The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1896-08-13

l'ructicdIIys from lo4O I'LL tue SuspeuOlou "
specie payments In 1851, we were, In re-
spect to circulation, entirely on gold
basis-silver no more entered into our cir
culating medium than during the suspen-
sion of specie payment during the war.
The "crimes" of 1884 and 1887 had, In
fact, demonetized silver. When the act OF
1873, Of which SO much complaint has been
made, was passed, there was no silver in
circulation, no silver to demonetixe-there
was no silver being coined In 1870 we re-
sumed specie payment-for the first time
since 1S61-but nearly one year before that
time. In February. 1873. under the so-called
Bland act, silver was remonetized and made
full legal tender for all purposes. except
where parties otherwise agreed, and 1t has
so remained ever since. By this act the
government was directed to purchase at its
market vakne silver bullion for not less
than two million, nor more than four million
dollars each month, and to coin the same
into legal tender dollars as fast as pur-
chased. From the silver purchased under
this law, there has been coined in all $751;
1866 1913 silver dollars, and the holders OF
the same. or of any of our silver dollars,
may deposit the same In the treasury and
receive therefor silver certificates. which
circulate as money. In spite OF this extern
sive purchase of silver by the government
silver continued to depreciate in value, and
the silver mining states, In consequence,
became very urgent and systematic advo-
Gates of the free and unlimited coinage of
silver ut the ratio of 10 to 1. Their per-
sistency was rewarded by being reinforced
by the people of the South and Southwest
ern states, who, through free coinage,
thought they saw an easy road to acqult
themselves Of their obligations to the PEG.
pie of the North and Of Europe. These two
forces, with scattered help from various
quarters, became so strong that they came
near passing a free coinage bill ia 1880.
TO obviate this, as q last resort, they OPP
ponents of free coinage Joined in enacting
q compromise measure known as the Sher-
man law Of July. 1890. By this act the
treasurJ department was required to pur-
chase every month. at the market price,.
4,5OOOOO ounces Of silver bullion. and to
issue in payment therefor treasury notes
of the United States, payable in coin, which
notes were made a legal tender for all pur-
poses, except where otherwise stipulated.
The treasury department was further re-
qured to coin the silver bullion thus prr-
chased into silver at the rate of 100000
ounces each month up till the first day of
July, 1891. and thereafter only so much as
was required to redeem these treasury
notes. The purchasing clause of the Bland
law was also repealed.
Parity of the Two Metals.
As IL congress had an apprehension Of
silver monometallism this law, for the first
time, contained a mandate requiring the
parity of the two metals to be maintained.
To the unbiased thinker this law seems
strange anomaly. 1t was In its substance
really Populist subtreasury scheme, for
it required the government every month,
without any regard to Its currency wants,
to purchase a large, fixed quantity OF silver.
to coin some of 1t, to store and warehouse
the most Of 1t, and to issue notes or GER
tifcates for the whole of 1t. For very
short time it buoyed up the price of silver
bullion, but soon the bullion began to fall
again, and fell faster than ever. The own
erS of silver bullion and silver mines be-
came disappointed and soon became as
clamorous and urgent for free coinage as
ever. In the meantime silver imitation went
on 6S,674, 6S2 ounces of silver bullion was
purchased at cost of $155, 031, OO2. or an
average of 92.41 per ounce. making the
bullion value of the dollar 71.5 cents. OF
this silver bullion about $47.OOO,OOO have
been coined. and about $11S.O00.OO0 remain
in the trea >ury uncoined. but represented
in our circulation by treasury notes. issued
under the act.
During the rebellion we Issued something
like $780, 100000 Of treasury notes. COM
monty called greenbacks, legal tender.
but not then redeemable In coin. Shortly
after the resumption of specie payment
the volume of these Eotes was reduced to
$346, OO0,O 900, at which amount they have
since remained. At the time OF resumption
fund Of something like $1OO.OOO.0O0 In
gold had been accumulated for redemption
purposes, and 1t has been the aim of the
treasury department ever since to keep
such fund on hand for the redemption OF
our greenbacks. which are required to be
reissued as soon as redeemed.
This fund Is the 100000 600 gold re-
demption fund. of which Won have heard
so much of late. and is. aside from conf
dence in the government and the fact that
it accepts silver in payment of all govern
ment dues. the main prop OF our financial
system and is ready and willing to redeem
all our treasury notes In gold, and our
only immediate weapon for keeping our
silver and paper on a parity with gold.
Prior to 1903, as I have already stated.
this redemption fund was little disturbed,
and remained intact. But during the early
part Of that year the great deficiency of
revenue, and the great, forced and con-
tinued silver imitation, under the Sherman
law. led the financial world to doubt the
ability of our government to maintain our
money system on a parity with gold The
fear of silver monometallism possessed the
business and financial world, and as re-
suit. through the instrumentality of our
greenbacks. there was an undue and exces-
sive withdrawal Of gold from the treasury.
and a great deal Of this gold. and much
other money with 1t. was Withdrawn from
circulation and business. and went Into
hiding. People held their breath. SO to
speak, to see whether their currency would
be scaled down to the level Of Mexico and
Japan. This was the monetary crisis and
currency famine Of 1893. The situation
became so threatening tfat finally In No
vember Of that year congress. as partial
relief and palliative, passed an act re-
pealing the compulsory silver purchasing
clause Of the Sherman law and declaring
In favor of binetallism and the maintenance
Of parity This left our existing silver eur
rency undisturbed the silver dollar legal
tender as much as ever under the Bland
law and the government free to coin all
the silver bullion on hand into silver. dol
lars. ALI the law Of 1893 accomplished
was to relieve the government from the
duty of purchasing 100000 ounces OF sill
yer every month.
UncOined Bullion.
More than two-thirds of the silver bullion
purchased under the Sherman law Is still
'uncoined In the treasury, but Is being
coined into silver dollars from time to
time Seven million FIVE hundred thousand
four hundred and twelve dollars Of 1t was
coined during the six months ending June
go 1885, and this Is only $500, 900 less than
our total coinage Of silver dollars prior to
1861. Up to the 1st day of July, 1896, there
had been coined In all since the passage OF
the Bland law, In 1878. exclusive of trade
dollars and subsidiary silver, 40, 1854
silver dollars, and this silver money has
not, like our silver money IN the days OF
free coinage, taken wings aud left US, but
Is still with US and In circulation or In
the treasury. On the silver coined from the