The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-03-20

letter:
TO the Editor Of Tho Times:
Slr.-The United States has out ABOUT
five hundred millions OF uoi-
lars Of It's promissory NOTES
preenbacks and Sherman notes.
Are these notes not payable on demand
I'm coln-gold and silver? II ihey are
payable in either CON- why uoth Vle
Secretary Of the Treasury pay ihem cN-
clusively IN gold2
THO ahovs questions are frequently pro-
no,ndod 10 me by some OF the free coin
ere II YOU can furnish the desired IN
formation you will greatly obiige one OF
,,,.,,r subscribers. /. +. WERNER,
Buekner's. Va. March &c, 1895.
We have many times stated the facts
Of ihis matter. hut It takes a long time
fo~ them 10 come TO be understood by all
the people. so that we take pleasure
I'm repeating them as often as information
is asked for.
The Government has out about s55oooo.-
900 OF IT'S notes that are called green
backs These are the notes that IL
issued during the war and forced upon
the people. They are not payable on
their face in anything In particular. nor
DO The acts Of Congress that provide
for their issue direct that they shall
be made payable In anything in par
iiculsr. The acts Of Congress providing
for their issue simply direct the Secretary
Of The Treasury TO issue the Governments
notes which shall be legal tender for
an debts. according 10 form TO bo pre-
scribed by him. and the form prescribed
by him was a simple promise OF the
Government to pay dollars, but nothing
was said Of the kind Ct dollars. At that
time the silver dollar was a irihe more
valuable than the gold dollar. We re-
sumed specie payment January !, 1913
ard 10 10 that time there had never
been coined but 100000 OF silver dollars
and all of them had LEFT the country be-
cause their bullion value was greater
than their face value. There Nere ~
silver dollars. therefore in whicn To lay
these notes when re resumed speCs Ia:-
ments and we were compelled 10 ADOPT
the policy OF paying them in gold dollars.
Isv the timo we had csned enough silver
dollars to be able 10 pay these notes
I'm silver the silver in a dollar had fallen
so much in value that the holders #
the notes were unwilling TO receive pay
rncnt Of them in silver, and the Govern
n1ept saw 20 reason to abandon its fixed
nolicv Of paying them i'm gold because
IL would have seriously affected its credit
10 do so. That is the case with the
greenbacks.
We have out some Sl5o0oO,ooo Of the
sherman notes. These We're issued UNI
der what is known as the Sherman act
passed in 1890 which directed the Gov
eminent TO buy 100000 ounces of silver
each month. and pay for it by an issue
of the Governments notes. The notes
were payable on demand. and the act
nroyided that they might be paid in either
gold or silver dollars, as the Govern
ment preferred. But the act also de-
clared that it was the settled policy OF
the Government to keep its silver dol
lars and its gold dollars circulating upon
terms OF equality. When these notes
were brought to the Treasury therefore
and gold dollars were demanded for
them. the Government said if it refused
TO pay gold dollars and offered silver dol
lars only that would be discrimination
between the two unfavorable to silver. 1t
would be the same thing as for 1t TO
saw it thought the gold dollars more
valuable than the silver dollars; 1t would
cot this as an example and would, there
fore. DE a violation Of the provisions OF
the act. which declared that 1T was the
intention of the Government TO keep
each of its dollars circulating on par
with the other. The policy of paying
these notes in gold dollars therefore
If gold dollars were demanded, was adopt
cd. and it seems impossible TO doubt the
force of the Governments position in
resolving upon that policy