Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-08-27
SILVER QUESTION
in A NUTSHELL

III you were ignorant OF this, that credit |
Is the greatest capital of all toward the |
acquisition of wealth, you would be ut
terly NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. to the Athe |
nians.
Credit has done more asthousand times |
to enrich nations than all the mines of |
the world.-Dnniel Webster.
There is scarcely any point in the econ
omy of national affairs of greater mo-
ment than the uniform preservation of |
the intrinsic value of the money unit
Alexander Hamilton.
AT the bottom of every citizens con-
science, the most obscure as well as the
greatest, at the very depths of the soul.
there is sentiment-sacred, sublime, in
surmountable and eternal-the senti-
ment of right. This is the hidden, ire
sistible obstacle, yelled in the recesses of
every mind. which everything false must
sooner or later encounter. 1t is the rock
on which everything evil must inevitably
be hipwrecked.-Victor Hugo.
The United States has about $780,
100000 of money in circulation; about
one-third of this, $626, 632. 0tS. is in gold
coin; about one-third, 1925, 1856 .551. is in
silver or paper issued against silver; and
the other third is in United States Notes
and National Bank Notes.
W e uft ouiu ~ bt WI Ebiu bdslS, De-
cause as the law now stands the gold dol
lar of % $40 grains of standard gold is
our unit of value. This law defines the
{ value of our dollar. II fixes the measure
of value. We are also said to be on gold
basis because we have maintained all our
circulation on parity with our gold
money, the standard fixed by law, so that
every dollar in circulation among our
people has the same purchasing power as
the gold dollar. This is the gold basis.
Why do we speak of maintaining all our
money at the same purchasing power?
This is done through the operations of our
Treasury and its gold reserve. If our gold
reserve should be allowed to disappear,
and our government be unable to meet its
obligations in gold, then gold would go to
premium and all of our money would
not have the same purchasing power. If
gold went to premium of 20 per cent,
then it would take S1.20 of our other
money 10 buy as much as one gold dollar
of 20 $40 grains of standard gold would
buy. The popular saying, Gold has
gone to a premium" used to designate
this condition, is erroneous and mislead-
ing. To speak more correctly we should
say that it is our dollar which has fallen
to discount.
Because in such a case it is not gold
bullion that has become more valuable,
i II has remained the same, but our dollar
has deprecated so that it no longer repre-
sents the same number of grains of pure
gold.
The following will show this clearly:
When gold as at present has no pre-
MUM over our other money, our dollar
equals in value, % 2-10 grains pure gold.
With gold at a so-called premium of 20
per cent, our dollar has deprecated until
it equals only 10 $40 grains pure gold
With gold at Il premium of 80 per cent,
our dollar equals in value only IL 4-10
rains pure gold.
With gold at a premium of 100 per cent.
our dollar equals in value only IL clio
grains pure gold.
The friends of free silver ask the cues
ton, shall we remain on the gold basis ~
And they answer mo, that we must make
change"
They propose that the law shall be
changed so that the silver dollar con-
tanning 3I1A grains of pure silver shall
be our unit of value. So that after The
change of the law our unit, the dollar in
this country, shall be of the value of
31lA grains of pure silver. our unit or
measure of value shall he reckoned in sill.
yer, and all our people shall be compelled
to accept the silver dollar of 41211a grains OF
standard of 371A grains of pure silver as
the measure of value. And it is further
proposition to open our minis more free
and unlimited coinage of the silver OF
the world, 50 that anybody who has 371I
grains of pure silver can take it to til,
mint and receive coined silver dollaI
for 1t, which the people of the United
States will be compelled by law to re
y ceive ir payment of all debts due to them
This u the change proposed by the adyo
Gates of free silver.
Many people innocently imagine tina
tine free coinage of silver is simply ,
Pproposition to open our mints more free
~ ly to silver and to maintain our none,
at its present standard of value on tn
gold basis, and that by adopting fire.
coinage we are not going to debase an,
lower the value of our money, but rails
the price of silver all over the world to
III to l ratio with gold. There could b
no greater mistake. They fail to see tina
it also involves II change in our unit
standard or measure of value. If tn
proposition was that the United State
should give gold dollar for every Bill
grains of pure silver brought TO the mint,
then that would really be an attempt o
the part of our government to raise tn
price of silver; and how long we coul
raise it would depend on how much silve
there was in the world and how muc
gold we had. But this is not the propos
ton. The free, silver idea is that we mn.
stop insulting the silver dollar by redeem
ing it and giving a gold dollar for it: an
their proposition is simply to stamp as
dollar every 4121a grains of standnr
silver brought to the mint. and that thI
- piece of silver so stamped shall he our un