The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1896-08-19
Coppering am Argument.

allels indicates small faith in the.
common sense and intelligence of
the people. Forinstanoe, the Phil
adelphia "Times," with an air chat
settles it" asks why not free coin
age of copper at 16 to l as well as
silver, and argues it would be no
more reputation.
We suppose one reason that
might be cited is that all the out
standing obligations of the govern
ment declare that they shall be
paid in "coin." 1t has been deter
mined by the Supreme Court of
the United States and laid down
within recent years by two-thirds
vote of both houses of Congress,
comprising majority of both
Republican and Democratic Sena-
tors and Representatives., that
"coin" as used in the government
demand notes or bonds means,at the
option of the government, "silver
dollars of the coinage of the
United States, containing 4129
grains each of standard silver" and
that redemption of bonds or notes
in such coinage.."is not in violation
of the public faith, or in deroga-
ton of the rights of creditors"
Furthermore silver coin is made
by law legal tender, at tho ratio
of 1G to 1, for all debts public or
private. Further, for hundreds of
years, side by side with gold, at
about that ratio. varying hardly 1
per cent, it has been the coinage
aud standard money of the civil
lized world. And further, even in
this campaign the Republican
party takes the side of the free and
unlimited coinage of silver just as
soon as the sovereign will and
pleasure of the British government
declares in it's favor. The Repub-
licans say free coinage is all right,
but just wait until John Bull gives
permission. In these and kindred
facts the Philadelphia Chimes"
and it's likes may find some reason
why silver is preferred to copper
as ono of the standard coin moneys
of the United States and the world.
But let it push on the "copper"
craze 1t is an argument emf
nently worthy of the gold-bugs
Production And Value Ratios.
"Don't you know it is all rot to
talk of ratio of 1G to l when the
real ratio of silver to gold is more
than 30 to l, owing to the enor-
nous disproportion in the produc-
ton of silver since what you call
"the crime of '73?" That is the
question put by correspondent
signing himself ga Mckinley
Sound Money Republican"
The form of the question is not
the most courteous possible, but
we overlook that in consideration of
it's being in keeping with the usual
tone of gold standard language to-
wards or concerning advocates of
silver free coinage. This being
campaignof education, the impolite-
ness of some of the scholars shcIld
not outweigh the duty of supplying
the information of which they are
woefully in need.
1t is not the overproduction of
silver in comparison with gold since
1878 which has changed the COM
mercial ratio from 16 to l to 30 to ],
but the non-use of silver as mon
ey metal on the same conditions as
gold. The statistics of the director
of the mint, bitterly antagonistic as
that official is to the reconciliation
of silver, show that fact conclusive
ely. According to those statistics
the worlds production of silver in
the twenty-one years, 1974-1S94,
was 2,O67, 129,95O fine ounces and
of gold in the same period 1884,
963 fine ounces. This is ratio of
II 1-2 ounces of silver to an ounce
of gold. The same statistics give
tho worlds production of silver in
the nearly two centuries, 17O1-1994,
as 5,917 ,635, al fine ounces, and of
gold as 34G,818, 1868 fine ounces, or
a ratio of fraction over II to 1.
For two centuries, therefore, the
ratio of production has been prac-
tically the same as for the twenty
one ears-1874-1994. The change
in the ratio of value has been caus-
ed solely by the demonstration of
silver and consequent appreciation
in the comparative value of gold.
Free silver means this: an hon