Western news-Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1898-1900, 1898-10-06
VALUE OF GOLD AND SILVER
COINS.

COINS.
1t is interesting to note that while
gal tender equality, they also made the
attempt to give commercial equality to
our two kinds Of coin by statute law;
it was soon found to be failure From
the very nature of things this kind Of
equality in value, that is, in the eX-
changeable Of commercial value, never
can be and never has been maintained
with precision by ourselves or any 9th
er nation of the world, for any reason
able length Of time. Truly this kind Of
equality in value, which is exceedingly
desirable, can be maintained with ap-
proXimate precision for many years, as
we can cite the experience Of the
French nation using a coinage ratio of
member that the legal tender value was
at the same time maintained with ab-
solute precision. Let us manfully face
the Well-authenticated historical fact
that the commercial value of gold and
silver coins, at any given ratio, was al
ways liable to vary from month to
month, from year to year, and from de-
cade to decade However, when Con
gress is in session it has the legal right
to follow these variations every day,
and make the childish effort by con-
stant changes in the weight of our
coins to have them conform to this
daily variation. This attempt was not
made by our nation, as we have reduc-
ed the weight of gold coins but once
QS34 during our national existence to-
ward this equalization, while we in
creased the gold $3.50 by a mere trifle
solely for ease in mint circulat tions
while the quantity of pure silver in our
standard silver dollar has remained I'M
changed since the first organization of
our mints. On the other hand, Con-
gress can and did regulate and main
tain the debt-paying value Of both
coins, under our flag, with absolute
precision from 1892 to 1878! While this
was an act of precision, the other was
merely an attempt at precision. Please
note this as very important and vital
distinction. The lawful debt-paying
value Of coined money always has and
always will have a powerful effect in
tending to maintain the approximate
equality, but never can maintain the
precise equality in the exchangeable
value of money, made of gold or silver,
when put under the hammer test or in
the melting pot. AS an advocate of the
restoration Of silver, at the existing
coinage ratio Of 16 to 1, l firmly hold
to the opinion that when we restore the
full legal tender power to our silver
dollar, its value as bullion will rise
and gold will fall. Many of the com
mercial nations of the world would, in
all probability, soon follow our exam
pie, and the wide and mischievous
chasm now separating the two metals
would be bridged by our financial lead
ership. Some difference will always
exist, as the history of coinage always
has shown, but it will not be so mis-
in prices as our present system has
done. The existing commercial value
of these two metals is now very far
from being a fair test to the proper
coinage ratio, while in 1892 it was q
fair test. This is mainly on account Of
silver having been so extensively out
lawed by so large a portion of the COM
mercial world for the last twenty-five
years. The assertion SO frequently
made that silver has fallen in eX-
value, when compared with
gold, on account Of the relative annual
Of silver, is false, as
can be readily seen by reference to
the official and universally accepted
statistics of the relative production of
these metals in the world during the
past 100 years. 1t is a mathematical
question concerning which there can be
no fair dispute. The comparatively
great stability in the relative exchang.
able value Of our coined money from
1892 to 1874, was secured simply be-
cause the United States permitted this
legal tender value to remain as Sa
cred and potent regulator, given to us
by our forefathers, and happily we also
had the cooperation of almost the en-
tire commercial world, as our mints,
as well as theirs, was open to the coin
age of both metals on equal terms.
When Congress commenced to tamper
with this full legal tender function of
silver in 1873. by making the gold dol
ar alone "the unit of value" and
stopped the further coinage of full le-
gal tender silver. and on June %, 1874,
all our existing full-weight
silver coins as debt payers, except to
the extent Of So, the mischief was then
and has never been entire
yol ,fo ~, oto1y