Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-09-19
Facts About our Money


States is estimated at 1880, 900, 600.
The total supply of gold and silver in
the United States, June 1st, 1896, is
estimated to be: Gold $607, 1873 $50
silver $685., s73, 1881. Gold and silver
in circulation: Gold, including gold
certificates $49S, s3s, 34s-silver, in
Guiding silver certificates, and notes
for silver $3.50, 1897, 124.
All gold and silver coin, except sill
yer coins of less denomination than
one dollar, are legal tender, without
limit; coins less than one dollar are
legal tender for $40. National bank
notes are not legal tender for any
amount. Gold certificates and silver
certificates are of the nature of ware
house receipts. They are not legal
tender, but are redeemable on de-
mand in what they are issued for.
All United States bonds are pay
able, principal and interest, in coin
silver or gold 16 to lat the option
of the debtor-government. All
other notes and obligations, except
gold and silver certificates, are re-
deemable and payable in the same
money, coin, silver or gold, at the
option of the government. The gov
eminent has issued no gold bonds or
gold notes to natives or foreigners.
Bondholders cannot refuse to take
silver dollars in payment of their in
terest or principal-it is full legal
tender for all such claims-this ap
plies to foreigners as we'll as Amer
leans.
Prior to 1878 any citizen could take
gold or silver to the minis and have
it coined into money without charge.
The citizens gold was made into gold
coin of any denomination author
lied. The citizens silver was coined
into standard silver dollars, each sill
yer dollar weighing sixteen times as
much rs the gold dollar. This was
"free coinage 1G to l."
In 1878 an act was passed making
the mint a bureau of the treasury de-
partment and creating the office OF
director of the mint. This bill dis
continued the coinage of standard
silver dollars and limited their legal
tender power to five dollars. 1t also
authorized the coinage of that curse
of urcurrency, the trade dollar"
which was made legal tender for five
dollars. Three years after, the trade
dollar was deprived Of legal quality,
and. soon after ceased to be coined.
In 1878 Congress restored the full
legal tender quality of the standard
silver dollar, and authorized the pur-
chase of two to four millions Of silver
monthly and its coinage into stand
ard silver dollars.
July, 1890, Congress increased the
purchase of silver bullion to $780,
600 per month, to be paid for in treas
ury notes, but ordered the coinage OF
standard silver dollars to cease after
July LIST, 1891, except as shall be ne
cessary to provide for the redemp-
ton of the treasury notes issued III
payment for silver bullion.
The amount of pure silver in a
standard silver dollar was fixed in
1892 by the act that established the
mint and has never been changed.
1t contains Sill grains pure silver.
From 1892 to 1878 coinage was free
for gold and silver. During all this
period of free coinage there was never
any trouble about the parity of silver
and gold. In 1878 silver was at a
premium of to cents on the dollar.
The act of 1873 stopped the free
coinage of silver aud continued the
free coinage of gold. The result is
that gold has appreciated and silver
has deprecated until the gold in a
dollar will sell for almost twice as
much as the silver in dollar, and
the country is suffering from financial
distress, such as was never known
before. The advocates of free silver
ask for a restoration of the law that
controlled our coinage prior to and
up to 1878. When there was free
coinage 16 to 1-silver and gold-the
country prospered and every silver
dollar was as good as its golden
brother, or little better.
Mr.. Carlisle, the present secretary
of the treasury of the United States,
following the bad example of his
republican predecessor, has persist
emily practiced gold payments for
the rich and silver and paper pay
ments for the poor.
The bonds and notes of the govern
ment are made payable in coin (silver
or gold 16 to y at the option of the
government. These claims date back
to the times of the civil war, and are
in large part for the loan of depre-
ciated paper, two dollars of which
would not buy one dollar of silver.
To pay these in silver coin is to pay
them in the money of the contract,
and to pay them in much better
money than the government got for
them. But these silver claims of the
rich are paid in gold. While the pen
sions of heroes with empty sleeves
and wooden legs, and the salaries and
wages of Americans in the civil, mill
tary and naval service of the country
are not paid in gold. Gold for the
rich at the expense of the poor. The
bonded debt of the country has been
increased $2G2 100000 The burdens
of taxation have been increased S262,