The herald., 1896-09-16
ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS
Regarding the Present Value Of the
Silver Dollar
There's Confidence Behind it Now
There Will Be Still More Conf
dence After Bryan's
Election.

of the parity between gold and silver:
BAR HARBOR, Me-, Sept II, 1896
Mr.. James p. Helm, Louisville, Ky
My Dear Sir: Your letter asking how
the silver dollars which contain a guam
tity of bullion commercially worth only
SO cents each are maintained at a parity
the government does not directly re-
deem them or the certificates issued up
on them, in gold, is received, and as a
great many inquiries upon the same
subject are addressed to me daily from
different parts of the country which it is
| impracticable to- answer in detail, will
| take the advantage of your favor to
answer them all at once: The standard
| silver dollars issued from the mints
since the passage of the act of 1878, now
| amounting to more than $433, ,000, 900, have
| been coined on public account from bull
| lion purchased by the government and
| are legal tender in payment of all debts,
| public and private, without regard
to the amount, except when otherwise
| stipulated expressly in contracts be-
| tween the parties They belong to the
| government when coined and they are
| paid out by the government at parity
with gold for property and services of all
kind and received from the people at
parity with gold in the payment of all
public dues and demands. The govern
| ment has made no discrimination what
ever between the coins of the two met
ais. gold having been paid upon its coin
obligations when gold was demanded,
I, n xxbn ell
was demanded.
Under the policy the coinage has been
so limited by law and the policy of the
treasury department, that the amount
coined has not become so great as to
drive the more valuable coin, gold, out
of use, and thus destroy the basis of our
monetary system and so long as the two
metals are Of unequal commercial value,
at the ratio established by law, this
limitation upon the coinage is, in my
opinion, absolutely essential to the main
tenance of their parity in effecting
changes. 1t constitutes the principal of
a safe government for the protection of
our currency against the depreciation
which the experience of all countries
has shown would otherwise result from
the attempt to use two legal tender
coins of the same denomination but of
| unequal value. If the limitation were
removed, confidence in the ability of the
| government to preserve equality in the
exchangeable value of tie coins will be
destroyed and the parity would be lost
| long before the amount of silver coinage
| had become really excessive. With free
and unlimited coinage, of silver on ac-
of TO- i,,J Jix,;I 1e,o
ations, the government would be under
no moral obligation to maintain the
parity, and moreover it would be unable
to do so, because the volume of over
valued silver forced into the circulation
by legal tender provision would soon ex-
pei gold from the country or put such a
premium upon it, that it would be i'm
possible to procure and hold in the treas
| ury a sufficient amount to provide for
the redemption of silver on presentation.
In order to maintain the parity under
such conditions, the government would
be compelled from the beginning to ex-
change gold for silver dollars and their
paper representatives, whenever de-
manded; just as it now exchanges gold
| for it's own notes when demanded and
as the coinage OF silver dollars would be
unlimited and therefore constantly in
creasing, a point would soon be reached
where it would be impossible to continue
the process of redemption.
| The implied pledge of the government
to preserve the value of the money
which it coins from it's own bullion and
for its own use, and which it forces it's
citizens to receive in exchange for their
1
mented by two statutory declarations
which substantially pledge the public
faith the maintenance of that policy.
The act of July A. 1890, after providing
| that the secretary of the treasury
should, under such regulations as he
might prescribe, redeem the treasury
notes issued in the purchase of silver
bullion in gold or silver coin at his dis
cretion declares that it is the estab-
lished policy of the United States to
maintain the metals on a parity with
each other upon the present legal ratio
or such ratio as may be provided by law.
and the act of November |, 1895, again
| declares it to be the policy of the United
States to continue the use of both gold
and silver as standard money and to
coin both gold and silver into money OF
equal intrinsic and exchangeable value.
such equality to be secured through in
ternational agreement or by such safe
| guards of legislation as will insure the
maintenance OF the parity of value OF
coins of the two metals, and the equal
| power of every dollar at all times in the
markets and In the payments of debts.
| with knowledge of these assurances.
the people have received these coins
and have relied confidently upon the good
| faith of their government and the con-
| fidence thus inspired has been a most
| potent factor in the maintenance of the
parity. The public has been satisfied
that SO long as our present monetary
| system is preserved, the government
will do whatever its moral obligations
| and express declarations require If to
| do, and very largely as a consequence
| of this confidence in the good faith of
| the executive authorities, the silver
| coins have not deprecated in value. 1t
| is not doubted that whatever can be
| lawfully done to maintain equality in
| the eXchangable value of the two metals
will be done whenever it becomes neces-
sary, and although silver dollars and sill
yer certificates have not up to the pres
ent time been received in exchange for
gold, yet IL the time shall ever come
when the parity cannot be otherwise
maintained s1ich exchapVes will he