The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-10-09

pensable for that purpose and unsuited to any
other, and all the silver tongued orators in the
land cannot change this fact. The 81, So. 80 and
SO goldpieces We're too small and were unpop-
ular as change money, and the government
stopped the coinage of them.
On the other hand. silver Is not q debt pay
Ing mouey in any considerable amount, nor
the money OF commerce, for the reason that 1t
Is too bulky and too heavy. When man gets
over So or $40 of it, he unloads on the first
bank he comes to, and the bank unloads on
the treasury. Thus the circulation of it is linn
tied to Just what the people will use. When
the people get enough OF a thing, they know
1t, and you cannot argue with them about it.
They are gullible on theories, but intensely
practical in business.
'The Great Crime of 1872
We have heard great deal about demoneti-
zation OF silver. Let us see the extent of "the
great crime OF 1873" In 1853, in order to pre-
vent the subsidiary coin from going abroad,
the silver half dollar was reduced in weight
from 1904 to 1862 grains, and the quarters, dimes
and cent pieces were reduced in the same
proportion. These coins were then made q
legal tender for only So in amount. and the
coinage OF them for private account was stop
ped, but tho government purchased the silver
bullion and coined them as they were needed.
30, no crime was committed in 1873 against
the halves quarters, dimes and half dimes.
That crime was committed under Willard Fill
der for sums not exceeding $40.
In 1878 the standard silver dollar Of 4121T
grains was left out Of the coinage act and the
trade dollar Of 420 grains was substituted for
1T. This was done at the request of the Pacific
slope, to enable our dollar to compete with
the Mexican dollar of about that weight, in
China and Japan. The standard dollar was
not legal tender from Feb. IL, 1878, to Feb.
~, 1870, at which time its recoinage was provid-
ed Tor, and 1t was reinstated as a legal tender
for all debts, in whatever amount. But IS, 000,
600 OF this "daddy dollar" was coined prior to
1873 out OF total coinage of 81 0OO, 0O0, 900.
Jefferson stopped the coinage of it in 1905 and
for ~ years not one of them was coined, and
the daddies' never complained. They did not
have sense enough to see that jefferson had
sold out to Lombard street, These dollars
were not in fact legal tenders prior to 1873
because the people did not tender them in pay
ment or debts nor in purchase of goods. They
had not been in circulation since Andrew
jackson was president. and hardly any middle
aged man had ever seen one OF them. The peo-
pie had ocmonetized them by melting them
down or by sending them abroad for that
purpose, and to this good day they have never
been demonetized in any other way.
The act Of 1873 simply recognized what the
people had done and for five years continued
the policy that the people had been pursuing
for nearly half n century. Tho legal tender
faculty of this dollar was restored to it II
OF 1T ON hand now, and has stood ready at all
times to furnish it to anybody who wanted it,
This Is the biography OF the decentralization
mouse that has been evolved from a mountain
of denunciation. The poor little thing never
lived but five brief years and has been as dead
as door nail for IL years. While it lived it
was so harmless the people paid no attention
to it. Shakespeare says, ''The evil that men
do lives after them" But it is even worse in,
the case OF this mouse. The evil that 1t did
not do lives after 1t in the shape of grasping,
mine owners two ply editors and unscrupu-
lous politicians
Thriving on Assassination.
We are told that the standard dollar is not
primary money. 1t is not q promise to ray,
1t is legal tender for all debts, and it does
not have to be redeemed in any thing on the
face OF the earth. II any man can give bet
ter definition of primary money than this,
would like to see it, ~
This government is the fast friend of silver.
money and of the people who use it, rather.
than or the American and English corpora
tions who mine silver and would coin it at "a
fictitious valuation. Prior to 1873 this govern
Wept coined Sl44. OOO.OOO OF silver: since then,
1851, 900, 600. In 81 years, under a gold stand
ard, nearly four times as much silver was
coined as in 81 years under the so called dou-
BILE standard. certain kind lady always
chloroformed her child when she whipped it.
when there was almost none of her in circula-
ton, and since that fateful day she has thrived
on assassination and has grown from living
skeleton to be the fat woman in the circusl
In contemplating her brilliant post norton
career am constrained, with the apostle, to
exclaim: "Oh, death, where is thyssting? Oh
grave where is thy victoryP"
After 1873 this country prospered as no 9TH
er ever did for 10 years, and we,are asked to
believe that it took this wide awake nation 10
years to find out that it was ruined by the
legislation of 1878. The negroes in some Sec
ttons believe in q hoodoo charm, which is
harmless for year and then suddenly devel-
ops insanity, fits, etc. The crime of 1873
seems to have worked in a hoodoo way.
The Egg Argument.
The 10 to people tell us that the coinage of sill
yer will create unlimited demand for it. They
decline to give us the howness or the wherefore
ness of this new born demand. but with child
like faith they expect it to rise in all its beau
ty as the tabled Venus rose from the froth of
the sea. They say the demand will come:
so the Seventh Day Adventists tell us the end
will come, and If their picnic comes off first
they will not need silver: the demand will be
for free and unlimited water. They contend,
II this government takes all the silver that
comes at 10 to /, silver will be worth par all
over the world, and they use an egg argu.
ment to prove 1t. They say, If q merchant
advertises that he will pay % cents per dozen
for eggs, so long as he has the ability to take
all that come, eggs will DO worth Is cents in
all that country. But suppose the merchant
did not take themi Suppose when a farmer
drove up to his store the merchant said unto
him: "My friend, you have misunderstood
me. am not buying eggs am simply count
ing them, certifying that they are good and
handing them back to YOU" What would eggs
then BIO WORTH The same old 10 or Is cents
per dozen.
Under unlimited coinage the government
would not buy silver or guarantee the value
Of the coins. 1t would stamp it without re-
course" Silver would come from every coun-
try in the world and the government would
be fool to undertake to guarantee the value
of the coins by trying to preserve the parity
between the metals. II a herder drove q lot
of COW ponies through the mint and they were
branded $500 horse and delivered to the
owner at the other end Of the building, it
would not improve the breed Of the ponies
nor create wild demand for them at the
brand price.
Our government has lost $500, 600, 900 trying
to create demand for silver, for the sole and
separate use, behoof and benefit of the silver
mine owner. by buying it when 1t did not
want 1t and had no need of 1t. and the silver
mining civilian still pursues" It'll Uncle Sam
has this silver on hand now. It would load
two horse wagon train l73 miles long, putting