The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1896-08-18
An Easy Lesson.

The silver dollar contains 37l4
grains of pure silver. That quantity
of silver bullion is now commercially
worth about fifty-three cents. What
it would be worth under a law pre-
viding for the free and unlimited
coinage of silver is another matter.
With silver in full nse as money again
there would be demand for it that
would inevitably raise the price. 1t
would probably be worth as much as
it was just before the decentralization
act of 1873. In that year the average
price of enough silver bullion to make
dollar 371.25 grains was $l.O4. Sill
yer fell in price because the principle
demand for it was taken away by the
action of the Government in favor of
Z the moneyed interest. With the white
metal restored to it's Legitimate and
proper uses the old price of silver bull
lion will be restored, Approximately
or altogether. There will be some
fiuctuation in the prices of both silver
and gold so long as both metals are
used in the arts but with each per-
forming its Legitimate function as
medium of exchange the variation
will not be serious.
1t is sometimes asked why the COM
mercial value of silver did not rise TO
the coinage value under the inspifa-
ton of the Bland Allison act and the
Sherman law, each of which provided
for The purchase and coinage of linn
tied quantity of the metal every
month.
The reason is plain. These laws
were makeshifts. They only skim
med the surface Of the question. They
did not put silver back on its old plane
with gold as to coinage. They were
temporary expedients, and were short
lived. They did not produce enough
silver money TO prevent the gold spec
ulators from having everything their
own way.
The Sherman law was especially a
mere sop to the silver men. BY the
ackn owledgement of Mr.. Sherman
himself, something had to be done to
resist the increasing popular demand
for free coinage and prevent Congress
from passing free coinage bill,
That was one of Mr.. Sherman's most
skillf0l, though not most praiseworthy
achievements in politics. The gold
men accepted the measure as check,
while the silver men hoped it would
be stepping stone to greater things
1t was absurd to expect permanent
advance in the price of silver bullion
under this temporary legislation. To
restore commercial and coinage parity
the restoration of the conditions ex-
listing previous to 1873 was required.
Competition among silver owners in
the very limited Government market
could not maintain high quotation
So much for the argument of these
gCldites who insist that dollar to be
a dollar must have a dollars worth of
stuff in ii. The silver dollar to-day
would be worth one hundred cents
commercially speaking, had not the
law unnaturallY interferred with il.
AT least, in all probability, it would
be subject to no greater fu,tuation
than gold.
1t is not, though, the "lntrinsic" or
inherent" or commercial value of
metal that is solely effective in max
ing fixed quantity of it a dollar.
Legislation plays the most important
part. The constitution gives Congress
the powerto coin money and regulate
its value. 1t is in pursuance OF that
power that the law says that silver
dollars of BIZ grains of pure silver
4lS3 grains standard-shall be legal
tender Take the Government ipse
dixit away from gold money, and re-
duce the demand for the yellow metal
TO its uses in the arts, and gold bullion
will suffer as great fall in prices as
silver has .--Cincinnati Enquirer,