The advocate., 1896-08-19
ITEMS OF INFORMATION.

bI0ncuAy OuAy ~ AOOOb W"D VAAOSS"O9O"S'
The amount OF silver certificates in Cir
culation May l, 1896, was $685., 1884, Alb.
Silver dollars are not redeemed In
gold. There Is no law authorizing It,
and there is no such practice.
Interest advanced on government
bonds between 1880 and 1892 amounted
to upward Of 66 million dollars.
The value of an ounce OF standard
gold (.91625 fine) was fixed at G3 lis Cd
by the British Parliament in 1874.
Had prices continued as they were in
1892, the present tariff law would afford
ample revenue for all government pur-
poses.
Il has cost the country about $685.
100000 in interest-bearing bonds in less
than three years to maintain the gold
standard.
The amount of money in circulation is
now constantly diminishing, though we
have sold about $260,000,O00 in bonds to
procure gold coin.
With high level Of prices, business is
brisk, work plenty, wages fair and times
good. Free coinage Of silver and gold
will turn the tide that way.
Free silver coinage would not increase
the volume Of money in the country any
faster than it has been diminished since
1893 by the repeal Of the Sherman law.
When pensioner is told that silver
coinage would affect the value OF his pen
sion, let him answer that no American
silver dollar was ever discounted in the
United States.
The free and unlimited coinage Of sill
YER and gold at the ratio Of 16 to would
soon restore the commercial ratio. There
was but trihing variation when both
metals were coined on equal terms.
Seignorage was once charge for mint
ing or coming money. The word is now
used to denote the difference between
the market value and the coin value OF
bullion that is purchased for coinage.
If free coinage of silver will be such
q harvest for the silver mine owner
how does it happen that nobody has
ever complained of the effect of free
coinage Of gold on the gold mine
oWner2
Amount Of coined silver dollars in the
treasury July /, 1896, was $378,6l4,043
On these there had been issued $346,.
942,504 Of silver certificates. OF subsi
diary silver, there was at the same time
$15,637 ,424.
This country was on q bimetalliC
basis from 1892 to 1873. The silver
dollar was the unit of value. By the
act of February II, 1873, the unit was
changed from the silver dollar to the
gold dollar.
There have been four bond sales by
the present administration: Two In
1894, @50,000,000 each at 5 per cent.
running ten years; two In 1895, one fol
about $62, 100000 and one for 800,
100000, both at 4 per cent, running
thirty years.
The reason that the silver coinage OF
the United States was not larger dur
ing the first sixty years Of our Ma
tional history Is, that we had largt
circulation of foreign coins, most 0i
which were legal tender In payment
Of debts until 1857.
Our refunding bonds, authorized II
1870, were sold at 991S cents en- thl
dollar, and afterward they were re
deemed before maturity at a premium
many Of them 90 high as % per cent
The total premium paid on bonds from
1880 to 1899 was little over 60 millioI
dollars.
Kansas Republicans in 1873, at thei
State convention at Topeka, and at eacl
OF the three Congressional district con
vcntions, at Garnett, Manhattan anC
Wichita, declared in favor OF substitut
ing greenbacks for National banks note
as the permanent currency" Of tn,