The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-30
HARDLY A FAIR CRITICISM.
M1. See Chides the Journal Because
of Recent Suggestion.


To the Editor of the indianapolis Journal:
L am not sure that your implied crit
cism, few days ago, on the doings CT
Congress relating to the coinage of silver
is either deserved or fair. It's statement
of facts are all right but that Congress
Numbered is true only in part for we
must take into consideration the circum-
stances before we criticise too severely.
A fact least understood and least empha-
sized, though the most important in esti-
mating the enormity of The crime of
1873, " is that it consisted in only ceasing
to coin silver dollars out of the small
scraps of silver which might be gathered
up in the form of old spoons and old for
eign coins that had no currency value
and which could therefore be coined into
dollars, at the ratio of 16 to /, without any
expense to the government other than the
work expended on them. No owner Of
bullion in bulk would furnish ounce
Of his goods for such a purpose, because
he could get from to 5 per cent. more
sold in it for London than the face
value of the dollars when coined. and all
such dollars We're at once exported as
bullion or We're used in the arts, not one
of them going into circulation as currency.
1t was because Congress could see ne
of these small bits of silver that the coin
age of the dollar at 16 to 1 was discon-
tinued in 1873, and ali such bullion was
therefore to be coined into halves and 9TH
er subsidiary coins at the ratio of 10 to l.
The proposition was so eminently wise
that after nearly three years discussion
in committees and in both houses of Con-
gress it was passed, men of both parties
voting fer it, and none was more earnest
than Senator Stewart and other Congress
frorf thn cfl tlta n
age of silver dollars at the ratio of 10 TO l
had never furnished a market for a sin
gle ounce of native silver, While under the
act of 1883 which changed the ratio OF
subsidiary coins from Is to to 10 to /,
we had been for twenty Years buying II, from
the full market price and coming 1t on
our own account, and turning into the
treasury a handsome profit. At that time
0S73) no one could foresee the conditions
which were to reduce the price OF silver
to one-half the price it had lowered around
for eighty years, never but once reaching
Is to l. and never higher than 10 TO l, fV-
eraging all these years about 1?12 to l.
that silver was steadily declining in value
and had already touched the ratio OF 10
the mine owners discovered that market
they had condemned for forty years was
closed to them They had scorned to take
an ounce of gold at the minis for sixteen
ounces of silver, while they could
get it for fifteen and half ~, ounces f,e
gan to clamor for free and unlimited
Coinage Meanwhile however, the gov
eminent continued to buy silver at tne
market price to coin into subsidiary CONS,
Just as it had been doing for twenty years,
and that was the condition of affairs when,
coinage, which had been in successful
operation for twenty-five years. to the coin
ing of standard dollars at the ratio OF 10
to l. since the price of silver would now
justify it and furnish such q reasonable
margin of profit that we could afford, in
limited quantities, to guarantee their parity
Wi
not equal. There was nothing new IN the
Bland-Allison act; 1t was simply applying
our tried system to dollars, 10 to ], instead
of to subsidiary coins, Is to l exclusively,
which continues to be their ratio to TINS
day notwithstanding the great disparity
in the commercial values of the two metals.
But the experiment failed of result
which was generally expected II was
or less expected by others, that the de-
mand for silver would be SO increased by
the coinage of % 900 600 or 10000 900 ounces
annually into dollars in addition to a con-
tinuance in subsidiary coins would restore
the long continued ratio; but in spite OF OF
this silver has continued to decline until
the present ratio is about 81 to l. and 1t Is
still declining.
But did we not blunder when we under
took to coin.ttollbrs when it took 50 cents
worth of silver to make standard dollar,
seeing that it takes only % cents, worth
now? That depends on what KIND or a man
you are. If you want the other fellow to
bear all the loss it would seem that we
began too soon. have a neighbor who who
only two or three years ago, ana VINO
thought at the time, he was getting q
bargain because that grade of horses had
been selling at from $3.50 to $500 but the
s;lme grade is now drug in the market at
s125. But he is a man and a philosopher;
Instead of wishing he had waited until
horses got cheaper. he says he needed the
horse when he bought him and horses
might as we'll decline in his hands as in
anybody's hands; besides he had no way
Of knowing that trolley cars and bicycles
would ever play such havoc with fancy
horse flesh as they have. Though Demo-
crat he has too much sense to attribute II
20 the demonstration of silver. for horses
he says. had reached their highest price
long after what is called. just as wheat
and labor and other things did. We needed
silver dollars when we began to coin them
and we began soon as silver got cheap
it in a dollar and give US a reasonable
margin for our work and for the guaranty
that they shall remain equal TO gold dol
lars as currencv. There is nothing mean
about us. We don't want the mine owners
to suffer all the loss. Silver was worth in
London all we paid for it when we began to
coin dollars on our own account just as
we had been coming subsidiary coin for
twenty-five years We have made a good
thing out of it. and it is certainly the
ness way for the mine owners to ask us
to not only go out of the business and let
them go into it, but that we must use our
plant which cost millions of dollars,
ourselves. and not only do it for nothing
but guarantee their being forever equal to
gold dollars the world over. Lawyers take
desperate cases sometimes for the fee that
is in them. but lawyer Bryan never had
as hopeless a case as he now has in try
ing to persuade the people to do this
business-like thing. They never Will do it.
Indianapolis Sept. %. U. L. SEE.