Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-02-17

4
Fancifui Free Silver Coinage Arguments
After quits protracted silence, and
evidently as result of outside in
SEPARATION, the Sussex Journal OF Inst
week returns to the subject of free
silver coinage, and attempts to offer
some arguments in support of that ah-
solutely uutenable contention. Among |
other things il says:
Under free coinage there will BIS no
such thing as a forty cent dollar.
Under free coinage the demand of
silver will be equal to tina supply, and
412lS grains of standard silver will he
worth one hundred cents. Under the
present law the demand for silver is
limited; the supply is greater than the
demand, and is continually growing
greater than the demand.
Here is a declaration, with nothing,
however, to sustain it. Why, indeed,
under free coinage of silver, should
4l2lh grains of metal silver he worth
one hundred cents? Why should it not
be worth less-ur say even moro. for
the sake of argumentH This IL some
ththB tlonb duNNChlb VI
coinage cannot answer. All insist,
with parrot.like repetition. that free
coinage will make metal silver worth
one hundred cents to the dollar, or
81. 30 per ounce, without attempting to
give any reason why such will be the
case.
1t lie true that under the existing
conditions the silver dollar is on
parity with the gold dollar, but the
strength and credit Of the government
have been strained to the utmost to
maintain this parity. Under the
operations OF the Sherman law, by
which the government was compelled
to purchase 50. 800, 900 worth of silver
bullion par month. this credit was go
seriously burdenod that Congress- was
compelled to Internationally repeal the
law. Even advocates of FREQ silver
coinage voted for the rspeal, whom the
fact stared them in the face that the
credit OF the government and the grave
business interests Of the country were
spriousl. threatened by this compulsory
any means he kept on anything like a
parity with gold, at the present ratio
IF coinage, In the markets Of the world.
This experiment of compulsory silver
purchase is one entirely lost upon the
advocates of free silver coinage. Undei
the Sherman law the government was q
sure and steady purchaser of silver
bullion, for stipulated amount poi
month, and yet the market value of The
metal steadily declined. How would i
be possible. therefore, for the govern
ment to cause an advance in price t.
sl.29 per ouncs-or any advance, il
fact-by accepting the silver produc
without limit and coming it into dol
lars for general circulation? 1t coult
NOT thereby add penny to the valu
of the metal contained in the silve
dollar, and the flood of coinage q
money from cheap metal would a
once destroy the parity between th
gold and silver dollars. and leave th
lattor, as they are in Mexico, worth fu
commercial purposes only the value c
the metal used in their coinage
addition, the circulation of this d,
based coinage, as has been ampl
proved by experience. would drive th
gold currency from circulation, and tt
country would thus be brought dow
to silver basis.
Tho journal admits that silver blu
lion has gradually fallen in price to
81.
demonetized in 1873" but fails to no
that the Bland-Aliso coinage act ar
the Sherman Purchase law uttor
failed to increase its value. How fr
coinage can effect what thess stiin
lating measures, failed to accomplir
We leave to our Sussex contemporary
demonstrate-if il can.