The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-08-04
FREE

What is meant by free coinage of sill
o at the ratio of sixteen to one? The
question has often been asked and an
swereo, but there are many who do
not know. "Free coinage" means the
coinage, by the government, of bullion
into money free OF charge. Our na-
tion now has free coinage Of gold; and
n may take gold to the mint and
have it coined into gold dollars, the
only charge being made for the alloy
lcopperl put in the dollar to make 1t
means hat there shall be sixteen
times as much silver in a silver dollar
as there is gold in a gold dollar. The
ratio is based upon the presumption
that gold is sixteen times more valua-
BILE than silver; or would be IL the a
tion adopted free coinage of silver,
thus giving 1t a equal chance with
gold.
The Biblical Recorder, from which
the above paragraph is taken, says:
owe have given more thought to
this question in the last three years
than to any other" II this is so,
our contempory ought to be able to
give a more intelligent account of
free coinage than is contained in
this extract. The editor quoted
confounds free and g%ratuitous coin
age. "Free coinage exists where
any owner of bullion has the right
to have it coined on the same terms
as the government, whether with
or without a seIgniorage CHARGE"
Hence there may be free coinage
where there is a seigniorage, or
charge for coinage. Gratuitous
coinage mean that no seigniorage
Is charged for the work of coming,
l.. O., the mint value and the bullion
value of the coins are the same.
Hence also there may be gratuitous
coinage where free coinage does
not exist, that is, only a limited
amount of bullion may be admitted
to the mint and coined gratuitously.
Free coinage of silver might mean,
therefore, any one of several things,
gratuitous limited coinage, free
and unlimited coinage, or gratuit-
Gus and unlimited coinage. AS a
matter of fact, in present discuss
sions on the subject, it signifies the
latter, i.e., there is to be no seignior-
age charge and the profits arising
from converting bullion into money
are to belong to the owner of the bull
lion, and on the other hand mo limit
is to be fixed to the amount of bullion
admitted to the minis; the minis
mechanical capacity being the only
limit to the volume OF silver coin.
This is the doctrine of Stree coinage
of silver" as advocated at present
by a great many people.
The other point as to the ratio,
sixteen to one, does not mean that
gold is sixteen times as valuable
as silver, or that silver is oue-six-
teeth as valuable as gold, but that
governmental fat can establish
this ratio of value and maintain it.
This is really the gist of the ques
ton in dispute. Those who believe
in the omnipotence of government
settle it in one way; those who be-
lieve that governments do not
create economic laws, but are rig
idly subject to them, settle it in an
other way. The question is before
the people of the United States,
and before they venture to cast
their votes they should study the
question, If the voter does not
study the subject he Is not morally
competent to vote. For this is, to
some extent, a moral issue. Let
the people seek light on this subject
and that not from demagogues,
but from. those who have studied
the subject. There are some who
have studied 1t for more than
"three years."-The Baptist Cou-
rier.