Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-09-20
WORSE AND MORE OF 1T.

WORSE AND MORE OFT.
The Register has in no way misquo-
ted or garbled the extraordinary state
ment of Secretary Gage that the mint
price of gold and silver had nothing
whatever to do with the commercial
prices of these n etals. But since the
Intelligencer says we did misquote Mr..
Gage, we will let that truthful organ
define the Secretary's statement in it's
own words, as follows
Secretary Gage did not say that "the
mint price has nothing to do with the
What he did say was that under free
coinage there was no mint price, that
the metal was simply coined on private
of the bullion his silver. in the form of
coin. and that the value of the coin
would be whatever the silver bullion in
it was worth in the commercial market.
This is worse and more of it. We
would like the intelligent Intelligencer
to tell us what it means by saying
that the owner of silver bullion under
free coinage would simply take his sill
yer to the mint and receive silver dol
lars for it and that these would be
worth only the commercial value of
the silver in them, which now, ON THE
GOLD BASIS, is about 81 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? If the United States govern
ment stamps this silver as dollar of
final redemption, i'm accordance with it's
policy from the foundation of the mint
untf7 1873, does our neighbor mean to
state in sober earnes tness that it would
not be dollar? Surely the Intelligencer
can not have so little faith in it's own
government, as it's remarkable asser-
ton would Sc EN- to show.
Most assuredYy silver under free COIN
age would be coined for private ac-
count just as gold is, and does our
neighbor suppose that any man would
sell his bullion iLs the commercial mar
ket for less than S1.29 per ounce when
he could take it ttS the mint and have
the government sta mp that value on it
and return it to him in 100-cent dol
lars as good as GOLD, in the payment
of all debts? Our netghbor certainly
would not take SO untenvrpIe ana utterly
ridiculous a position With it's eyes open.
If free coinage then would raise the
price of silver to $1.29 per ounce be-
cause that price for silver bullion would
then be established at every United
States mint, which would recognize
silver bullion at the legal coinage ratio
as theysnow recognize gold isulAon, it
would, manifestly, be impossible for
the commercial price of silver bullion
to fall below the mint price. That
proposition needs no demonstration to
a man with an ounce Of brains
Of what gross ignorance. then, does
Secretary Gage convict himself when
he states that the mint price has moth
ing to do with the commercial price of
gold or silver bullion, or to put it in the
Intelligencer's language, that there
would be no mint price under free
coinage
The commercial price of gold or sill
yer under free coinage might rise above
the mint price, bait it needs no demon
stration to show that it would be i'm
possible for it to fall below it.
In it's attempted defense of Secretary
Cages unprecedented statement the
Fourteenth street organ convicts itself
of even more stupendous ignorance
than his of the very first principles of
the coinage question.
The Intelligencer should know that
there is no dispute about this matter
between the parties. Both Den ocrat-
ic and Republican platforms unquali-
fedly endorse free coinage; the only
difference is that the Republicans say
we ought to wait until we can get per-
mission from Europe-wfrich means
Esthe Bank of England-while the
Democrats believe that this govern
ment is great enough and powerful
enough in the world Of commerce to
adopt and maintain its own monetary
neutrality-suspicious. in view of the
fact that this country is the greatest
producer of silver in the world.