The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-12-07
OUR GOLD BASIS IN 1891.

were actuated by desire TO arrive Mt i
the truth in regard to the conditions !
which prevailed previous TO what they |
are pleased to call "the crime of 1872
which means that this country was not |
allowed to resume in 1878 in ninety-two |
per cent. silver dollars, to gradually de-
cline to fifty cents, they would find good
and interesting reading in the annual
report of Mr.. James Pollock, director of
the mint, to Secretary Chase in 1861,
being twelve years before ''the crime OF
1879" The salient portions of the re-
port are published by the New York
journal of Commerce. Director Pol
lock stated the facts in regard to silver
and gold as they existed at that time.
before either of those metals had been
displaced by government issues of pa
per currency. He alludes to the gold
dollar as "the standard of value for all
foreign coins used or employed in COM
,nercial or governmental transactions
with other nations" and describes it as
CONFORMING in standard value and dec
iInal character to all the gold and silver
coinage of the country except the silver
dollar"
AT the date of the report silver was
: so much undervalued in comparison
with gold by our coinage laws that the
bullion in the silver dollar was worth
several cents more than the face of the
coin Hence the mint could not afford
to deliver silver dollar for gold dol
lar or to purchase silver for minting,
while not only was there no induce
ment to citizens to wish to have silver
coined for them into dollars, but it was
far cheaper to put the silver dollars into
the melting pot than to buy silver bull
lion for use in the arts. Therefore the
country was actually on gold basis,
gold being the cheaper metal according
to the legal ratio. The following ex-
tracts from the report are worthy OF a
careful reading to-day:
"The gold dollar of the United States,
conforming in standard value and decir
NAL character to all the gold and silver
coinage of the country, except the sill
yer dollar, has been properly selected,
and should be retained as the standard
of value for all foreign coins used or en-
ployed in commercial or governmental
transactions with other nations. The
silver dollar of the United States,
differing as it does in commercial aPd
decimal value from the other silver
coins of our country, cannot. without
disturbing our decimal system and
producing confusion in the relative
value of our gold and silver coinage,
be used as standard. The legal
weight of the silver dollar is 1920
grains; of two half dollars, or other
component fractions of the dollar, 3S4
grains--a difference of $3.50 grains.s
''The silver dollar, as it now is, has
actually three values: ]. 1t is by law
dollar simply, or 100 units or cents
g. By the mint price of silver it rs
l03.9s cents, which is it's true CONNER
cial value as compared with goif
,. It has an interior OF mint value
which is determined by its relations
to the silver contained in the hall
dollar, which makes it 1o7 27-64 cents;
for which reason single pieces are pait
out at the mint at the even price of 1fl
cents. =
"As the dollar, which is the unit o,
our money, is represented in gold coin
il would seem desirable not to hays
another dollar in another metal; bu
If this is inadmissible, and the silver
dollar should be retained. then /
should be reduced to eight-tenths o
mn ounce to be instrue relation to on
other silver coins. -
1.-Two reasons seem To have influences
congress in retaining the silver dolla
at its present anomalous terms: Firsi
that it preserves the old dollar, know
from the beginning of our coinage, an
often exactly stipulated for in deeds c
rent charge, mortgages, and other NOR
eyed securities. To this it may be sue
cessfully replied that such payment
arc now always made in gold, becaus
@it is legal and usual tender for all sum
exceeding SIS, and because silver dollar
are no longer to he had, or are yer
rare. In the second place, it was SUI
posed to be needed for oursChina an
East India trade; but our consular M
vices are to the effect that eursiiver do
lars are very reluctantly taken at III
ports and not at all in the interior
China. They are believed by II
Chinese to be of less value than the
. really are. The reason for its retel
ton having ceased, either. we shou
cease tocoin the silverdollaro 1t shou
be made to conform in weight and vail
to our smaller silver coins
The reduction of the standard val'
of all American coins except the silv'
dollar was made to check the export
specie from the United States; b'
the commercial character of speci
and the facility with which the coins
one nation can be converted into Il
peculiar and distinctive denominatio
of another, have prevented the realiz
ton of that expectation. The relati
: and commercial value of the peculi
coinage of any country must and w