The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-09-16
MR. CARLSLES VlEWS
On the Maintenance of the Parity
Between Gold and Silver.
IN ANSWER TO MANY INQUIRIES

IN ANSWER TO MANY INQUIRIES
The Secretary Writes Letter on the Sub
jsot-"rhe Government VIII Do What
ever It's Moral Obligations and Express
Declarations Require 1t to Do"
BAR HARBoR, Me-, Sept. 16.-Secretary
Carlisle has written the following letter
on the subject of the maintenance OF the
parity between gold and silver:
Mr. James P. Helm, Louisville, Ky.-My
Dear Sir Your letter asking how the sill
yer dollars, which contain q quantity OF
bullion commercially worth only about
fifty three cents each, arc maintained at
parity with gold, notwithstanding the
fact that the government does not directly
redeem them, or the certificates issued
upon them, in gold, is received, and as
a great many inquiries upon the same sub
ject are addressed to Inc daily from Diff
ferent parts of the country which 1t Is i'm
practicable to answer in detail, will an
swer them all at once
All the standard silver dollars issued
of 1878, now amounting to more than $780,
100000, have been coined on public &C
count from bullion purchased by the gov
eminent and are legal tender in payment
of all debts, public and private, without
regard to the amount, except when other
wise expressly stipulated In the contract
between the parties They belong to the
government when coined, and they are
paid out by the government at a parity
with gold for property and services of all
kinds and received from the people at
parity with gold in the payment of all
public dues and demands. The govern
ment has made no discrimination what
ever between the coins of the two metals,
gold having been paid on Its coin obliga-
tions when gold was demanded and silver
having been paid when silver was de-
mnnded.
Under this policy the coinage has been
SO limited by law and the policy Of the
treasury department that the amount
coined has not become 80 great as to drive
the more valuable coin, gold, out of use,
and thus destroy the basis Of our none
tary system and SO long as the two metals
are Of unequal commercial value, at the
ratio established by law, this limitation
upon the coinage Is, In my opinion, abso-
lutely essential to the maintenance OF
their parity In effecting exchanges.
If the limitation were removed conf
dence in the ability of the government to
preserve equality in the exchangeable
value of the coins would be destroyed, and
the parity would be lost long before the
amount of silver coinage had become
really excessive. With free and unlimited
coinage Of silver on account Of private
individuals and corporations the govern
ment would be under no moral obligation
to maintain the parity, and, moreover, 1t
would be unable to do so, because the
volume of overvalued silver forced into
circulation by legal tender provision
would soon expel gold from the country
or put such a premium upon 1t that 1t
would be impossible to procure and hold
In the treasury a sufficient amount to
provide for the redemption Of silver on
presentation.
In order to maintain the parity under
such conditions the government would be
compelled from the beginning to exchange
gold for silver dollars and their paper rep
resentatives whenever demanded, just as
1t now exchanges gold for Its own notes
when demanded; and as the coinage Of
silver dollars would be unlimited and,
therefore, constantly increasing, point
would soon DO reached where 1t would be
impossible to continue the process Of re-
demption.
The implied obligation Of the govern
ment to preserve the value of the money
which 1t coins from its own bullion and
for Its own use, and which It forces Its
ut .nd sarv;oas bas heen sunnIe.
Pop 49, ~, +anr, anoio ratinn.
LinI ~ .,.,,,r .,Io5 -, tho Mi f.i,b
VIZ 4Ln ouss p os H. np,ian tn
oot ~ IL, "A 1900 aftar ,,rnyidin, that
ths sacratsrr of tbs trea snrv should nnder
,,o,, ,es,,Iationa ~, h,, ,,,i,,bt ,,rascr,ho ro-
soo,,, tbo tro,D,,,., ,,ot,u isSned In tho nur.
ohoso of silver bullinn In gold mr. silvar
on;,, a. bis attenuation deol,res that II ia
mtb. ost,b,;sbod nolicy ~ tho Jrpitad
ctntoa ~ ,nointain tbe two rnot,,o nm n
-, ,.,.h oaah ,thnr ,,,,,,, 10 ,,r,sont
iaaai rot;o ~ s,ob rot,o a., n,ny In nro.
10, w.. in,,, ), ,na +ha oot ~ NJ teoa
-, - 49,, Il % H., ,.,ho no,ior ~ tha
IT,ita5 ctotas IN oonti,uo tba rsa ~ both
nold and s;ivo,. no standard money and to
eo;,, hath cola and silver into ,nonov n
e eo, 'i intrinsic Incl and e1ch,nreable vaioe
s,ioh oa,'a,jtr r. Ia soonrod tbrou,b in
torn,tianal oarse,nont or bv such sofo.
@uards Of legislstion az will insure the
Snintenance Of the n,ritv of volue of thu
coins If tbs two metals md the eou,I
newer of avery do,,ar at a,I times in tbe
i,,r,,ata a,a l., H. ,,orr,an+ ~ aah.,,,
With knowledge nf these n assurances thu
.,,. - ,,aai.,,l 81, +. 49,, -
no,;ad onned,n+lv nnon tbs GOOD faith ~
,hair ,,o,orn,,ort ord thoconndorcot bus
tnsn,rod bas hoen n r,ost notent factor in
.ho mointennnce n Tho nsr,tv Tho
nnb,;c ba. Neon sotisaad That so ,opo "a
aur nrasant MONETARY svster, 10 nrasornsd
tha rnvornmsnt will do VIVA tevcr II. moral
ohIi@ations md ovnress dscloraton, va.
r,;re ~ n do and vcrv ,aroelv ms n con.
sennenca NJ tbia con6denco IN tho GOOD
fai,b of tbe eyscutive authorities the siI.