The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-18
FACTS ABOUT COINS.
THEORIES ARE BEAUTIFUL, BUT
THEY ARE NOT RELIABLE.
An Unanswerable Argument Against Free
Coinsge-R Relation of silver to Gold-Ths
"Crime of 1873" Was Simply Declare
tion Of q Condition.


"Crime of 1873" Was Simply Declare
tion Of Condition.
I. Silver has always been measured
by gold.
2. That by which something else is
measured is the standard of value. The
number Of ounces of silver an ounce of
gold would buy has always been the
ratio.
8. Like all other values, the ratio Of
silver TO gold has been controlled by
supply and demand.
4. When this government was found
ed, the commercial or true ratio was
believed TO be 10 to 1.
5. AT that ratio silver was admitted
free and unlimited to the mint. Gold
dollar, 24A grains fine gold; 24Axl5
equals 37l "a grains fine silver, the "sil-
yer dollar Of the daddies."
6. The intent and belief Of the dad
dies" was that 37lH grains of pure sill
yer would buy as much of anything as
244 grains of gold would buy.
2. Or that 10 ounces of fine silver
would pay as much debt as 1 ounce Of
gold.
1. The ratio of Is to I, fixed by law,
remained actually correct but a very
short time.
2. Owing to admission of foreign
coins which were inferior, no American
gold or silver coins circulated. Coinage
of silver dollars was suspended in 1904
and was not resumed until 1920. Then
1000 were coined.
3. In 1884 the dollar Of the daddies"
ceased to exist. The weight Of the sill
yer dollar was changed to 4l2H grains.
This altered the ratio to 16 to 1.
A. Silver then became more profitable
to export than to coin.
8. Thus we went to the single gold
standard, on which we have been down
to the present time.
6. Dropping the silver dollar legally
from coinage in 1878 was only making
me>e record Of what had been actually
true from 1884. Silver declined to be
coined during that entire period except
In small quantities.
z. Tho whole amount Of silver coined
from the foundation of the government
to 1878 was about sS, 600. 900, although
| its coinage was free and unlimited.
Third.
/. From 1878 to July I. 1896. under
limited silver coinage. we coined, in full
legal tender silver dollars, $429, esq.,
| 916 at the ratio Of l6 to 1.
2. In the SO years prior to 1878 the
whole amount of silver coined by the
| United States under free silver coinage
was S22a, 5s5, 921.
8. In the Is years from 1878 to 1896
| the whole amount of silver coined un-
der limited coinage was $471, ,927, 729.
| A. More than a240, 600, 900 more Of
silver was coined in Is years of limited
coinage than during the SO years Of free
silver coinage.
8. All the silver dollars in our cur
| rency are full legal tender at 100 cents
each Except for redemption of gold cer-
tificates, which are not legal tender.
@. Subsidiary silver (half dollars,
quarter dollars and dimes) are legal
tender to the amount of $40 in any one
transaction.
z. The total limited legal tender sill
yer coined is S179, ,566, 288. 60.
s. Total silver coined by the United
States down to July /, 1895, 5000, 464,-
843.10.
| Fourth.
I. The reason new demand for free
coinage Of silver by the United States
has arisen is that, owing to increased
production. caused chiefly by improved
methods Of mining and better facilities
for transportation, the output OF silver
became so large as to diminish its value
in relation TO gold
Q. Down to 1878 silver was more prof
liable to export than to coin, and that
year only S293, COO was offered for COIN
age in the United States.
| 8. In 1865 the worlds production of
silver was 81, 400, 900 ounces; real ratio
to gold, 10. 3S TO /.
4. In 1876 the worlds production Of
silver was 81. 1853, 600 ounces, or more
than double; ratio TO gold, 1888.
3. In 1886 the worlds production Of
silver was 93, 276, 900 ounces, trebling
that of 1856 real ratio to gold 90. rs.
@. In 1895 the worlds production Of
silver was l65, 600, 600 ounces, or more
than five times what it was in 1856;
real ratio 10 gold, 3l.56.
z. That is TO say. an ounce Of gold is
worth today nearly 32 ounces Of silver.
8. Yet owners Of uncoined silver
want us to accept it for free and un-
limited coinage at tho proportion Of 10
! ounces Of silver TO | ounce of gold.
Firth.
1. The effect would be 20 flood the
country with silver dollars worth 80
cents 10 % cents.
2. When the government was found
ed, tho "daddies" believed and intend.
ed that 10 ounces of silver would pur.
chase as much as one ounce of gold, or
that 10 ounces If silver would discharge