The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-05-19
FOR MORE DOLLARS.

Coins a Full Legal Tender and to Stop
the Taking of Gold Notes and Gold
Mortgages.
Senator Butler has introduced the
following Senate bill, and made the
brief, logical and condensed explana-
ton which is printed below:
Nj. Butler. introduce a bill, ard
ask that it be read IN full for informa-
ton.
Mr.. Hale. How long a bill is it2
Mr. Butler. a paragraph.
Nh. Hale. Let il be read.
The bill 6. 5000 making certain
foreign and domestic coins full legal
tender, and for other purposes, was
read the fist time by it's title, and sec
end time at length, as follows:
Be 1T enacted, etc, That the Mexi
can silver dollar, containing not less
than 37I3 grains of pure silver, and the
trade dollar shall be each equal in val
ue to the standard dollar of the United
States. and shall each be a full legal
tender to any amount for al debts and
demands, public or private.
Mr.. Butler. Mr.. President, O word
in explanation of the bill before asking
its reference.
Under the Cons tuition Of the United
States we have frs qIenly passed laws
making foreign CONS 4 legal tender
The act Of February 6. 1898, over one
hundred years ago, made the Spanish
mjIIed dollar and certain other foreign
coins & legal tender. Since that time
we have passed numerous other acts
to make foreign coins o legal tender IN
this country, including the Mexican
dollar. For Over halt q century the
bulk of the silver coin il circulation
among our people vas foreign coins
which had been made a full legal ten
der by acts of Congress. Our people
were more prosperous then than they
are now. Now we neither coin silver
nor do we make foreign coins a legal
tender. Our people are in distress on
account OF the scarcity Of those dol
lars.
This bill, it will be observed, pro
vides for making three coins a legal
tender. The first is the Mexican DOL
lar. The Mexican dollar contains 377 II
grains of pure silver, or 419 O8 grains
of standard silver, and is therefore
heavier than our standard silver dol
lar.
The Japanese yen, the next coin pro
pfs.d to be made a legal tender, con-
tains 374 40 grains of pure silver, or
416 grains of standard silver, it also
being heavier than standard silver
dollar Of 1 p grains.
The next coin that it is proposed to
MAXI a legal tender is the trade dollar
OF the UuIted States. The trade DOL
lar, as we all know, contains 420 grains
of star d lrd silver of the same ineness
600 parts fne) as u standard silver
dollar.
All of these coins are heavier by
from / to II grains than our S andard
silver dollar, and therefore there can
be no OF ection on the part of those
who hold to the intrinsic theory falIacy
of the goldltes to coming these dollars,
which contain more pure silver than
our standard full legal tender silver
dollar.
OF the trade dollars there are now
outstanding, according to a report of
the Director of the Mint which l hold
in my hand, 81 $50 131 There were
coined in all 35, 965 924 Of them. OF
this amount 1853. OBS were redeemed
under act of March 3, 1887, There
have been deposited and purchased as
bullion at the minis ga, ISL, making
the total number redeemed and pur-
chased as bullion 8, 633. 795 Therefore
leaving outstanding over q. 900, 900 Of
them, as | have stated above.
l wish to cell attention IN this con
necti0n to an extract from a speech
made on this floor by the Senator frl m
Colorado DR.. Teller day before yes
terday, in which he said, in replying
to what the Senator from OHIO Mr.,
Sherman said the same day about so
cent dollars.
The tact is you have a two dollar
d liar now, and that is what Is the
trouble with this country. The dollar
Of this country to day measures twice
what it used to measure; it commands
twice the products. There are several
countries in the world that have free
coinage, notably Mexico and japan,
and neither of them has so cant dol