The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-04-16

Constitutes controlling factor In the
business affairs of men. Without tres
monetary history or other countries in
snn wnie9 9.ifad this experiment has been made
this subject. When 1t was Determined iGt to
ssdopt monetary. system for the United
Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. two men
'N,i,s, wh9 dinered widely upon almost every
founders snd ieaders OF TfGss tbs names as
parties will live as long as our political
nt,sr,ature Is read. agreed that I'm deter
legal ratio between gold and silver. the
trn ,rue reiatlve commercial value OF the
,,, Two metals In the markets OF the world
relative value when ascertained should
be Incorporated into the statute as the
aage They reached the conclusion that
the true commercial ratio at that time
WAS, WAS 100 Ito to Il that is. that Is ounces of
gold and accordingly the act of 1872
which was our first coinage law, author,
that ratio.
AZ the ratio thus established the silver
dollar contained 37lh grains of fine silver
and the goli contained2lN grains Of line
mistake had been made and that 37Ih
Srains OF fine silver We're not in fact
the consequence was that. although the
difference between the value of a silver
uoiial anu the Vaiue Oh a gold dollar was
only about one cent and one eighth of u
cent, silver drove gold out OF use and out
Of the country, and from that time we had
sage or the acts of 1894 and 1887. The fnct
that the silver was put into the form of
as CON sod and apd made aS legal tender the same
clared 10 be worth 100 cents each, did not
increase the value OF the 31lh grains Of
| PIE could not be deceived by mere words
printed In statute: they soon leaned
dna,t dnnt the metal contained in the silver
contained I'm the gold dollar. and they
paid silver to their creditors and boarded
| the gold or sent 1t out the country. Our
own coins were exported and used at
their bullion value In making purchases
and paving debts abroad and MIR. Jeffer-
| dent Of the United States. issued an or
der on the LIST day OF May 1896 stopping
no more silver were coined until 1886
thirty years afterwards, and then only
l'l@ Of them were issued from the mints.
Cold having left the country. Congress-
| In 1854, during the administration of An
| drew Jackson determined to restore il
| complish that result. the legal ratio was
changed from 10 to ] to about l6 to ! ::
nrat,d. ihat Is. , the law Was Was so amended as to
which made the dollar re Consist poi Of 2s oip i15
changed from % % grains. which now
| constitutes the dollar and unit OF value.
| ms was siight generalization of gold
III the coinage. because 1922 grains of
| line gold were not In fact worth as much
IN the markets as $Ilh grains of fine sill
very small, 1t provided sufficient to
change the whole character of our metal
lie currency, and under this ratio gold
ana silver changed places: silver Went
out OF the country and gold came in, and
from that time until after the passare
| recommendations except during the period
or the war when We had no metallic
money of any kind, When the great civil
war began we had no silver in circula-
tion. except the subsidiary coins author
| i2ed by tho act OF 1859. but we had gold
| and paper rcdecmable in gold and it was
not long before we had another practical
illustration OF the natural law that the
| inferior of less valuable legal tender cur
valuable legal tender currency from cir
culation Early In 1862 Congress, most un-
wisely. in my opinion. authorized the is
sue OF legal tender paper to circulate as
money, and the usual and inevitable re-
suit followed. Gold ceased to be used as
money. and the banks and the Treasury
having suspended specie payments, the
country was Hooded with n deprecia ted
currency worth at times less than 80
paper currency was authorized by Con-
grcss. and the effect of this was to drive
out or circulation even the light-weight
subsidiary silver coins. and for many
years not single piece of metallic
money of any kind was used by the people
except on the Pacific Coast. where gold
continued to circulate at its actual in
trinsc value. without regard TO the ficti-
ttouS value which the act OF Congress
attributed TO the legal tender paper
will cndeavor 10 show you hereafter what
effect this deprecated currency had upon
the wages of labor and upon the prices
OF commodities which the laborerp were
compelled TO purchase with their wages
my purpose at the present moment being
simply 10 prove, by our own experience
that ii Is impossible to retain In circula-
tion at the same time legal tender gold
and silver coins of the same denomina-
ton at any ratio which does not CORES
pond with the actual commercial values
OF the two metals in the markets of the
world, and that. therefore. the free and
unlimited coinage OF legal tender silver
by the United States alone at the ratio
of IL TO ]. when the true commercial ra ito
Is about 81 to !, would instantly contract
gold now in the country.
Ii Is not my purpose to weary YOU with
the presentation of voluminous Statistics
or by tedious recital of facts, but the
particular proposition now under con-
sideration Is OF such great Importance in
the discussion of this subject that YOU
must permit me to call your especial at
tcntion to the experience of the laborin.
people In our own country during the
years Immediately following the intro
In 1867 and also TO the very low rates OF
wages which now prevails in countries
having the silver standard OF value or
the so-called double standard OF value
not corr tsnonding, with the commercial
value of the metal. and, in doing this /
Will make no statement that cannot he
fully sustained by, reliable evidence
We have now about S62. .o00. 600 in gold
and sHS. .eoe, go in fun legal tender silver.
coins. which are legal tender in payments
not exceeding $40, and the real auestion