Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-08-16
FACTS ABOUT SILVER
FREE COINAGE AT t6 TO I MEANS
MONOMETALLlSM.

Purchasing Power the True Test OF Actual
and Relative vaiues-Duty OF the Gov
ernment In Maintaining a Parity Of
Gold and Silver.
Secretary Of the Treasury Carlisle, in
his Covington speech on May 20, stated
plainly and concisely the exact meaning
Of Bryan-Bland- Harvey free coinage
He said:
Free and unlimited coinage Of full le-
gal tender silver dollars at the ratio Of
IS to l means that our law shall be so
changed that any owner Of silver bull
lion may send it to the mints and have
it coined, at the public expense, into
dollars each containing 4l24 grains Of
standard silver, the dollars when coined
to be delivered to the owner Of the bull
lion, and all the people Of the United
States to be compelled by law to receive
them as dollars in the payment Of debts,
although not intrinsically worth more
than 80 cents each The % $40 grains
of standard gold contained in gold dol
lar is worth 100 cents, or the equivalent
of 100 cents, all over the world, in sill
yer standard countries as we'll as in gold
standard countries, and it is worth just
as much before it is coined as afterward,
but the 412% grains Of standard silver
contained in silver dollar are not
worth anywhere in the world more than
about 80 cents Or, to put the statement
in a different form, l6 pounds Of silver
cannot be exchanged for / pound Of gold
anywhere in the world, but it requires
about 80 pounds Of silver to procure
pound Of gold everywhere. But some
one may say that this is not fair state
ment, because it measures the value Of
silver by gold The answer to this OBJ
lection is that the statement does not at
tempt to measure the value Of either Of
the metals, but simply to compare them,
one with the other, and that for the pur-
pose Of making the comparison the value
Of gold is determined by its purchasing
power in the markets Of the world, and
the value Of silver is determined in the
same way. Sixteen pounds Of silver bull
lion will purchase only about one-haf
the quantity Of commodities anywhere
that one pound of gold bullion will pur-
chase, and this purchasing power is the
true test of their actual and relative
values
In the United States l6 pounds Of sill
yer, coined into dollars, will now pur
chase as much as a pound Of gold coins,
but this would not be the case under
system Of free and unlimited coinage on
individual account The coinage Of sill
yer dollars here has been limited by law
for the purpose Of preventing an excess
i've issue, and they have been coined by
the government on its own account and
paid out for public purposes as dollars
Of full value, and consequently the gov
ernment Is bound by every consideration
Of good faith, TO say nothing Of the posi-
tive declarations contained in the
statutes, to keep them as good as gold,
or. in other words, to maintain the par
ity Of the two metals, and this it has
done and will continue to DO as long as
the present system exists. But II the
present system is to be abolished and a
new one established, so that private in
dividuals and corporations can have their
own bullion coined at the public expense
and have the coins delivered to them for
their private use. the government would
be under no obligation whatever, legal
or equitable, to keep them as good as
gold, and, in fact, it would be impossi-
bic for it to do so, because the coinage
would be unlimited, and the volume OF
silver In circulation would become so
great in proportion to the gold the gov
ernment could procure that the attempt
would necessarily fail The most ex-
treme advocates Of free coinage have not
vet ventured to suggest that the govern
ment would be under any obligation to
guarantee or maintain the value Of sill
yer dollars coined without charge for
private parties, and without such guar
antee it is clear the dollar would be
worth no more than the commercial val
ne of the bullion contained in it, just as
the Mexican dollar is now. Iadmit that
if the United States could coin without
charge to the owners all the silver in
the world available for coinage purposes,
412% grains Of standard silver, in bull
lion. would be worth as much in this
country as a silver dollar, but the real
question is, What would the silver dol
lar itself be worth? That it will not be
equal to our present unit and standard
of value is not only admitted, but open
ly urged as one of the chief arguments
in favor Of its free coinage.
Everywhere the people are being told
that under free coinage it will require
twice as many dollars to procure any
given quantity Of commodities as are re-
ouired now, and this means, OF course,
that the money will be only one-haf rs
valuable as it is now. When the public
Judgment is finally passed upon this
subject, l think it will be found that
the people Of the United States are de-
termined not to have deprecated dol
lar, whether it be gold, silver or paper.
They are undoubtedly entitled to have
for use in their business just as good
money as any other people in the world |
have, and no political party that at
tempts to deprive them Of it will ever
enioy their confidence or receive their
suhragea