Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-07-29

gold flowing out from us we shall be
forced to the single silver standard
and our relations with the leading
commercial nations Of the world viii
be not only embarrassed but Grip
pied"
The present attitude of the Republi-
cans and other sound money men OF
the country could not be more clearly
stated than in the foregoing. Then
AIR. Blaine stated the issue pending
against dishonest dollar as follows:
The question before Congress then
sharply defined in the pending House
Bill tthe Bland Bid is whether it is
now safe and eXpedient tn offer free
coinage to the silver dollar of 4i2is
grains with the minis of the Latin
Union closed and Germany not per
hitting silver To be coined as money.
AT current rates of silver the free
coinage of a dollar containing 412la
grains. worth in gold about ninety
two cents, gives an illegitimate profit
to the owner of the bullion. enabling
him TO take ninety-tWo cents worth
of it To the mint and get it stamped
and force his neighbor To take it for
n full dollar
This is an unfair advantage which
the government has no right To give to
the owner of silver bullion and which
defrauds the man who is forced to
take the dollar"
And if this fraud We're so obvious
when the silver dollar was actually
worth within eight cents of the gold
dollar. how monstrously shameful it
appears when the silver coinage pro-
posed would compel the people to ac-
cept hfty-three cents worth of the
bullion owners silver as equivalent to
one hundred cents in gold The lille
gltimate profit given the bullion owner
and the depreciation on the real value
of the dollars to be forced on the pub
lie would be nearly seven times greater
today. than they Were at the time Mr..
Blaine so vigorously denounced the
fraud.
OF some of the inevitable effects of
such debasement of our currency Mr.
Blaine said
1t aSsuredly follows that if we give
free coinage to this dollar of inferior
value and put it in circulation. we do
so at the expense of our better coinage
in gold. and unless We expect the eXpe-
rience Of other nations to be in some
mysterious way suspended for our
peculiar benefit. we inevitably lose our
gold coin. 1t will flow out from us
with the certainty and with the force
of the tides
Another disastrous phase of the pol
icy was thus described by him:
TO make our silver coin even three
per cent. less valuable than gold in
iilcts at once loss of more than
twenty millions Of dollars on the hold !
ers of our paper money. To make ii
silver dollar worth but ninety-two !
cents, preciptates on the same class /
a loss of nearly sixty millions of dol !
lars. For whatever the value of the |
silver dollar is, the whole paper issue /
of the country will sink to its standard |
when its coinage is authorized and it's ;
circulation becomes general in the
channels of trade"
Will the reader please estimate that
il coming ninety-two cents dollar
would have inflicted a loss of nearly !
sixty millions of dollars upon the hold
ers of our. paper money in 1873. to
what enormous figures that loss would
mount if all the paper money today
We're brought down to the standard of
a fifty-three or fifty-four cents silver
dollar! OF the effects upon the labor
ing people Mr.. Blaine cogently says. |
THE effect of paying the labor of this
country in silver coin of full value. as
compared with irredeemable paper, or
as compared even with silver of infe-
rior value-will make itself felt in n
single question to the extent of tens of
millions. perhaps hundreds Of mil
lions, in the aggregate savings