West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1896-10-29
SILVER TO BE
GOOD AS GOLD.
Open MINIS and Legal Tender
Laws VIII Make White Metal
Good as the Yellow.
NO 50-CENT DOLLARS.
This Is Not Question Of Bullion, But
Of Remonetized. Debt-Paying
Coined Money.
A Reply tn a False Charge Against the
Silver Dollar by Ex-senator john II.
Reagan. OF Texas-A Rank Dcccp-
tion of the Goidbugs Made
Perfectly Plain.

One of the scare-crows used by the
advocates Of the single gold standard
lis the false representation that IL the
| policy OF the free and unlimited coin
age OF silver should be adopted IL would
cut In two the wages OF the laborers and
compel them to take 50-cene dollars
| without an increase of the rate OF their
wages; that those receiving salaries
would get but one-half the pay they
now receive; that those having money
on deposit in savings banks would only
receive from the bank in return for
their deposits 50-cent dollars, which
would be but one-hnlf of what would
be due them; that the endowment.
funds of colleges and universities would
be reduced one-half in value, as would
| all trust funds.
This frightful statement is repeated
day by day by the newspapers, ard
| other advocates of the single gold stand
ard, as controlling argument 10 pre-
vent the people from voting for the can
didates who represent the policy of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver
The newspapers and men who are urg-
ing this statement know 1t to be n
stupendous falsehood. They make IL
the changes on IL In every POSSIBLE
form. And by this means have de-
ceived and are misleading thousands of
honest people who may not be able 10
detect the fraud which Is being prac
ticed on them.
What are the real facts as to this?
! The gold standard advocates, as the
basis of their false statements, com
pare silver bullion Invested of the quail
! ity of money, uncoined and not legal
tender. with gold, which is by law
coined into money and made legal
tender In payment of public dues and
all debts, TO the amount stamped on
each coin. Is this an honest COM
parison? Does IL speak the truth?
Does 1t not, in effect, assert thinly
! disguised, but gross and monstrous,
falsehood? Let US see. If congress and
the nations should prevent the coin
| nge of gold bullion, as has been done
as TO silver bullion, depriving it by
law of the quality of money, then
| the gold bullion would not be money.
no more than silver bullion Is now.
And the gold bullion would become a.
commodity as silver bullion is now. and
would simply bring what IL would DO
worth for use In the arts. The same is
true of silver.
To make an honest comparison of
| gold and silver, and to tell the honest
truth, we must compare gold coin, in
vested with the legal tender quality.
with silver coin invested with the same
| quality. Doing that, we find the silver
coins In the United States, not silver
bullion, worth as much in the purchase
of property and in the payment of
debts as the coins of gold. And we find
that more than 100000, 900 of silver
coins In circulation I'm Europe are at
par with gold. Why this? Simply be-
cause both are coined with the value of
the coins fixed by law.
Has anyone ever seen q 50-cent dol
lar Ina this country OF course not.
And why notP Because our more than
40O,0O0,o0O silver dollars, or their rep
resentatives, are the coined money of
the United States, their value fixed
by law, and they are made a legal ten
der for all debts. Hence, those now
coined are as good as gold.
No laborer, no person drawing a sal
airy, no depositor in a bank will be
/ paid, nor will any offer be made TO nav
them, with silver bullion. They may
be paid in coined silver, as they may
now be lawfully paid In coined silver;
but the dollars In which they could be
80 paid would be 1O0-cent dollars. and
i equal 70 gold, because they would buy
as much property and pay as much OF
debt as the same number Of gold dollars.
IL 1t be said that the stamp OF the
! government and the mandate Of the
law make the coin Of greater value than
the bullion, the answer may be made
that the present value Of gold Is fixed
by law.
An act OF the British parliament
/ passed in tho year 1874, 50 years ago.
requires the Bank OF England to pur-
chase all the gold presented 70 II at
/ three pounds, seventeen shillinRs and
nine pence per ounce. That fixes the
/ price all over the world, less the cost of
transportation to London. So that it's
| price Is not governed by its intrinsic
value, but by un act Of parliament; and
this makes il in that sense fat money.
Money Is the creature Of law. The
| material Of which IL is made Is not
money until made so by law, whether
! st be gold or silver or paper. The gov
eminent or the banks issue their notes
TO circulate as money. These notes
/ have no intrinsic value. Their being
money arises from the fact that their
/ issue is authorized by law, the promise
/ 20 redeem them I'm coin, and, IN some
\ cases, tho making Of them legal ten
I der. SO that IL IS the operation OF the
I law which makes money. and not the
material Of which IL is composed;
though gold and silver are recognized
as more suitable material out OF which
to make money than anything else.