The Portland daily press., 1896-08-04
OUR SILVER DOLLAR AND THE
MEXICAN DOLLAR

MEXICAN DOLLAR.
The Mexican silver dollar contains seven
more grains of pure silver than the
American silver dollar, but its purchas-
ing power is only half as great. In this
market the Mexican dollar can be ex-
changed for two pounds of steak, at IS
cents pound, while the American dol
lar can be exchanged for four pounds.
In Mexico the case is just the same.
There as well as here the American dol
lar will buy twice Us much as the Mexi-
can dollar. Why is this? The Mexican
dollar is coined under free coinage. A
person with piece of silver containing
the number of grains contained in a
Mexican dollar can take it to o Mexi-
can mint. have it fashioned into a
coin and stamped one dollar. The gov
ornment assumes no responsib ility for this
dollar whatever. 1t simply makes it
and hands it to the person who brought
The silver. This dollar circulates entirely
upon its commercial value, and that at the
present price of silver bullion is about so
cents. While it ia called a dollar every
body recognizes that it has nothing be-.
hind it but its commercial value and &C
cordingly only gives half as much for fit
as he would for a gold dollar of double
its commercial value. That is to say
everybody with commodities to sell
doubles the gold price Of his goods.
In this country the government buys
the metal of which the silver dollar is
made and puts the coined dollar in circu-
lation. Though it contains but So cents
worth of intrinsic or commercial value
the government treats it as containing
one hundred cents, pays it out
as equivalent to the gold dol
lar. Having done that it puts itself
under moral obligation-and by the
Sherman act under legal obligation too
to maintain its purchasing power up te
the gold standard. AS long as the coin
age is kept within certain limits it car
fulfil this obligation by receiving it foI
taxes and duties, and making it in all its
transactions practically interchangeable
with gold. But when the coinage be.
comes free and unlimited, the govern.
ment will be under no obligation to
maintain the purchasing power of Its
silver dollar since it will not then put it
in circulation and If Congress should
impose upcl it q legal obligation to do SC
| it could not fulfil it, the quantity of sill
yer dollars would then grow so great.
What, has happened in Mexico woul6
then happen in this country. The silver
dollar would then be treated as SO Il uuol
bullion, and it's purchasing power wouI(
depend entirely upon the value of tina
bullion. If silver bullion remained n
the same price az today the PURCHASING
power of the silver dollar would be abou
half OF what it is now. That is to sa,
prices would double. AS the price O
silver bullion fuctuated the PURCHASING
power of the d ollar would fuctuate
One week it might be equal to 90 cents
the next week to 60. and the week follow
Ing 1t might fall to 55 cents. For the las
twenty years silver has shown a strons
tendency to tluctuGte in price, and
that tendency continued as there is ever,
reason to believe it would inobody woult
know from week to week and month tx
month how much value Che was gettin,
when he took silver dollar. 1t is need
less to say that this condition would b
productive of endless confusion and un
certainty, and that the people who woul,
suffer the most from it would be thos
who would be least familiar with tn,
| price of silver bullion. The bankers ant
the brokers' whose business it Is to kee
the run of such things woul,
be informed from day to day O
the exact value Of the silver dollar, an,
OF course they conld protect themselves
But the farmers and the small trades
men, an he wage earners would be con
stantly e-~ated by accepting the silve
dollar for more than. it was worth. Toda
ali our dollars are of the same PURCHASING
power, and all Of them are stable. VIII,
not keep them so, by continuing to coli
silver on, government account limiting
the quantity. as we have been doing TO
| the past IS years? There are 40S, 600, 90
silver dollars in existence today in thi
country, all of them legal tender to an,
amount and ali Of them of the same pur
chasing power as the gold dollar. Wha
real need is there for any more?
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