Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-08-28
A Mixed Dollar.
A correspondent writes to the Balti-


all the trouble about the silver dollar
could be ended by adding as much gold to
the silver dollar as would make it equal to
the gold dollar.
The SUMS reply follows:
No doubt the silver dollar could be made
worth 100 cents by putting some gold into it,
as suggested, but the silver question exists
for the reason that a certain number of
people want a 30 cent dollar. They don't
want a 1OO-cent dollar, whether of gold or
silver or partly silver and partly gold. There
are others who want an honest dollar, but
are taken with the theory of bimetaism and
have a fervent faith in the power Of govern
ments to give value to pieces of metal by
calling them money" Their faith leads
them to prophesy that if the United States
were to decree that so cents worth Of silver
shall be worth 100 cents, it would actually be
worth that all over the world. 1t is faith
an honest faith-which ignores all the facts
of the recent history of silver its increased
production, its enlarged use and decline in
value. But people familiar with business
conditions lack this faith. They know the
silverites are wrong, and that is the reason
io 10 PoSoiuiC' II tiiN oiiNSllleS
wanted the free coinage of silver dollars
intrinscally worth a dollar they would pro-
pose ratio of 80 to 1. To that ratio many
sound-money people would assent.
The JOURNAL cannot agree even to
ratio of 30 to L." Indeed, it is to
be seriously doubted whether gold
should be subjected to relations or even
comparison with any fuctuating COM
modify. 1t should continue to be the
money of ultimate redemption. No
silver ought to be coined, or paper
issued whose circulation cannot be Sc
cured by at least 100 cents per dollar
of gold. That is the only absolutely
safe plan.
Early last year there was some dis
cussion current concerning the prac-
ticablllty OF a compromise upon ''the
composite dollar''-the same the Suns
correspondent inquiries about.
The JOURNAL addressed letter to
E. 0. Leech, eX-Director of the United
States Mint, asking for an expression
of his judgment of the proposal. Be
fore his reply was received, however,
the subject disappeared from the realm
of discussion, and, until now, no oc-
casion has offered adequately justify
ing its publication.
1t is given below:
New YORK. Feb. 16, 1896
To the MINING JOURNAL.
The question of composite dollar was care
fully considered by the Committees of Con-
gress and the Department and pronounced
impracticable.
There is no short cut to the solution of the
silver question, and any attempt to give ad-
ditional value to silver by inserting portion
of it in coin made principally of gold or by
inserting small portion of gold in dollar
made principally of silver would be futile and
of no practical value.
Coinage is intended as an attestation by tile
government of the weight and fineness of
certain disks of metal in order to give them
free circulation. In the marts of the world
coinage has no other value, and indeed in
government issuing the coin is not accepted,
and the melting-po is the final test of the
value of all coin, the same as bullion.
For this reason small quantity of gold in
a silver dollar, of a small quantity of silver
i'll gold dollar, would have no practical
value. That is to say, that even if the silver
was valued at its commercial price, the pres
ence of a small quantity of either metal
would not even give the coin its face value,
for the reason that i'll the melting-pot the
small portion of the composite metal would
have no practical value, as the cost Of sepayuting
HtiOn tile princ,pal metal would almost eQual
Tie value Of the lesser metal, so that the lesser
metal would be practically ignored
This is the case now in regard to our own
coins. For instance, the law provides for an
alloy of our gold and silver coins for the pur-
pose of making them more durable, of nine
parts ola pure metal and one part "copper" but
in regard to the gold coins the law says:
The alloy of the gold coins shall be of COP
per, or of copper and silver, but the SILVER
shall, in no case, exceed one-tenth of the
whole alloy.
This was provided for because it was found
'i'"' iiNoiiS Oh Soiu Niel'OSRS small
quantities of silver and that the cost of Sep
arating such small quantities of silver from
the gold was greater than the value of the
silver so separated. Consequently, it was
cheaper TO leaye tie sl0er in gold CONS than to
refine it out.
But the important fact is-the silver men do
not want silver coined at its commercial
value. They want it coined at fictitious
value-about double its commercial yalue 50
that even composite coin, lift had any prac
tcal advantage over coins of gold and coins of
silver, would not receive any support at their
hands unless the silver contents were valued
at some ratio to gold approximating IS to l,
whereas the true market ratio of the metals is
about 80 to /.
The fact is. the great commercial nations of
the world have decided to use gold alone as the
standard of value and for coins of full debit
paying power and to utilize silver for sub
sidiary coins of limited tender to answer the
purposes of domestic change. The large pro.
duction OF gold in recent years has enabled
those countries to make this selection and
has facilitated the change from silver
standard to gold standard
Whether we think this change advisable
or for the greater benefit of mankind or not
the fact remains that the change has been
made, and all we can do, if we wish to retain
our rank as country of the first class and
do business with the great commercial ma