The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1896-08-08

been made by the late James g. Blaine
in favor of silver, and we place before
our readers the exact words of the
great Republican leader. The speech
was made February I, 1878, in the
Senate during the debate on the bill
for the recoinage of the silver dollar
and to fix its standard value. The
speech in full is as follows
Mr. President-The discussion on
the question of demonstrating silver has
been prolonged and exhaustive. l
may not expect to add much to its
value, and | promise not to add much
to its length. shall endeevor 10 con-
slider facts rather than theories, to
state conclusions rather than argu-
ments.
II believe gold and silver coin to be
the money of the constitution-in-
deed, the money Of the American peo-
Pile anterior to the constitution, mon
| ey which the organic law OF the re-
public recognized as independent of
its own existence. No power was con-
! ferred on Congress to declare that
either metal should not be money.
Congress has, therefore, in my judg-
ment, no more power to demonetize
silver than to demonetize gold; no
more power to demonetize either than
to demonetize both. In this state
ment am but repeating the weighty
dictum of the first constitutional law
! yers. Il am certainly of opinion,
said Mr.. Webster, that gold and sill
ver at fixed rates by Congress, con-
stitutes the legal standard of value in
this country and that neither Con-
gress nor any State has authority to
establish any other standard or to dis
place this standard Few persons can
be found, apprehend. who will main
tain that Congress possesses the power
to demonetize both gold and silver, or
that Congress could be justified in
prohibiting the coinage of both; and
yet in logic and legal construction it
would be difficult to show where and
why the power OF Congress over silver
| is greater than over gold-greater over
either than over both. If, therefore,
silver has been demonetized, / am in
favor of remonetizing it. If its coin
age has been prohibited, | am in favor
of ordering it to be resumed. If it
has been restricted, ! am in favor of
ordering it to be enlarged.
"What power, then has Congress
over gold and silver? 1t has the ex-
elusive power to coin them; the exclu-
sive power to regulate their value
very great, very wise, very necessary
powers, for the discreet exercise of
which critical occasion has now
arisen. However men may differ
about causes and processes, all will
admit that within few years a great
disturbance has taken place in the
relative values of gold and silver, and
that silver is worth less or gold is
worth more in the money markets Of
the world in 1878 than in 1878, when
the further coinage Of silver dollars
was prohibited in this country. To
remonetize it now as though essential
conditions had not changed is willful-
ly and blindly to deceive ourselves. If
our characterization were the only
cause for the decline in the value of
silver, then remonetization would be
its proper and efiectual cure. But
other causes, beyond our control, have
been far more potentially operative
than the simple fact that Congress
prohibited its further coinage. AS
legislators we are bound to take cog
nizance of these causes. The demon
citation of silver in the German em-
pire and the consequent partial, or
well-nigh complete, suspension of
coinage in the governments of the
Latin union, have been the leading
causes for the rapid decline in the val
ue of silver. | do not think the over
supply of silver has had, in COMPARE
son with these other causes, an appre-
ciable influence in the decline of its
value, because its oversupply with re-
spect to gold in these later years has
not been so great as was the oversup-
ply years after the mines of California
and Australia were opened; and the
oversupply of gold from those rich
sources did not affect the relative po-
sitions and uses of the two metals in
any European country.
pCllCNS blltl IL OCi WClC w
remonetize silver and the kingdoms
and States of the Latin union were to
reopen their minis, silver would at
once resume its former relation with
gold. The European countries when
driven TO reconciliation, as l believe
they will be in the end, must of neces-
sity adopt their old ratio of 152 of sill
yer to one of gold, and we shall be
compelled to adopt the same instead
of our former ratio of 16 to 1. If we
fail to do this we SHALL as before, lose
our silver, which like all things else
seeks the highest market; and if 154
pounds of silver willbuy as much gold
in Europe as l6 pounds will buy in
America, the silver, of course, will go
to Europe. But our line of policy in
joint movement with other nations
to remonetize is simple and direct.
The difficult problem is what we
shall do when we aim to re-establish
silver without the cooperation of Eu-
ropean powers, and really an advance
movement to coerce those powers into
the same policy. Evidently the first
| NiOtobC VI III uQChtC 10 "a COiiI cuCl a
dollar as will not only do justice
among our citizens at home, but will
prove protection-an almost barri-
cade-against the gold monometallists
of Europe, who, whenever the
opportunity offers, will quickly draw
from us the $3.50, 000,0 900 of gold
coin we now hold. II we coin
a silver dollar Of full legal tender, OBJ
viously below the current value of the
gold dollar, we are simply opening our
doors and inviting Europe to take our
gold. With cur gold flowing out from
us we shall be forced to the single sill
yer standard and our relations with
the leading commercial countries OF
world will be not only embarrassed,
but crippled.
"The question before Congress, then
sharply defined in the pending house
bills, whether At is now safe and
expedient to offer free coinage to the
silver dollar of ABA grains, with the
minis of the Latin union closed and
Germany not permitting silver to be
coined as money. At current rates oil
silver, the free coinage of a dollar con-
tanning Aba grains, worth in gold
about 92 cents, gives an illegitimate
profit to the owner Of the bullion, en-.
abling him TO take 90 cents worth OF
II to the mint and get it stamped as
coin and force his neighbor to take II
as full dollar. This is an unfair adj
vantage which the government has nc
right to give to the owner Of silver
bullion, and which defrauds the mar
who Is forced to take the dollar. II
In q