The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-12-12

so-called 'Bland-Allison act on the 18th of
February. 1873. With all of the Ills which
this measure brought upon the country 1t
was far 10 be preferred TO an absolute free
coinage bill. which threatened the
country at that date. President Hayes
vetoed the bill, but on the 18th
day of February. 1873, 1t was passed
over his veto by both houses, the
vote in the House being 196 to 70 and in the
Senate As to 49, The rapidity with which
the silver dollars were coined and issued
into circulation greatly stimulated the adj
vocates of cheap money, who became rest
less at the delay occasioned by the mints.
which We're not able to turn out the money
as rapidly as the people desired. and the
law of July IA. 1890. providing for the i'm
mediate issue of treasury notes based upon
the bullion purchased to be redeemed by
the dollars as coined. enabled the Issue of
the money more rapidly than was provided
by the capacity of the minis.
by the act of Sept. g. 1890, Congress dis
continued the coinage of the one-dollar gold
pieces, which the law Of eb. u, 1873. had
declared to be the unit of value This act
further confused the legal status of the
standard. While the actual existence of the
gold one-dollar piece is not essential, yet it
having been declared by law to be the unit
OF value Its dfscontinuance cast doubt upon
the character of the standard.
The purchasing clause of the law Of July
IA, 1880. was repealed Nov 1. 1893. So
grievous had grown the burden on the gov
eminent because of the vast issue of a de-
preciated coin that confidence in the gov
ernment's ability to maintain it was
shaken. The same law which repealed the
purchasing clause of the act Of July IA. 1890,
contained the provis on declaring it to be
the fixed purpose of the government to
maintain its gold and silver of equal in
trinsic and exchangeable value But for
TINS declaration the silver coins would have
circulated only at their intrinsic value,
which was less than par. With the decla-
ration the pledge of the government for
the maintenance of their parity with gold
ted Ill rrn~
tional bond. By this pledge the govern
ment made additional recognition of the
standard of gold, in which. by implication
II proposed to measure the value of the
silver dollar.
PUBLIC CONFIDENCE SHAKEN.
THE tremendous increase of silver coin
under the operation of the laws of 1878 and
1890 created a doubt as to the ability of
the government to maintain the parity Of
all of its money. Prior to 1873, when the
gold standard was adopted, there had been
issued by the government only SO31, 23S sill
yer dollars. From Feb. II, 1875 when the
recoinage of the silver dollar was author
lied, to Nov. l. 1893. when such coinage was
Discontinued, there were coined by the gov
eminent 4S2. 357,376 silver dollars. Upon this
last date there was not a silver dollar in
circulation whose face value equaled it's
intrinsic and face value was a government
obligation, so established by congressional
act. No other method of maintenance of
the parity of silver with gold, other than
the pledge or the government, was known
to the law. The ability of the government
to bear this burden was never questioned.
The mere money obligation imposed by
the law created no serious embarrassment.
1t was the principle involved, coupled with
the repeated efforts by a very considerable
number of the people of the country to
establish absolute free coinage of silver,
which shook public confidence and pro-
duced a fear that a change of the mon
etary standard would result Numerous
propositions, looking to such change, We're
introduced in Congress, some of which
were given such consideration as to keep
the anxiety of the public at high pitch.
1.-The passage of the sO-called Teller reso-
luton, Feb. %, 1898, by the United States
Senate. was hardly calculated TO quiet
these fears. In q period of less than twenty
years two forcible efforts to establish alb
solute free coinage of silver were made,
and two laws enacted authorizing the COIN
age of the silver dollor, resulting in the
issue of the vast sum Of s4S2 351,Sl6 the
same being the number of silver dollars
coined from 1873 to 1893. With such dan
gers existing, and with the energy OF
great political party, with vast num-
Der, though a minority, of our people clam
oring for a change of standard, the neces-
suy for a positive and unequivocal decla-
ration by law seems absolute and para
mount.
eff the legal standard to-day is the gold
standard, under the act of 1913, positive
statute to that effect can do no harm. II,
on the other hand there is any reasonable
doubt it should be dispelled by statute
plain and clear in its terms, and absolute
i'm its effetc The American government
is too great for it to hesitate to make alb
solutely certain any OF Its policies; It's re-
sponsibility to it's people in the proper and
peaceful discharge of their trade too sure
and certain, for it to suffer the slightest
doubt Of the standard OF measurement
of values in the vast business transactions
of our people. The present conditions are
most favorable. and the time most oppor-
tune for the clear and uneqrfvocal adop-
ton of the gold standard.
"Prior to the year 1896, the gold stand
ard had been legally adopted by thirteen
of the leading nations of the world, ana
since 1896 by four such nations. as EVIL
denced by the following table: