Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-05-19

to issue them in redemption of an
equal number and amount Of frac-
tional currency of similar denomina.
tions, but no provision was made for
the free coinage of this subsidiary
currency. By the joint resoIutit
of July %, 1876, the coinage of an
additional amount of silver was au.
thorlzed, so as to make the whole, to-
gether with the fractional currency
outstanding, amount to not more
than the sum of S50,000,0O0. Under
these laws the Government has pur-
chased the silver bullion and coined
1T on its own account, and consequent
ly we have had an opportunity to as
certain the difference in favor of
Government and the people at large
between that system and system of
free coinage such as contemplated by
this bill as it passed the House.
The Director of the Mint in his
last report states that from Jan. 1875,
when the coinage of the subsidiary
silver commenced, to October, 1877,
there had been purchased 8,707 ,634.-
81 fine ounces, or 81 1897 ,371.73 stand
ard ounces, of silver bullion at the
price of $34,llS,973.26 being an aver
age of 1883 cents per ounce fine, and
that this bullion at the coming rate
of $1.244168 per standard ounce will
produce 500, 685, 688. Here, then, is
seigniorage or gain to the Govern
ment during the period mentioned of
1866, 714,74 Under a system of
free coinage this sum of more than
five and half millions of dollars
would have gone directly into the cof
fers of the holders and spectators in
silver bullion, and besides that the
Government would have prepared
their coin for them at an expense Of
several million dollars more. Under
the free-coinage provisions of the
House bill the foreign holders of the
demonetized silver of Germany wou d
have the right to food our minis with
it, and have it coined into dollars
for their own benefit at the expense of
our Government and people.
The overloaded taxpayers of this
country, already staggering and sink
ing under the burdens imposed upon
them by unwise legislation, would
have been subjected by that provision
to new exaction Of several millions
of dollars annually to pay for coin
ing the bullion of capitalists at home
and abroad. | can not become the
advocate of such system, either as
to gold or silver, and although my
vote was given for the bill as it pass
ed the House under a suspension of
the rules, with this feature in it, did
not approve of it, and then hoped
that it would be amended in the Sen
ate.
/ The mints of the United States are
operated at the expense of the whole
people, and therefore they should be
operated for the benefit of the whole
people. If, on account of difference
between the market value of the bull
ion and the legal value of the coin
there is seignorage or gain in the
process of coming, the Government
should have the benefit of it; and if,
as in the case of gold at the present
time. there is no such difference, the
holder of the bullion who wants it
converted into coin should be requir-
co to pay at least enough to defray
the expenses of the operation. The
great mass of the people neither own
bullion nor metal requiring free coin
age, so that the provisions of the
House bill was not provision for
their benefit, but for the exclusive
benefit of a few bullion dealers and
mining companies.
My position upon this subject is
briefly this: | am opposed to free
coinage of either gold or silver, but
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