The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-05
SOME PHASES Of THE SILVER CUES
TION.

An exchange prints a long communi-
cation from an Indiana man who has
made himself somewhat conspicuous as
an advocate of free silver coinage by
the United States without reference to
any international agreement or ratio in
which the Journal is charged with gross
and willful Misrepresentation of the
facts in regard to silver coinage. This
charge is based on a statement contained
in an editorial paragraph in the Journal
that this country has now a stock OF
coined silver amounting to 1924, 900. 000
This is a greater amount per capita than
any other country in the world The
champion of free silver coinage says this
statement contains two monstrous
errors, viz:
First. there is not now. nor has there
the country. The trouble with the Journal
is that it includes all the uncoined silver
bought under the s Sner1nan law Of 1880. and
nal misses the truth only about sl34,0O0. 900.
Second, the Journal stated that we have
,grea eater per capita OF silver mSney than
near true is that statement? Let us see.
If the amount stated by the Journal was
coined silver in the Country. that would
be less than $40 per capita. The census
"a 0 Franee Ras az
500 100000 of coined silver $3.50 per
capita. France has three-fourths the
we have gold. silver and paper money.
The Journals statement that the coun-
try has stock Of coined silver amount
ing to 1924, 000, 900 may have been tech
nically inaccurate, but it was substan-
=. - !. AZ
aggregate amount Of coined silver and
of notes issued by the government on
silver bullion piled NJ in the treasury
vaults exceeded 1924, 000, 600 it would have
been exactly correct. The only error in
this part of the statement consisted in
not discriminating between coined silver
and the uncoined silver held by the goy-
eminent on which notes have been
issued This, so far from being "a
monstrous error is really an immaterial
one, as the notes issued on silver are
the currency equivalent of silver. The
total amount of coined silver on the list
of January, 1896, was s499,5 AL, and the
amount of notes issued on silver bullion
at the same time was $150. S23.731, maxi
ing an aggregate of s650. 100000.
The silver stock of the United States
far exceeds that Of any other country
in the world except India and China;
and, including coined silver and notes
issued against silver. its silver circula-
ton exceeds that of any country in
Europe except France. The silver stock
of the United States is 1924 100000 while
that of France is $500, O00. 000 All of
Frances silver is coined, making her sill
yer coinage exceed ours by s4i7,529. The
statement of the Journals critic that
France has s700 600. 900 misses the truth
by $500 900, 900. and the statement that
the coined silver of France is $3.50 per
capita misses the truth by $5-45 per
capita. The actual silver coinage of
France is s1se5 per capita, against 1926
in the United States. But the gold coins
age OF France is $500. o0o. 900. against $685.
600, 900 in this country. France keeps her
gold, silver and paper currency at par
BY keeping her stock OF gold up. ner
stock of silver down and the volume Of
her paper currency at low figure. She
stopped the coinage Of silver many years
aeo. At presenE her gold coinage *