The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-09-04
A Few Pertinent Remarks to Mr..
Sound Money"
AN INCREASED OUTPUT OF GOLD
Rapid City to Play Deadwood-
Mrs. Lucas Reported at the
Point of Death.

While there is considerable form
in the arrangement of the article
by Sound Money in Tuesdays issue
we have looked in vain for any ma
terial substance.
/. What precedent is there in
history for the coinage of money,
p%orporting to contain full instrinsic
bullion value which in fact contains
little more than one-half that pre-
tended value.
To this question [ would answer
None except our own, that we have
established, or are, attempting to
establish in this country.
2. What foundation is there for
the claim that the fall in the market
price of silver bullion is due wholly
to the demonstration Of silver when
the best %authoritity extant-the
tables of production issued by the
director OF the United Statec mint
show that of the gross mass Of sill
yer produced by the mines of the
world during the 300 years from
1893 to 1893, viz: SO, 9O8, 274, 900, the
immense sun of So, 084, 986, 000-|
nearly one-fourth of the entire pro-
duct since the demonstration of sill
yer and within twenty years from
1873 to 1893?
The value of silver bullion was
placed upon it, in regulating it's
value as coin Of the United States,
regardless of either production, or
the cost of production. The same
fat of law made the value of the sill
yer dollar and also the gold dollar.
But by manipulated legislation to
benefit dealers in money who were
closely connected with other dealers
in the gold standard country of En-
gland, silver was deprived of it's
value as a circulating medium of
exchange. This reduction threw
silver bullion into the market simply
as a commodity.
3.-With an increase Of over 500
per cent in the average annual pro-
duction of silver during the past
forty years-the average yearly pro-
duction from 184l to 1874 was but
9,448, 597 fine ounces, while that
for the year 1893 was 161, 1852, 900
fine ounces,-how could the most
devoted friedd of free silver coinage
expect The metal to retain it's old
time market value, or it's coinage
ratio of fifteen and one half to six
teen, based upon the market value?
We do not dispute the fact of the
vast increase in the amounts pro-
duced Of the two metals during the
last forty years, neither do we lose
sight of the great increase in our
population during that time, Or
that vast amount Of money that has
been used to develope and open up
the resources of our country.
Jefferson to Hamilton, 1892:
IT concur with you that the unit
must stand upon both metals.
Now as to the amount of coin in
circulation as given by the treasure
officials for June-1996,: Gold coin
1856, 876, 439. Silver coin $114, 084,
O44. Gold coin per capita $6.57.
Silver per capita $1.62.
Judging from those figures it
looks as if it would take free coinage
of silver several years to reach a
flood tide, but if it comes we will
try and endure it, for we have had
a long season of drouth.
And now I would like "Sound
Money" to please rise and explain,
why the bankers at their convention
held at Baltimore q believe in '95)
endeavored to formulate a plan to
increase their bank circulation fifty
per cent of the capital stock to give
the business of the country an elias
tic currency. If the business of the
country was not in need of a larger
circulating medium of exchange,
why suggest it. If it was needed,
why not coin our silver which has an
intrinsic value, in place of issuing a
large amount of elastic paper money,
with only a guarantee fund of five
per cent to protect issues. 1t does
not need very strong magnifying
glasses to see through the scheme of
replacing our silver currency by a
s~hin-aollar of the national banks.
Please explain.
Commissioners Proceedings.
RAPID CITY, S. d., July "a, 1896.
Board met pursuant to adjournment.