Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-09-17

We print elsewhere free silver let
ter, written by DR.. W. f. Quinby,
we'll known resident of this city. We
give space to it mainly as fair sam
Pile of the mass of argument in favor of
the free coinage of silver, and to show
how readily their most effective claims
are dissipated when confronted with
the clear flight OF official facts and
figures.
The greater part OF the DOCTORS ar
gument, applies more to question OF
parity than Of value, and therefore de-
mands no notice. But when he says
that when the mints were closed to
the coinage Of the metal silver into
money, the chief source of the demand
for it was cut off and consequently the
price of the metal silver FELL" he
makes an assertion that is utterly re-
pudiated by the facts.
The fact of the matter is that "when
the mints were closed to the coinage Of
metal silver into mouey"-by the act
of 1873, which omitted silver coins
from the coinage list-silver coinage
was practically confined to subsidiary
coins. Silver was then so valuable that
it was more profitable to use it com
mercially than to have it coined at the
minis. The total coinage of silver
dollars at the minis, from their estab.
lishment to 1873 was only about
$1,000, 600, and United States silver
dollars we're comparatively unknown
as circulating medium. The closing
of the mints, therefore, had nothing
to do with the subsequent fall in thu
value Of metal silver. and did not GU
off the chief source for its demand
The minis, in truth, then cut no figure
as a source of demand for silver bullion
Next the writer says: NOV, oper
the minis to silver again, and the in
creased demand will at once restore thu
price to what il had been before th,
minis were closed.' But this is exactl,
what was done. The Bland-Allison &C
of 1877 caused silver coinage to be re
sumed, and the Sherman Silver Pur
chase law made the government pur
chaser of silver bullion to the amour
OF 4,500. 600 ounces rer month, unit
the panic created by this manifest cur
rency initiation by means of depreciatel
silver, aroused such public protes
that the Sherman law was uncondition
ally repealed, in 1888
Now. here was large and proEtabl
government market for silver bullio
from 1877 to 1893. But did the pric
of metal during this time reach wha
it had been before the, mints wer
closed? Oh, no. In 1873, the year sil
yer coins we're omitted from our coin
age laws, the average quotation of 81
yer bullion in the London market wa
81 3-S pence per ounce; in 1878, whe
the Bland. A llison act was in full force
it was 50 GIG pence per ounce; in 1885,
after the Sherman Silver Purchase la,
had been operating for three years,
had fallen to 50 GIG pence per ounce
And this. in the face Of steady an
profitable market for metal silvt
through the government of the Unite
States. To-day the bullion value
our silver dollar is only about So cent
The suggestion that "if there wa
anything to be made by it free silv,
coinagel everybody that had money
invest would go to buying silver I
have it coined" to our mind is pra
tical confession of the dishonesty
the scheme. Everybody would ell
deavor to thrive by conveying So cent
Tor probably less) worth of silver
the mints to have il turned into a col
with which they would hope to pay
honestly contracted debt of one dolla
Surely, the arguments that the 81
verites advances should not prove effe
tive in gaining adhereuts to their caus
Nh A.