles. But the silver dollar was rein
stated as the standard money of tn
country, d dollar in its own right
not subsidiary CON- as is shown b
!, Preference to the Subsidiary coinage
n in the same act.
When the term demonstration c
: silver is used, then, it must only refe
to the white metal as a commodity
It cannot be taken to the mint by tn
owner and coined on demand into do
lars. But when silver is coined int
Il dollars, every one of those coins, wit
q all that have heretofore been coine
e of the fneness designated by law,
it a standard silver dollar, money of til
is United States, on a parity with tn
lgoid dollar and needs no redemption