The herald., 1896-08-26
THE MEANING OF COIN

Coin" What does it mean? The
great financial battle RACES round this
one word. The business prosperity Of
the country depends upon its true in
depreciation. 1t cannot be applied to
any kind of paper. 1t is a stamp and an
impress given by machine to certain
kinds of metals. defining their weight.
fineness and value. 1t has been said
that the coin stamp only certfies to
weight and fineness, but when Hamilton
and Jefferson established our financial
system they enacted by law that 4125
grains of silver should be equivalent to
one dollar or one hundred cents. and that
25.S grains of gold should be equal to
one dollar or one hundred cents, and
being equal to the same thing, were
equal to one another The physical
qualities of gold and silver caused them
to be selected to represent, when coined,
certain values, and from the opening
of our mints in 1892 down to a recent
date the word coin" has meant either
gold or silver justoas the word grain
commonly means in this country wheat
or corn
An order payable in grain can be
upHcSliN paul Ill any hlllu VI grain, Gl
the option of the payer, but if the order
calls for wheat grain, then it must be
paid in wheat a debt payable in coin
leaves the option for the payer. not for
the payee. Here is where financial
trouble began. Mr.. Foster chose to con-
strue the word coin to mean gold and
Mr.. Carlisle followed in his footsteps.
In Mr.. Sherman's recent speech at Co.
lumbus. Ohio. every word of which was
no doubt carefully weighed, while dis
cussing the BlandAllison act. he said:
1T also provided that any
holder of the coin author
ized by the act might deposit the
same with the treasury in sums of not
less than so" CWhat coin? OF course
the silver coin created by the ac) land
that the coin deposited should be re-
tanned in the treasury for the payment
of certificates on demand" Now, if the
word coin necessarily means gold, how
is it that Mr.. Sherman means the silver
dollar in this case?
Had Mr.. Carlisle paid every green
bank or treasury note with silver dol
lars. there never would have been a run
on the treasury, nor any occasion for
new bond issues. 1t is said that a run
on the treasury was contemplated while
Mr.. Manning was treasurer, but he
checked it instantly by telling the Wall
street gambler that he would meet
their demands with silver, and the raid
accordingly was abandoned.
When Mr.. Bryan becomes president,
all debts payable in coin will be met in
gold or silver, as it may suit the finan-
cial condition of the treasury at the
time.
But says Mr.. Goldbug, "Such course
will put US on a silver basis and ruin
the country" How would it ruin the
country. even if we were on a silver
basis? The Bank of England suspended
specie payment in 1897, and did not re-
sumo till 1871 France suspended spe-
Gle payment in 1913, and did not resume
till 1851, and suspended again in her
great war of 1870. Soon after the begin
ming of the civil war all our banks sus-
pended specie payment and all We're on
paper basis from 1861 to 1879. Do the
annals of our country show greater
prosperity than between 1865 and 1880?
During that time more railroads were
constructed. more agricultural lands
opened, more manufactures estab-
lished, more labor employed, and better
wages paid than in any period of our
history. The farmer, the laborer, the
miner, the manufacturer, the tradesman,
the mass of struggling wage-earners
look longingly for just such another
period of prosperity.
The important consideration should
be borne in mind that, unlike the green
back. silver would not be credit money
to be called in and redeemed in some
thing more precious than itself. Silver
would be its own, as well as the coun-
try's, redeemer.