Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1896-10-02
VALUE OFSILVER
WlRbe Lnereased b. Litigation.

ted coinage OF silver maintain that, Ike
gold II not only possesses value for Ger
tain uses independent OF its use as
money metal, but also that, like gold, It's
value would be greatly enhanced II u
were admitted to free and unlimited
coinage at our mints with gold. The law
OF free coinage creates demand, and de-
mand increases value.
II Congress should enact a Law again
admitting silver to coinage at our mints
without limit at the ratio OF 10 to l. ths'
act would at once create demand for the
total supply, and at the same time nix the
price at which the total supply would be
coined into legal tender money.
The difficulty with both the Bland
Allison and Sherman laws was that they
provided for only limited coinage, thus
leaving the balance OF the product on the
market 20 be sold as a commodity. The
supply OF silver and gold is limited by
nature, hence their value and use as
money metals.
That legislation does materially inhu-
ence the value Of both gold and silver on
account OF their use AS money Is shown
by the rapid advance in the value oil ell
YER bullion when the Bland llison act
was passed in 1873. Again, when the
United States Senate passed free coinage
bill in 1890 silver bullion rose in value in
a few DAYS from % cents per ounce TO
$40 per ounce both In the United
States and Europe. This was within 8
cents per ounce OF it's former value un-
der free coinage, or within cents OF the
"parity," about which we OF late years
have heard 90 much, and which has al
ready caused bond isses to the extent Of
262,OO0,OO0.
But again in 1898 when the Indian
mints were closed TO the free coinage oil
silver IL fell almost as much within a
day as Il rose on the occasions noted
To contend, M the gold advocates do
that Law has no eject on value ~ to dis
pute history. The act Of 1892 not only
created the mint, but established the
silver dollar, and 10y law made IL contain
S7ll grains pure silver, This dollar was
made by law the unit OF value, ami OF the
money OF account. Gold was not made
a dollar, but q grains were made the
value OF a dollar. and legal tender at that
valuation, the same as silver. The act
of March 3 1919, created the gold dollar
and the double eagle. The one was TO
be Of the value Of a dollar and the Other
1920. This law did not make gold
dollar. but IL did make a gold piece o
the value of dollar. The law OF lag.
made S7ii grains OF pure silvera dolisr
thereby creating a demand for the tota
supply at the coinage ratio OF 10 TO J.
The lave of 1892 and 1876 also establish
ed additional value to gold by making
stipulated number OF grains OF II the val
ne of dollar, measured by S7li grains Of
pure silver, and opened our mints to the
total supply Of gold.
Again, II the law has no effect on val
ue, why did Congress on February .
1898. pass a law making foreign coins
money Of this country Why was THU
law effective II II did not affect the value
OF the foreign money that was coined a
different ratio from ouu2 Further, thu
act of February !, 1898, not only extend
ed the legality OF foreign coins as money
for three years longer, but changed SOM
OF their valuations, thereby adding 4
their legal tender value. The act OF jun
25, 1884, made the silver dollar OF Mexl
CO, Peru, Brazil and Central America
lavful money OF the United States, anC
they went TO par with our money. Di'
law In these cases have no effect upoI
value?
In 1873 the trade dollar was created
but although it contained "a grains NOR
silver than our legal tender dollar
4l2l grains, Il was worth only 30 cents
Why? Because the law did not make
illegal tender. Yet gold advocates sa!
that the Law will not affect value.
The United States supreme cour
thinks that value can be leRislated int
bullion. In 1871 1t is said in the famou
case of Knox va. Lee, Xxx III seem
70 have been left to Congress to deter
mine alike what shall be coined, its pur
ity and how it's statutory value as none
shall correspond from time to time wit
z the market value of the same metal
bullion" Another man OF straw con
stsntly set up by gold advocates is tn
theory OF "intrinsic value" Col. Josia
q Patterson, of Tennessee, defines intrinsl
value in gold as follows; "standar
money coined out OF substance, aud tn
purchasing power of the money whe
coined is exactly equal to the CONNIE
cisl value OF the substance"
Forty or 80 dead and hundreds