Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-03-10

litttI newspaper Vi OItll1t COulll'
should reaffirm that ..there was moth
ing the matter with our currency"
Hoping to disabuse the minds o
some of the readers of your paper o
that error and in further defense o
our president, ask you to print ont
more article.
feel sure that you will not dispute
that there is such a thing rs .'fiat mon
ey" and that fiat money cannot long bt
kept in circulation and must be re
deemed or it will sooner or later be re
pudiated; that money is medium Of
exchange with which we buy the com.
forts, conveniences and necessities OF
life; that the possession of it and the
proper use of it mark the difference
between the civilized and the unciyi-
lized man, and the more good money
the people of any country have, the
more civilized and enlightened they
are.
You will also admit that to get the
greatest benefit from this money it
must be 'sound money and that IA
government fiat does not make sound
money or add any value to worthless
piece ofpaper. Neither does it make
fifty cents worth of silver worth one
dollar and the facts are that the silver in
our silver dollar twenty-five years ago
was worth $l.03; that two years ago it
was worth fifty cents, and today it is
worth only about forty cents and has
no redemption behind it but stands as
the only redemption to silver certiti-
Gates to the amount of over 800, 000,-
600 more than the silver Is worth,
and this consider sufficient proof that
something calls our currency If
this is not sufficient proof would ask
ii there is no other trouble with our
$500, 100000 standard silver dollars
that stand alone in the coinage of the
world as a glarino monument of the
folly of the American people and their
inability TO profit by the bitter expert
ence OF other countries.
Are you not aware, Mr.. Editor. that
there is no other legal tender coin. now
coined in the world, bearing any rela-
tionship to this silver dollar? that it is
the only coin. now coined in the world,
that is coined on government ac-
count at a profit to the mint made ir-
redeemable and full legal tender?
that every other legal tender now
coined in the world was''tree coined ?"
that every other coin issued on gov
eminent account" at a mint profit, in
our subsidiary silver. is re-
deemable and not a full legal tender?
that our silver dollars are lawful ro-
demption for over one-half of our pa
per money, but are worthless for that
purpose and cannot be used for re-
demption ? that it is neither honest
primary money nor an honest substi-
tute for it; il is neither ''fish. flesh nor
fowl, y nothing but a demonetized fiat
mule dollar, worth forty cents?
Are you not aware that moi conn
try in the world today, save ours. is
sues full legal tender coin on '.gov-
eminent account nor would be per-
mitted to by its people? They have
long enough to remember
what misery the coinage of legal ten
ders on government account brought
them.
But You say. 1--WE repeat there is
the matter with our currency
ask what was the matter with Ire
lands ''gun money! or Sweden's me
cessity money the French assignat or
any other fiat money when il was first
issued? They were at first willingly
accepted, then objected to and finally
risen against by the common people
They were exact counterparts of our
present silver dollar. and like ours
we're issued on government account
1t profit to the mint and were ire
leemable legal tender. It was fiat
We have got this fiat money.
Il is useless to deny it. 1t cannot long |
De kept in circulation. 1t never has |
)eell-it never can be. Something must |
De done with it or it will he repudiated. |
There is no poweron earth that can pre- |
rent it. But you would ask, "Would this |
silver dollar have been worth any mole |
f it had been free coinedpr answer |
Yes The price of sill
Ter would have gone up instead of 60
NO down.
The passage of the sherman act
aised the price of silver from soc. per
,unce to Sl.2l per ounce, and would |
lave sent ii to a parity with gold
.29) ii it had been free coined. But
,ther countries had not forgotten the
lire consequences of raising money on
government account They knew
I'LL well that It was impossible to keep
uch money in circulation long and
hat the silver was likely to be flung
Ipon the market again.
There is no one who disputes that
rec coinage of silver by the United
tates would raise the price of that
METAL. Possibly it might, temporarily.
end us to a silver basis. but the advo-
ates of free coinage think it would
lot. as it will take 5000. 000, 900 of sill
'er. or some other kind OF money. to
ring the per capita currency of the
jnited States to where it was five years
90. The increase of our population.
which averages 1900, 900 or more each
ear at S2j per capita would absorb
80. 900, 900 of it annually. As the out
nut of silver for coinage purposes is
bout Sl00,000,000 annually, il would
axe four years product of all the
ntpaz In tho xVorld ~ ,,laoo o,,- -. /