The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-01
History of Our Coinage..I.
BY JOHN SHERMAN.

In 1892 silver and gold were made the
common standards of value in the Unit
ed States at the ratio Of Is to l, but this
was because that then the actual mar
ket value of fifteen ounces of silver was
equal to the actual market value of one
ounce of gold. The greatest care was
taken to ascertain this ratio by Thomas
jefferson, then secretary of state, and
Alexander Hamilton. then secretary of
the treasury. These two distinguished
statesmen, who disagreed upon nearly
all other questions, did agree upon the
then relative value of the two metals
and that both should be coined into
money at that ratio. At that time
neither gold nor silver was found in any
considerable quantity in the thirteen
states then forming the union. The
revolutionary war had been conducted
with paper money, which became
worthless. and the coins of Spain, Eng
land and other countries had been made
a legal tender and continued 50 for many
years after the adoption of the constitu
ton.
When the new American coins Were
issued it was found that the abraded
and worn coins of other countries filled
the channels of circulation, and the new
and bright dollars of the United States
were exported. This led to the discon-
tinuance in 1906, by President jefferson
of the coinage Of the silver dollar, and
after that date none were coined for
more than thirty years. This order Of
Jefferson, suppose, would be called by
our Populistic friends "the crime Of
1906" In the mean time France and
other countries adopted the ratio Of fif-
teen and one-half ounces of silver as
the equivalent Of one ounce of gold. To
avoid these embarrassing changes Eng
land in 1916 adopted gold as the single
standard in that country and silver as
subsidiary coin.
In 1884, during the administration of
President Jackson and under the leader
ship of Daniel Webster and Thomas II.
Benton, congress adopted the ratio of
16 of silver to 1 Of gold, by reducing the
number of grains in the gold coin. AS
silver was thus slightly undervalued, it
was not largely coined. Silver could be
coined in France at the ratio Of 1919 to
1, and the owner of silver bullion could
send it to France and have it converted
about per cent. more for his bullion
than if coined at the American ratio of
16 to l. Gold became the only Ameri-
can coin in circulation, and the avowed
purpose of the passage of the law of
1884 was to make gold the standard.
This was declared by the committee of
charge Of the bill who said in their re-
port
The committee think that the desdera-
tum in the monetary system Is n standard
of uniform value: they cannot ascertain
that both metals have ever circulated sim
ultaneously, concurrently and indiscrim-
banks or money dealers, and they enter
tain the conviction that the nearest ap-
proach to an invariable standard is It's
esta blishment in one metal, which metal
shall compose exclusively the currency for
large payments.
This law, heartily approved by An
drew Jackson. would now be called 1.-THE
crime of 1884" In 1853, upon the report
Of Senator Hunter, when Pierce was
president, and when all branches of the
government We're under Democratic
of silver in the fractional coins (half
dimes, dimes, quarters and half dollars)
more than per cent, directed the pur-
chase of the silver for their coinage on
government account, abolished the law
for their free coinage and made them a
legal tender for So only, leaving gold
still practically the only full legal tender
United States coin. At this time the
silver dollar had disappeared from the
current coins of the United States, and
was practically and purposely, demone-
tiHSu' Inc Pufpose VI tHiS act Is tnuS
stated by the chairman of the commit
tee having the bill in charge in the house
of representatives
We propose, so far as those coins are
concerned, to make silver sUbservient to
the gold coin of the country. We intend
to do what the best writer's on political
economy have approved what experience,
where the experiment has been tried, has
demonstrated to be the best and what the
committee believes to be necessary and
proper-to make but one standard of cur
rency and to make all others subservient
to it. We mean to make gold the standard
coin.
This, / suppose, would now be called
the crime of 1853" Silver was practi-
caily demonetized by this act and the
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