The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1896-10-23
Open Mints and Legal Tender
Laws Will Make White Metal
Good as the Yellow.
NO 5O-CENT DOLLARS.
This Is Not a Question Of Bullion, But
of Remonetized, Debt-Paying
Coined Money.
A Roply to n False Charge Agninst the
Silver Dollar by Ex-senator John ii.
Reagan, OF Texas-A Rank Docep-
tion of tho Goldbugs Made
Perfectly Plain.


One of the scare-crows used by the
advocates of the single gold standard
Is the fulse representation that If the
policy of the free and unlimited coin
age of silver should be adopted it would
cut in two the wages of the lnborers and
compel them to take 50-ccnt 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-half Of what would
be due them; that. the endowment
funds of colleges and universities would
lie reduced one-half in value, as would
all trust funds.
This frightful statement is repeated
day by day by the newspapers, nEd
other advocates of the single gold stand
ard, as controlling argument to pre-
vent the people from voting for the cam
didatcs who represent the policy Of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver.
7 he newspapers and men who are urg-
ing this statement know 1t to be q
stupendous falsehood. They make It
look as plausible as they con. and ring
the changes on it in every possible
form. And by this means have de-
ceived and are misleading thousands Of
honest people who may not be able to
detect the fraud which Is being prac-
ticed on them.
10 &c fn fhtu .
Tho gold standard advocates, as tho
basis of their false statements, COM
pare silver bullion divested 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, 10 the amount stamped on
each coin. Is this an honest COM
parson? Docs 1t speak the truth?
Does it not, in effect, assert thinly
disguised, but gross and monstrous,
falsehood? Let us see. If congress and
the nations should prevent the coin
age OF gold bullion, as has been donc
as to silver bullion, depriving 1t 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 u
commodity MS silver bullion is now, and
would simply bring what 1t would DO
worth for use in the arts. The same 10
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 $1,OOO.0 100000 of silver
coins In circulation in 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 6o-cent dol
lar in this country? OF course not
And why not? because our more than
400,000,0O0 silver dollars, or their rep
resentatives, are the coined money Of
the United States, their value fixed
by law, and they are made legal ten
der for all debts. Hence, those now
coined are as good as gold.
No laborer, no person drawing sal
ary, no depositor in bank will be
paid, nor will any offer be made TO pay
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
so paid would be 10O-cent dollars. and
equal TO gold, because they would buy
as much property and pay as much OF
debt as the same number of gold dollars.
II it 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 tho present value Of gold is fixed
by law.
An act OF the British parliament
passed in the year 1874, SO years ago.
requires the Bank of England to pur-
chase all the gold presented 10 It at.
three pounds, seventeen shillings and
nine pence per ounce. That fixes the
price all over the world, less the cost OF