Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-03-21

first weak knoed nation to mildly sub
nit to EnglaId's cupidity. 1t is easy
TO cipher out the reason why silver was
demonetzed instead OF gold. Gold syn
dicates were plentiful in England and
1erious contraction was already at
hand The common property had all
gone into the hands of the syndicates
or among classes. The debter was
slowly being driven into bankruptcy
and became the tradable servant of
capitalists. England was in posses
sion Of the entire gold product or con
troiied IL in such manner as to mean
the same thing. When the immense
gold discoveries were confirmed in Cal
ifOrnia and Australia in 1882 these
same foreign capitalists we're greatly
alarmed and proposed to demonetize
gold, and in consequence make silver
the standard. The value of gold
would be reduced because Of the large
product Of the metal. 1t was $50 cent
dollars they wanted for their own use
and which they secured through the
demOnetzatiOn Of silver and currency
contraction throughout the largest sill
yer using countries of the world. The
issue as to the coinage of silver is based
upon the inequality Of the functions Of
silver as compared with gold. The
phrase commonly used to designate the
sentiments as expressed by the friends
o. the white metal, namely, the free and
unlimited coinage Of silver at the estab-
lished ratio OF 10 to 1, carries with it a
more or less meaningless diagram of
the question as generally understood
by the masses Of the people. Free
coinage alone would not change the
functions of silver as money, only so
far as giving increased circulation and
in consequence the purchasing power Of
our circulation decreased to 4 small eX-
tent Silver can never occupy its hon
cred place as money until il is fully re-
monetized and our standard OF value is
fully composed of both gold and silver
TIA 1873 the law of 1892 which read:
Dollar or units, each TO be OF the value
o. a Spanish milied dollar as the same
is now current, and 10 contain SIX
grains Of pure or 416 grains standard
silver, was changed TO read: "That the
gold coins Of the United States shall be
q one dollar piece which q the standard
weight of twenty-five and eight-tenths
grains. shall be the unit of value
This act made ali gold coin a full legal
tender for an debts whatever and rem
dered silver. coins legal tender for I'VE
dollars only The gold standard was
further strengthened by the following
provision. That no coins, either gold
or silver shall thereafter be issued from
the mint other than those of the demon
ination, standard and weight herein set
forth.
III followed this provision up in 1876
with the final act against silver as
legal tender, namely that the trade dol
lar shall not hereafter be a legal
tender and the Secretary Of the Treas
ury is hereby authorized to limit from
time to time the coinage thereof to
such an amount as he may deem suffi-
cient to meet the export demand for the
same. This act took away the last fea-
ture of silver as a legal tender so far
as it relates 10 government contracts
IL at once became as mere merchandise
and began 20 decline. All money should
be a fun legal tender for redemption
or payment Of all debts, both public and
private. It is wrong TO discriminate
between the legal tender quality Of gold
as against other kinds OF money from
the fact that values are made unsteady,
destroying the parity between all Ordin-
airy commercial values and fixed in
comes. Illegal tender money always
represents the interest Of the poor man
and the full legal tender dollar the in
terests Of the rich man. The gold syn
dicates made several millions of dol
lars out of recent bond issues that
would have been saved to the people if
other kinds of money We're on an equal
basis with gold in its redeemlng and
debt paying qualities. Down with un-
equal values. Up with equal priYi-
leges under the law.
GEORGE w. HALL.
Peel Tree. W. Va, March II, 1896.