The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-24

THE MORNING
dollars. IL would break the government 10
undertake 10 keep them at value greater
than the value OF the silver bullion put
into them. First, We limited their coin
age under the Bland-Allis0n act 10 $780,
U1J worth a month Then, under the Sher-
man act of 1880. We increased the purchase
Of silver 10 4.50o.000 ounces per month.
This began TO make the quantity so
large that the ability OF the government
TO sustain them was threatened. General
distrust was caused and it became nee
essary to repeal the Sherman act. which
was putting silver on the government so
fast Now we have the quantity mention
ed. but have stopped buying more bullion
and are gradually coming the bullion we
have already bought, buying no more
bullion, except for subsidiary silver.
The proposition is to take off all limit
as to coinage: to withdraw the govern
ment support of silver; to let any man
who has silver bullion, worth 30 cents,
have it stamped 100 cents.
Without government support 412ia
grains of silver and the new silver dol
lar would be of the same exchanges BILE
value. The question. therefore is: What
effect would free coinage have on silver
bullion2 Would 412ls grains Of silver be-
come worth as much as 25.S grains OF
gold? Would free coinage give il an ex-
changeable value equal to our present
dollar in the markets of the world? II
the value of silver is not doubled by
free coinage, than the exchangeable
value of our new silver dollar must drop
to the actual value of the silver put into
it. We would not have bimetallism, but
gold dollar worth twice as much as
the silver dollar. and the silver dollar
would become the standard measure of
value, driving the gold dollar out of cir
culation. We would reduce our standard
one-half
When the act of 1872 was passed. Jeffer-
son and Hamilton both determined to make
the new gold and silver dollars equal in
value to the then standard of measure
ment. which was a dollar equal to 24%
grains of gold. They recognized the fact
that the exchangeable value of a coined
dollar must be controlled by the COM
mercial value of the bullion put into IL.
Therefore they undertook to find how
many grains of silver, uncoined, We're
commercially equal in value to 24s4 grains
of gold They decided that it required Is
times as many. and multiplying 2424 by 10
placed @lA grains of silver in a dollar.
This undervalued gold. For the first few
years, owing largely to the lack of quick
international communication, it circulated
10 limited extent, and then, long before
we were on the silver STANDARD. In 1884
Jackson sought to restore bimetallism, but
he was unwilling to change the standard
upon which business was then being done.
He recognized the danger to commerce Of
changing the STANDARD. He therefore re-
duced the amount Of gold put into a dollar,
so that under the new coinage the bullion
value of both dollars would be just equal
to the dollar then in use, and a his in
stance a new ratio of 16 to ! was passed.
il was soon found that this new ratio
undervalued silver and shortly after 1884
this country Went to the gold standard
25.S grains Of gold to. the dollar-and has
been on it ever since, with the exception
of the time incident to the war.
Under the new ratio, after 1884, even frac-
| tional currency was worth more when
melted than its coinage value, and there
| fore, in 1885 it became necessary to provide
a fractional currency containing a reduc-
ed number of grains to the dollar, and their
legal tender was limited to five dollars
The Spanish milled dollar was still in cir
| culation, but the highest amount of for
eign silver by the estimates of the treas
| ury department, in circulation at any time
/ was $50 coo, 600
In 1850 the gold circula tion was S2l4. OOO-
| 000 and subsidiary silver, $21, 200, 900. While
A,00Q,OC0 of silver dollars had been coined,
| they had all gone out of circulation be-
/ ing worth more when melted as bar silver
| than their face value.
These facts prove that free and unlim-
tied coinage of both metals, by the United
| States, did not substantially affect the
bullion value of either metal; that the
cheaper metal became the standard of
value, and the other went out of circula-
ton.
If 6S years of experience with free and
unlimited coinage of both metals showed
that by free and unlimited coinage we were
oil .raffe
to make it equal to gold at the ratio of
10 to /, or second, the value of gold
to make it equal TO silver at
16 to l, when the difference in their bull
lion values was only per cent, it is not
preposterous to claim that free and un-
limited coinage now will so increase the
value of silver, when the discrepancy is so
per cent.
1t cannot be claimed that the legislation
by the United States in 1878 seriously af-
fected the commercial value of silver, for
since that time we have furnished a mar
ket for $500 100000 of silver very much
more. in proportion at our increasing COM
merce than went through our minis dur
ing The days of free and unlimited coinage
of silver
The fall in the price of silver can easily
be accounted for. In 1873 the worlds pro-
duct of silver at coinage value was $751;
100000; in 1892 1t was $780, $50 600; in 1898,
anu 1851 9Zl4, 1nlS enOr-
nous increase in the product Of silver took
place despite the fact that silver had fallen
in value of so per cent.
BY legislation passed in 1S71-72 Norway
and Sweden and Germany suspended the
coinage Of silver in 1894 Germany de-
monetized silver and put $3OO.00O,OOO of bull
lion upon the markets of Europe.
Denmark Holland, Russia, Austria Hun
gary, each suspended the coinage or de-
monetized silver.
The Latin Union, composed of France,
Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Greece,
was forced to suspend the coinage of sill
Yer because it was found impossible, by
free coinage, to sustain the value of sill
yer bullion. This was done by suspension
for twelve months at a time from 1874 to
1873, when the suspension was made with
out limitation as TO the time of contin-
uance. Since then India, Brazil, Argentine
Republic and Chilli has suspended free
coinage.
The value of silver bullion has fallen.
since 1873 on account of the lessened cost
of prOdnctiOTs q 1ao