The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-10-07
WHOLE NO. 235s.

ket price, as silver has been doing for
many years, then, in such case, there
must necessarily be a continual disturb
ance in the value of the currency, un-
less some plan or provision can be effect
ed by which this needed equality can
be maintained. A metal requiring To
be bolstered up in this way is not fit for
use as IA coinage metal along with the
one agreed on rs the standard, if ii is
to carry with it the right of free and
unlimited coinage. Such a metal can
only be used for coinage purposes in a
limited way, as silver has been coined
since 1879.
But the free-coinage people object to
making the silver dollar they are clam
oring for of such weight that il will
represent an intrinsic value equal to
the selling price of silver. They insist
on giving TO silver a value by act of con-
gress which it does not possess on its
own merit, and which could only be
made binding on our own people, and
even then only partially. The legal
tender greenback's history will prove
that proposition. The greenback was
given a legal-tender quality; it would
pay all debts. No stronger legal-tender
quality could be given to free silver
now Yet, after August, 1862, green
backs and gold no longer circulated to-
gether as currency. The paper forced
the gold out of circulation. Gold be-
came only commodity, the price Of
which was quoted each day, as was that
of pig iron; and people who wanted it
for payment of debts or contracts paya-
ble in gold, or for the purpose of hoard
ing it, were compelled to pay the price
asked for it by those who had any of it;
and this state of affairs continued until
the United States, under the wise policy
of the Republican party, procured a
sufficient quantity of gold to be able to
say that all comers could exchange
their paper for gold at the Treasury.
Give us free silver, and gold coin will
again go into retirement. Nothing can
be more certain. Because a couple of
generations ago sixteen ounces of silver
were wsrth one ounce of gold, and our
coinage laws were adjusted to fit that
ratio for the time, the free-silver people
insist that it shall continue to be coin
ed at such ratio. When the ratio Of
value at present is - 20 l, they choose
to ignore that universal law of supply
and demand which applies to every
thing else. With them the l6 to ratio
Is as unalterable as were the laws of the
Medes and Persians.
"An act of Congress will fix every
thing right" they say. Well, pig iron
once sold for fifty and sixty dollars
ton, and steel rails for hundred and
sixty dollars. Now they bring but ten
aud twenty four respectively. Well,
when trying TO do good turn for the
silver barons, why not at the same time
try and do the same for the iron and
steel barOns, who also have so greatly
/
that they have been compelled to offer
inducements, in the way of cut prices,
in order to sell them? They are just as
deserving as are the silver barons, and,
like them, would not kick if the value
of their output would be restored to its
old-time price.
But to illustrate by another metal
still more valuable than iron, how
over-produetiOn will cause decline in
price just as it has done in the case of
silver, let Us say something about the
beautiful and useful metal known as
aluminium.
1t is not very many years since that
hundred dollars would not have
bought as much as single pound of
this metal, so scarce was it. Its value,
for this reason, was so far above silver
that it was considered infinitely pre-
eious. Now it may be bought for fifty
or sixty cents a pound. 1t has become
cheap for the same reason that silver
has become cheap, too plentiful to be
high in price, so plentiful, in fact, that
while once in its history it might have
served purpose as coinage metal, it
is now used in the manufacture of pots
and kettles, cups and stewpans.
The free-coinage people will not
have it that the coin to be called a sill
yer dollar shall contain dollars
worth of the metal at the prices at
which ii is selling the world over.
With them the only ratio must be rs
to l, which would give an actual value
To the coin that as silver has been sell
ing for months past at from 40 10 53
cents. People who have uncoined sil-
yer could of curse get none coined,
only those who happen to have it
could get it coined. The people who
now have silver bullion have all ac-
quired it at the prices at which the
stuff is selling, or ou basis that for
long while past has been at from Is to
20 cents per ounce.
Now if il were really possible to
about double this value simply by pas
sing an act of Congress and getting the
value up TO l29 cents per ounce, who
would be the gamer by this? Would it
be any one else than the holders of sill
yer metal or bullion? Certainly they
who have no such metal on hand can
not gain anything.
Nothing can be gained in the way of
profit in any transaction unless il be at
the expense of some one else; and any
gain to the people who have silver in
hand by reason of thus doubling up
the price of it would necessarily be at
the expense of those without it. But,
the taking Of piece of silver really
worth, let us say fifty cents, and
stamping it and calling it a dollar, is
after all giving it only the nominal
value of dollar, except as to one class
of cur citizens, which class includes
those who may have money due and
owing to them ON debts that were con-
traoted when dollars were honest, and
all dollars were of equal value; these
would have TO receive them, dollar for
dollar; but when they come to pay them
out again, as will be shown presently,
they will not be able to exchange them
for a. much of any commodity they de-