The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1896-06-16
How Free Coinage Works.

mint where it will be nssayed ant
accepted on basis Of 905 per cen
of fine silver or gold, that IL, in sub
stance, sterling or standard silver
Then that silver goes into the min
and the owner receives its eguival
ent in coin. The government buy
neither silver nor gold; it has M
store houses or vaults except 70
such coin rs ii owns. 1t performs
one Of the most royal functions o
government, the coming Of money
for the people. That has beer
from all recorded constitutional
historic time the high prer0gative
OF government; II insures coins oi
proper weight and fineness. There
the dutiesof the government end
The bullion has been received, il
has been coined, the coin has been
delivered TO the owner,
Now let us follow back on the
lines of production. Far off in the
mountains or in the beds ofancient
rivers, whose waters have long
since dried up, thousands of men
are at work taking out rock or
gravel; if for gold, washing it,
separating it from the dirt and saw
ing the little PARTICLES that through
out the ages have been deposited
on the bottom or the bedrock of
ancient streams. This IS the work
of the placer miner. Ninety per
cent of all the gold that is brought
out goes into the pocket oflaborers
and large percentage of this
gold is produced by the most
careful and ,painstaking labor.
Take another step. Go into the
mountains where vein mining is
carried on, Large tunnels are eX-
tended; deep shafts are sunk; i'm
mense pumps to take care of the
water are in use; hundreds and
hundreds of men are busy with
drill and hammer and dynamite
separating the rock, loading it into
cars, taking it TO the hoists or out
the tunnel TO the mill, where IL Is
crushed, roasted and then treated
for the separation Of the precious
metals. 1t matters not whether il
be for gold or silver, for these met
als!in veins are almost always uni
ted together. The same process of
labor, danger, risk and skill have
to be applied. Often these precious
metals are associated with the base
metals-lead, zinc and copper-and
sometimes double or triple pro-
cess has TO be restored to before
they are separated and prepared
and prepared for the market and
for the mint.
Don't think for minute that il
is all profit. On an average silver
costs more than a dollar an ounce.
Once in while "a rich pocket or a
very rich mine is struck where
money is made very rapidly, but
the large production Of silver
throughout the world costs not less
than dollar an ounce.
When these silver bars have
been produced and have been sent
to the market or into the mint,
they are pure creation Of wealth
for they have been brought out of
the hidden recesses Of the earth by
labor and by skill. They haye
been made part of the worlds
great wealth and in their produc-
ton there Is wear and waste. The
miners are the greatest patrons or
the makers of clothing, Of steel, of \
iron, boilers, engines, hoists, row.
der, candles, oil, lumber, timber;
In short nearly all Of the products
Of the great east, hence what they
produce goes in II steady current !
from the mountains to the eastern
'Ities to vitalize all channels of {
business. Why then should there
De an antipathy and an antagonism G
against silver mining any more
han against gold mining? They
ire substantially one and the same :
hing. 1t is not from that the be- r
OF this hatred Of silver J
'omes. II is back in the gold I
in the minds of the con- .
rollers OF the money markets Of /
he world. II was In the desire of S
he great security mongers to con- Il
rol the money Of the world that :,
he effort was and Is put forth to $,
|estr0y silver as money metal so a
hat these securities may he made h
4 greater value because money =;
Iself Is thus made dearer. v
That is the way il works. The rt
rec coinage OF silver alike with II
old doubles the amount of money - -
{ final redemption. The larger a,
he volume OF money OF final re- g