The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-25
/ THE FINANCIAL FORUM
AT IT'S BULLION VALUE.
Silver CircuIates I'm silver Country
Difference In America.

To the Editor Of the Globe.
In your issue of the 18th inst, you say that
the trade dollar Is not coin Of the United
against 1t, and deprived it of it's legal tender
function, and therefore 1t is not on a parity
with the standard dollar. This is true. In
your issue Of the 10th editorial, .tCertainly
Not') you say that neither the Mexican
dollar nor the trade dollar could be put on
parity with the standard dollar by giving
TO them the legal tender function In the
same issue under the caption "Fulflls It's
Obligations" you say: I'VE gold
basis. Silver dollars being unIimlt-
ed legal tender for all debts in this country,
except where otherwise stipulated in the
contract, circulate on, equal terms with gold.
They are not redeemable in anything" This
is true.
Now, the bullion value of our standard dollar
is less than the bullion value of either the
trade dollar or the Mexican dollar, yet the
standard dollar is the equivalent of the gold
dollar, while the others are not Why? Be-
cause, as you have said, the standard silver
ooliars being unlimited legal tender for all
debts in this country, except where otherwise
stipulated in the contract, circulate on equal
terms with gold" 1t Is evident that the bus-
lion value of our dollar has nothing to do
and the trade dollar are not legal tender in
this country, and therefore worth no more
than their bullion value. If they were made
legal tender it is an absolute certainty thar
each of them would circulate on equal terms
with gold. You ask why in Mexico
where Mexican dollar is a fun legal tender
IL
gold dollar in exchange for Mexican dol
lar but you can get two Mexican dollars for
an American standard dollar which contains
ABOUT SIX grains less of silver than the Mex
lean coin?" 1t can readily be explained Mex
leo is on a silve- basis. Her silver dollars
circulate at their bullion and coin value
which is 100 cents, measured in labor or
commodities, and at about 55 cents as meas
ured by our appreciated gold standard; while
the United States is on gold basis where the
purchasing power of the gold dollar has dou-
DleQ since 1873 measured in all
modities and in the products of labor and
where the standard silver dollar is the equiv
alent of the gold dollar, because of its legal
tender character, and because the law has
decreed that our silver dollar shall discharge
the same amount of debt as our gold dollar
The same is true of England, France or any
other gold standard nation. Their silver coin
coin.
You ask further: 'If the comforting of the
legal tender functions upon any object puts
1t at par with gold. why should not the
government make nickel pieces. copper cents
and poker chips legal tender for one dollar
etc.," | answer that it could but that II ia
not policy that it should unless it could be-
yond doubt limit such form of money to the
actuai needs OF business If the legal tender
junction, or any other magic, including the
implied promise of the government what
ever that may mean to preserve the metals
at a parity. does so preserve them that "a
cents worth of silver, which YOU saw is not
redeemable in anything circuates on a par
with gold, why would not a nickel piece cop
Pei C0HI VI poker CHIP! why could not the
government preserve the parity if the silver
dollar We're worth only one cent in bullion
form? Is the parity maintainable because the
bullion value happens to be 50 cents, no more
no less? Even so eminent an authority as
FroI. Walker says that paper money
would be the ideal money if its
issue could be kept within bounds. This
could be the only danger with paper money
or poker chips, for there is not reason Whv
the material in money should have any com
mercIal value more than should the yard
oh E211f
the undue imitation of money 1t is sound policy
to limit 1t to the precious metals, such as
goid and silver. The silver men claim that
Ply unlimited coinage the commercial value of
the metal in the silver and gold dollar will
by natural law, come to parity And thew
deny that 1t will produce an undue imitation
OF the currency. Any one advocating inter
national bimetallism is estopped to assert
that free coinage of silver by the United
States will cause undue imitation of the cur
rency, because the per capita for the world
would be the same in either event
Duluth, Mimi. Aug. o.