The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-28
A Plain Statement.


The speech which Hon. Thomas G.
Lawson. who represents the Eighth Geor-
gia district in congress, delivered in con-
gress last February on the silver question
is being circulated in the state. 1t is an
excellent speech. Those who desire to get
a clear understanding Of the silver ques-
ton should read it. 1t is short, but the
main points of the question are
so plainly stated that there is no diff
| fculty in understanding them.
We shall not undertake to review. the
speech, or even to reproduce any consid-
cradle portions of it. We much prefer
that every voter should give it careful
! study. There are two points in it, howev-
err. to which we desire to call particular
attention. one relates to the present sta
tus of the silver dollar, and the other
explains why the prices of silver has de-
| clined so greatly in recent years, making
the commercial value of a silver dollar
only little more than fifty cents.
In respect to the first point. the present
status of the silver dollar, Judge Lawson
says:
| the year 1892 to 1878 were foreign coins,
and they were, after the year 1851, legal
| tender in small amounts only. Thus the
| coinage stood in 1873, when the act so much
| inveighed against was enacted. 1t did
| not originally establish the gold standard;
/ II had been established by commerce more
| than thirty years prior 10 that time, and
| the act only enacted into law what already
| universally existed in this country by the
| laws of trade and custom. Silver was not
demonetzed by the act 1t was only de-
| MED mint privileges. 1t IS not demone-
| tized now; the silver dollar is not re-
| deemable in anything, and is a legal ten
| der for all debts, public and private, and
to any amount. If it is not now stand
| ard money, or money of ultimate payment,
| / do not understand what the terms mean.
/ If there had been any purpose by the act
| of 1873 to distress the debtors of the coun-
/ try by compelling the payments OF debts
| in money of a higher value than parties
| had reference to when contracts were
| made, / suppose that the silver standard
would have been adopted, as silver was
| then of higher relative value than gold.
| But all debts existing at that time were
| contracted with the expectation of being
| paid in gold, inasmuch as legal-tender
| silver had not been in circulation for more
than thirty years.
From the foregoing it will be seen that
the only effect of the act of 1878 was to
prohibit the free coinage of silver. No
body complained at the time. because no
body wanted to have silver coined, and
none was being coined. Silver was not
demonetized and is not demonetized now.
1t is a legal tender for all debts and to
any amount.
With regard to the second point. the
cause of the decline in the price of silver,
Judge Lawson says:
A nations demand for money cannot
exceed the aggregate property and credit
of it's citizens. It's demands never equal
| these sources of wealth, and cannot in the
! nature of things, exceed them. The de-
| mand cannot therefore, be unlimited. But
/ whatever the demand for silver might be,
the time must soon come when the coun-
try would be so saturated with silver
| money that Ii could not be absorbed in
business. The output of silver mines has
increased annually from $S1000OO0, in 1873,
to more than $500, 100000. so that all the
minis, and perhaps an increased number
of them, would be kept in full operation
turning out silver money that could only
be used in this country. If we were to coin
the entire $500 0O0000 per year, so as
| to leave no surplus to depress the value
of the coins, we would in twenty years
have $4OO0,0000OO of silver money in ad-
dition to our present stock-an amount
exceeding all the silver money now ex-
tant in the world. The time would come
when we should need no more. What
then? We must either continue to coin
and pile it up while its value would de-
cline, as the value OF confederate money
declined from excessive issue, or the coin
age must be stopped, in which event the
silver taken from the mines afterwards
must become a great surplus to drag
down the value of all other silver, coined
and uncoined. If we continue the coin
age we shpwreck upon Scylla, and if
We stop the coinage we shipwreck upon
Charybdis.
1t is apparent from the foregoing why
the price of silver has declined. Over pro-
duction is the reason. The annual produce
ton of silver has increased from $S1, OOO-
COO, in 1873, to more than 100000, OO0.. Ev-
cry cotton planter understands that If
more cotton is produced than there is a
demand for the price of cotton declines.
So it is in respect to silver. The produc-
ton in recent years has been enormous.
and the commercial value of it has declin-
ed. Our silver dollars now command
their face value. Everywhere in this
country a silver dollar is equal to a dol
lar in gold. If our minis were opened to
free silver coinage silver dollar would
be worth ony little more than 50 cents
in gold. All the silver coin in the possess
sion Of the people would lose about one
half of its face value, that is about one
half Of its purchasing power.
Chicago will have to hustle around and
annex something else. The Greater New
York bill, which was sent to Gov. Morton
| on Thursday will make New Vori, 49,.