The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-10
ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION.

ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION.
A correspondent writes to the New
York Evening Post as follows:
To the Editor of the Evening Post:
Sir: Will You kindly state once more
what the si4yer-coinage law was prior
to 1873; what induced its repeal, and
why during the period It was in force
we had no trouble over this question Of
parity of the two metals.
BY so doing you will confer a great
favor on IGNORANCE.
The editor of the Post answered "Ig-
norance" as follows:
The silver coinage law prior to 1873
allowed silver dollars to be coined to
any amount for private Individuals at
the rate of 371A grains of pure silver TO
the dollar. The government added a
certain amount of alloy in order to
give hardness to the coin. The person
bringing the silver to the mint was re-
CURED to pay the cost of the alloy. The
alloy raised the weight of the dollar TO
H2h grains. No silver coins smaller
than one dollar were coined for pri-
Vate individuals, but only On govern
ment account.
The silver dollar was dlcpped from
the list of American coins in the coin
age act of 1873 because the public did
not want any such coins They were
worth 2is cents more than gold dollars
Consequently nobody brought silver to
the mirt except a little now and then
fer export in the form of dollars to
China. Only eighty million silver dol
lars were coined from the first estab-
Hshment Of the mint to the year 1873.
1t is fair to say that the silver dollar
vas dropped because it was an
anachronism and a suparf1uity.
The question why we had no trouble
over the rarity of the two metals be-
fore 1878 is easily answered. AS there
were no silver dollars the question of
parry was never raised. IF ANYBODY
ever received a silver dollar in trade,
and if he did not want to keep it as a
curiosity. he could sell it to a broker
Cor 2 gold dollar plus cents, and the
broker would put it in q melting not
and send it abroad in the form of
bullion.
The answer is only partly correct,
and Will leave Ignorance" nearly as
ignorant as before 1T was given.
The act of April .. 1872 which estab-
hshed mint at the seat of govern
ment, made the dollar Che language of
tie statute is dollars or units'D Ito
contain three hundred and seventy-one
grains and four-sixteenth parts of
grain Of pure. or four hundred and six
teen grains Of standard silver"
The same act made the standard for
al silver coins CT the United States
one thousand four hundred and eighty
five parts fine to ore hundred and
seventy-nine parts alloy.
The act Of January 10, 1887. made the
standard for both gold and silver coins
Of The United States nine hundred
parts pure metal and one hundred
parts alloy. The same act made the
weight of the silver dollar four hum
dred and twelve and a half grains of
silver
Under the acts of 1892 and 1887 the
amount of metal in the half dollar was
exactly half that in the dollar: and so
on with the quarters. dimes and FIVE
cent pieces; each contained half the
metal Of the denomination next above
it.
Section of the act of 1887 declared
that dollars, half dollars. and quar-
ter dollars. dimes and half dimes
shall be legal tenders of payment ac-
to their nominal value. for
any sums whatever
Both the act of 1892 Csection 1D and
the act of 1897 (section Ia allowed any
person or persons to take gold ana
silver bullion to the mint in order 10
have them coined. Where is the war
rant. then, for the Posts assertion
that no silver coins smaller than one
dollar were coined fer private indi-
viduals, but only on government ac-
COUNT Anyone could take silver TO
the minis and have it coined into
money, and into any denominations
they chose, at least up TO the passage
Of the law OF February q, 1858. That
law reduced the weight of the half
dollar from and after the first day of
June. 1852. 10 one hundred and ninety
two grains Of silver. standard. The
second section provided that the silver !
coins issued in conformity with the |
first section should DE legal tenders in /
payment Of all debts for sums not /
not affect the legal tender quality of /
the dollar. The fifth section Of the act .
provided that no deposits for coinage
nto the half dollar, quarter dollar
lime. and half dime, shall hereafter I
De received. other than those made
oy the treasurer of the mint. as here
n authorized, and upon account of the
United States"
From this it will be seen that the
Posts statement that no silver coins
smaller than dollar were coined for
private individuals, but only on gov
.rnment account. can only apply 70
he time subsequent to June. 1852
1t is stated that only eight million
liver dollars were coined from the
establishment Of the mint to the year
S7S. That is substantially correct, If
silver dollars alone are considered.
sut it ignores the fact that there was
large amount of silver coined into
lalf dollars. quarter dollars, dimes and