Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-09-21
HOW SLL YER IS KEPT At PARITY
WITH GOLD.

A Kentucky correspondent has
written Sec. Carlisle asking how it is
that silver dollars, which are only
worth about So cents, commercial
value, are kept on the market at a
parity with gold. This question has
been repeatedly asked and answered
but it will be useful to have so clear
and authoritative reply as that Of Sec.
Carlisle's. The substance of his reply
is as follows:
''All of the standard silver dollars
issued from the minis since the pas
sage of the act of 1878 have been coin
ed on public account from bullion
purchased by the government and are
legal tender in the payment of all
debts, public and private, without re-
gard to the amount, except when 9TH
erwise expressly stipulated in the
contract between the parties. They
belong to the government when coin
ed and the government has paid
them out at a parity with gold for
property and services of all kinds,
a parity with gold in the payment Of
all dues and debts. Gold has been
paid upon it's coin obligations when
gold was demanded, and silver when
silver was demanded. Under this
policy the coinage has been SO limited
by law and the policy Of the Treasury
Department that the amount coined
has not been so great as to drive the
more valuable coin, gold, out Of use
and thus destroy the basis Of our
the principle safeguard, protect on of
our currency against the depreciation
which the experience Of all countries
has shown would be tn result of an
attempt to use legal tender coins of
the same denomination but of I'M
equal value. The act of July IA, 1890,
declares it to be the established poll
cy 9th y. S. to maintain the parity
of the two coins, again the act of
Nov. I, 1893, declares it to be the pol
icy of the government to continue TO
use both gold and silver as standard
money, and the value Of the two
coins to be kept at parity. With
these assurances the people have ac-
cepted the two coins relying on the
good faith of the government to keep
their agreement; and the confidence
thus inspired has been q potent fac
tor in the maintenance of the parity.
The public has been satisfied that as
long as our present system continues
the Governm ent will do whatever it's
moral obligations and expressed de-
clarations require it to do. 1t is not
doubted that whatever can be law
fully done to sustain the parity of the
two metals will be done whenever it
becomes necessary, and although sill
yer dollars and silver certificates
have not been received in exchange
for gold, yet if the time should come
when the parity cannot be otherwise
maintained, such exchanges will be
made With free and unlimited coin
age Of silver on account Of private in
dividuals and corporations, the gov
eminent would be under no moral OBJ
legations to maintain the parity, and
moreover it would be unable to do so
for the volume Of over valued silver
forced into circulation by legal ten
der provision would soon expel gold
from the country or put such prem
ium upon it that it would be impos-
sible to procure and holdin the Treas
ury sufficient amount to provide for
the redemption Of the silver when
presented. In order to maintain the
parity under such conditions the
government would be obliged to from
the beginning TO exchange gold for
silver dollars and their paper repres-
entatives whenever demanded, and
as the coinage Of the silver would be
constantly increasing point would
soon be reached where it would not
be possible to continue the redemp-
ton. But if our present system is ad
hered to and the coinage is kept with
in reasonable limits, the means here
tofore employed for the maintenance
of the parity will doubtless be found
sufficient in the future, and our silver
dollars and silver certificates will
continue to circulate at par with
gold, thus enabling the people to use
both metals instead Of one only, as
would be the case if the parity were
destroyed by free coinage.o It has
been maintained by some that as the
government is able at the present
time to maintain the parity Of the two
metals, they would be able to do so
under free coinage, but Secretary
Carlisle plainly shows that a limited