The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-10-16
both gold and silver as money with unllm-

| Cldl EdliO Cl Tie DulllOI VALUES OIL Tue TWO
metals, and it appears to have been
thought impractcable to maintain such a
| legal ratio. The ratio of 16 to 1 was
adopted by the act of 1884, and as a con-
sequence gold circulated in the United
States and silver rapidly went out of cir
culation and was exported.
AS our fractional coin, our half dollars
and quarter dollars, contained proportion
ately the same amount of silver as our
silver dollars, they could not be kept
in the country. but were exported to be
consigned to the melting pot, and In 1853
congress was compelled in order to keep
silver fractional coins in circulation to
reduce the amount of silver in half dol
lars and quarter dollars so that it would
be no longer profitable to export them.
The amount of standard silver in the
fractional silver coins of the face value
of dollar, under the act of 1884, was
fixed at 1856 grains Gold was made the
standard, or measure, of value; the legal
tender quality of the fractional coins, in
order that no injustice should be done to
creditors whose claims were payable in
full-weight money, was limited to sums
of S., and in order that individuals should
not make profit ont of free coinage of
deprecated silver fractional coins, and
that the coinage of silver might be limited
and controlled by the government, the
right of coinage of fractional coins for in
dividuals was taken away, and the gov
ernment reserved to itself, the right to
coin fractional coin from bullion. purchased
by it at market rates. Although under
the administration of some subsequent
secretary of the treasury, fractional coins
appear to have been coined for individuals,
it was done without authority of law.
Gold and silver never circulated concur
rently in this country while we had
free coinage of both, and will never cir
culate concurrenty in any country with
free coinage of both, when either is under
valued by the coinage ratio.
The intention of Secretary Hamilton and
of congress in fixing 371A grains of pure
silver as the amount of silver the silver
dollar should contain under the act of 1892
was to make the silver dollar of the
United States the equivalent in value Of
the Spanish milled dollars in circulation
in the United States at the time, and the
actual weight and value of the Spanish
silver dollars in the United States were
ascertained by collecting and Weighing a
large number of them. But the Spanish
milled silver dollars then in circulation in
the United States were abraded by use to
the extent of 2k per cent
Our principal foreign trade was then
with the West India islands, and those
engaged in this trade soon found that our
new silver dollars could be exchanged in
the West Indies for the new Spanish
milled dollars, which contained more sill
ver than they did, and that the new
Spanish milled dollars could be melted and
recoined in the United States at a profit,
and the consequence was that as fast as
our mint coined silver dollars they were
taken to the West Indies and exchanged
for new Spanish milled silver dollars, to
go through the same process of being
coined into silver dollars of the United
States and exported. To prevent this
President Jefferson. without any law au-
thorizing it. in 1905. by an order to the
director of the mint, suspended the COIN
age of silver dollars. and none were again
coined until 1910, except $1,000 in 1886 and
$500 in 1899.
There was great clamor raised against
Secretary Carlisle and President Cleve-
land, because it was alleged that for the
slast month or two prior to the taking effect
of the repeal of the purchasing clause of
the Sherman law the full amount of silver
required to be purchased by the Sec
retary of the treasury by that law month
tinuance of the coinage of silver dollars
by the act of congress in 1873 has
been assailed, nlisrepresented and called q
crime. But what shall be said con-
corning the great apostle of democracy,
President Jefferson, and his democratic
successors in office, who discontinued the
coinage of the silver dollar for a third of
a century without authority of law?
The Money of the Constitution.
the constitution. but just what is meant
by the expression is not apparent. The
truth is there is no money of the constitu-
ton. The constitutional provisions con-
cerning money are as follows:
. Congress has power stto coin money and
regulate the value thereof" and mo state
shall make anything but gold and silver
coin legal tender in payment of debts"
The grant of power to congress is to coin
money, but it is not provided what metal
shall be coined. The government does coin
nickel and copper. and there is no consti-
tutional prohibition against coming other
metals. If congress could coin only gold
and silver there is no provision that it shall
coin them for individuals or fix the legal
ratio for coming purposes. It might coin
either one and not coin the other. Con-
gress has several times changed the legal
ratio between gold and silver for coinage
purposes.
This whole talk about the money of the
constitution is the merest clap-trap, intend
ed to catch the ear and deceive those who
have not the time or opportunity to inves-
tigate for themselves.
There In No Natural Ratio Between
Gold and Silver.
There Is much absurd talk by men of
ability and even of national reputation
about the Creator having made gold and
silver money. having made them twin:
metals. The purpose Is to create an i'm
preston that nature has fixed the relative.
value Of the two metals. Such a propo-s
sition Is too absurd to require refutation.
The values of all the products of human
labor and Of all the earth produces are
fixed by the law of supply and demand.
Their value depends upon the cost of their
production and their adaptation to supply
the wants Of mankind.
Iron, copper, nickel and other metals,
skins, animals, beads and shells and many
other articles have been used for money.
Did the Creator by his fiat make them all
money?
The commercial ratio between gold and
silver. which is fixed by the universal law
of supply and demand, has varied from
age to age, from year to year, and from
month tosmonth, and from day to day of
the same month. It has also varied in
different countries.
In Rome. 2o7 years B. c., 1t was, ,14.5o; 1ss
B. c.. 10; so B. c., 75O; so A. D., 1850; 800
A. D., 1880. In England it varied from
$50 in 1257 to 1920 in 1717. In 1892 the
worlds ratio was 15.17; in 1893 it was Is;
1896, 1856: 1872, 1911: 1873, 1925; the next
year, 1874, it was 1904. For most years from
1914 to 1874 the ratio exceeded 15k to 1,
but was not again 16 to 1 until 1874 These
figures show the fluctuations in the COM
mercial ratio between gold and silver and
the difficulty of maintaining gold and silver
coins in concurrent circulation in country