The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-06-10
FRIDAY. JUNE 10. 1898.
NO "CoINING OF THE SEIGNIOR-
AGE"

The foolish. absurd question Of the
"seignoriage" has again risen 70 embar-
rass the government in the midst Of the
pressures Of war. One hundred years
from now people who read Of tho politics
of to-day will ash what were the people
at the end of the last century talking
about when they discussed the coinage
Of the seigniorage" so much? They VIII
then be told that It was proposition that
Ahe government should coin its pohts
upon a transaction that had netted II
tremendous loss, and We fear our de-
scendants Of that day will not have TOO
much respect for the intelligence Of their
ancestors of this.
So It is. however. that the wretched
"seigniorage" business has bobbed up
again IN Congress, and considerable
body there insists that the government
snail not have the money necessary to
paw our soldiers and sailors unless all
hands first agree TO "coin the seignior-
age."
This would be matter Of small I'M
portance in itself If the coinage of forty
two millions Of silver dollars, worth only
forty cents each, were all that was In
volved We are now carrying some FIVE
hundred millions of these doubly-valued
dollars. and while we keep our credit per-
feet by redeeming them with gold dollars,
we can easily carry forty-two millions
more Of them. But that is not the whole
case. The world accepted the decisive
election Of 1886 as proof that this country
was opposed to the financial heresies of
free silver and fiat money. and the world
was beginning TO return us that conf
dence which we forfeited when the i'm
preston got abroad that we were victims
TO those Illusions. This returning conf
dence was beginning TO work marvels IN
every quarter of the Union when this
miserable Spanish war came on us to ar
rest its progress for awhile, and as soon
as that wretched affair IS finished the
tide of prosperity will set In again as 1t
has ever been seen to run i'm the United
States barring any such untoward acct
dents as coming the seigniorage or
other such wind-bag propositions.
Bun IL we now depart from the solid
foundations OF true finance that the cleo
ton OF 1896 placed us upon by undertaking
10 coin vacuum" as Mr.. Abram
Hewitt expressed it, no man can say what
the effect will be upon the worlds opin-
TONS. The world will begin 10 ask itself
what manner OF people are those Afneri-
cans after all? This passing OF an act
10 coin the seigniorage" is nothing but
another act TO Great fiat money and that
shows that the heresy is not really dead
1t is liable 10 reassert itself, and it may
yet rule America and cause all American
promises TO pay dollars to be solved in
coins worth only forty-four cents or less
II the rising tide Of renewed confidence
in us should be met by a counter current
of this sort it would do rs ar incalcula-
BILE injury and would rotlrd cur march
10 our old position before the world more
than any one can imagine. Such catas-
trophe should be avoided at all cost. The
sound money men in Congress should re-
fuse to yield one iota TO this demand. let
consequences be what they may. II the
free silver men in Congress choose TO
starve the government now in the emer-
gencles OF war. let them do so and take
the consequences before an outraged peo-
pie. But thore should be no yielding TO
this demand whatever may be the re-
suit The cause Of sound money has
been tried before the American people
and II has won There is 10 be no retro
grading now. Stand 10 your guns, gen
tlemen OF the sound money cause. and
resist all attacks upon It with all your
power and 10 the last ditch.