The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-07-16
STXTEEN TO oNE-wHAT ITS
TRUE MEANING is.


TRUE MEANING is.
Whether either or both the Populists
and sound money Democrats eventual
ly decide to put up an mdeps nden;
ticket there can be no question that
the battle OF the coming campaign viii
be between Mckinley and Bryan. and
the general conviction that the issue
must be taken as distinct and d.
cisive victory or defeat for the forces
Of free silver is beginning to awaken
remarkable interest among all classes
Of people on the subject.
On the streets, in the hotels, and in
public conveyances throughout fhe
length and breadth Of the country,
there is heard an endless controversy
on the historical facts relating 70 free
coinage and the merits Of the Is 10 l
proposition. In all these discussions
the fact that strikes the unpreJudicei
listener with the greatest wonder is the
NttCA AoSh VI al tSetA hAluNlctiS-1 anu IN
formation shown by the average free
silver advocate. Whether this is due
20 his unwillingness TO read. or his
failure to comprehend the simple ele-
mei.ts and common facts relating TO
the controversy, which have over and
over again been published Ia the news
papers or whether he purposely over
looks or perverts the truth. and simply
tries to repeat the exaggerations AMI
ntisststements OF the pernicious litera-
ture with which the country has been
flooded in the last few months by the
silver bureau. is not always apparent
While the Astorian has frequently
tried to explain the meaning Of the
phrase Is to l when applied to the free
coinage Of silver. and has sought to
point out some Of the evils which would
follow the adoption of such a law in
this country, it is yet in daily receipt
Of requests for the publication Of
plain and simple explanation OF the l6
to demand OF the Chicago platform. II
is TO be assumed that a majority OF the
intelligent readers of the paper are
thoroughly familiar with the question,
but in view of the public awakening
to ITS Importance. as already suggested,
it may be well TO again briefly outline
some OF the commonest points in the
controversy. The pure silver in the
big dollar weighs about sixteen times
as much as the pure gold in the gold
dollar. The exact weights are e3.e2
grains of gold and 371.25 grains Of sill
yer. Hence sixteen to one"
When the mint was founded Hamll- (
ton and Jefferson agreed that p,und /.
of gold was worth in the markets about Z
fifteen pounds Of silver. and according
ly the ratio for the coinage at first was
made fifteen to one. Anybody could /
bring as much OF either metal as he
pleased to the mints and have Il
stamped into coins. This free or un-
limited coinage Of both metals is called |
bimetallism and the country was said
to have a double standard Of values. /
The bullion in either dollar was intrin- /
sically worth as much before being (
coined as il was afterward, hut the .
governments mint stamp was a guar
antee Of the weight e-d fin ness Of the J
metal and made it a legal tender.
Subsequently it was found that If
teen pounds Of silver were not rrorth |
as much as pound Of gold, and in or
der TO conform TO the relative market .
value Of the metals congress decided
that the silver dollar should thereafter
weigh sixteen times as much as the /
gold dollar. In doing this congress
went to the other extreme and put too
low an estimate on silver The Euro
pean nations composing the Latin In
ion made their coming ratio fifteen and
to one. and the owner Of silver
here would not exchange sixteen
pounds Of 1t for a pound Of gold be-
cause he could obtain the same thing
in Europe for fifteen and a half pounds
Of silver. In other words, the quantity
of silver in a dollar was worth more
than one hundred cents. Consequently
holders Of silver bullion ceased to send
II to the United States mints and the
silver dollar previously coined was
boarded
When the mint laws were revised in
1873 the provision for the free coinage
Of silver was dropped. This attracted
little attention at the time because
none of these dollars had been in circu-
Iation for a generation; and, in fact,
only eight millions Of them in all had .
been coined from the foundation Of tine
government up TO that time. Owing to
the discovery Of new mines the worlds |
production Of silver began to steadily |
Increase, and the price consequently be- |
gan to decline, and the European ma
lions were in self defence compelled to |
close their mints against further free |
coinage Of the deprecated metal. While
silver was high the mine owners cared |
nothing about the mint, but when it |
got SO low that a pound Of gold would
buy seventeen pounds of silver in the
market, these gentlemen began to
elamor for a restoration of the privi-
Iege of selling to the American people
the mint at the old ratio Of
sixteen to one. 1t was than that they