The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-09-21

which IS thus being pursued,
The MINIS aud the Price of silver.
We would like the Intelligent Intelligent
Ger to tell us what II means by saying that
the owner OF silver bullion under free coin
age would simply take his silver TO the
mint and receive silver dollars for 1t and
that these would be worth only the COM
mercial value OF the silver In them, which
now, ON THE GOLD BASIS, is about "a
cents an ounce. Does our neighbor mean
to say that these silver dollars would not
be worth dollar and would not be as
good as gold in the payment OF debt?-
Register.
Yes, that is precisely what the Intellf-
gencer means, and it has the experience
OF all the silver. countries and the admls-
sion OF free coinage champions as the
basis for its statement. Under free coin
age there is no mint price for silver, any
more than there is mint price for gold.
Under free coinage the United States
mlnts would not give any price at all for
silver. They would simply take the sill
yer bullion presented by Its owners and
stamp It into dollars showing that II con-
talned certain degree of weight and
fineness. The dollars which the owner
of the bullion received would be worth
precisely what It cost him to get the sill
yer to make them, not one cent more nor
less. 1t would be impossible for them to
be worth more for any one else could buy
the silver at the market price and get 1t
coined on the same terms,
The proposition that under the free and
unlimited coinage of silver the United
States minis would buy the silver OF the
world to such an extent that the enor-
nous demand would raise the price from,
say "a cents an ounce, the present market
price, to 81 20 is absurd for the reason
that the minis would have no price. It
would be fixed purely by the commercial
price.
These matters were all gone over in the
last campaign and the people very thor
oughly understand them. But there is
another point which the Register raises,
and which nearly all advocates Of free
coinage harp on, totally ignoring the fact
that 1t knocks the prop from the reason
they give for desiring free coinage. The
poo,ster srnresses II thus.
n FREQ coinage then would raise the nrlco
of silver to sl.29 per ounce, because that
price for silver bullion would then be es-
tablshed at every United States mint,
which woul recognize silver bullion at the
IL tfs.
Te IA milan il i've would mnnIfSstly' he inn.
possible for the commercial price OF sllxer
D Dr1li IN needs NO demonstration To- n
man with an ounce OF brains.
Granting, for the sake of argument,
that the price OF silver would 60 up to
81 20 per ounce, which Is merely guess
work" let us see how inconsistent. the
desire of the sllverites that It should
reach that price Is with their general
contention. The argument of Mr.. 'Bry-
an, Mr.. Bland, Mr. Stewart, and all the
other leaders OF the silver cause. is that
prices have ruInously declined by reason
Of the alleged appreciation Of gold; this
they argue is an oppression Of the debtt
ors. Then they reason out that under
free coinage the debtor could pay his
debt In dollars more easily obtained
through an advance in prices because of
cheapened dollar.
The advance Of silver to 81 20 per ounce
would place 1t on a parity with gold,
making the silver dollar worth one hun
dred cents and we submit TO our neigh
Dor would It not be then JUST as hard for
the man who owes a debt to pay 1t in sil-
yer as to pay It In gold? Where then
would be the advantage Of the cheaper
1910 '