The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-08-25
The Currency Question.
SIXTEEN TO ONE.
IL the Ratio at Which Even Our Gold
Standard Administration Is
Coming silver.

Under the coinage laws OF the United
States 16 ounces of silver are the equiv
alent of one ounce of gold The law un
der which our gold and silver is coined
was enacted in 1884. Prior to that time
the coinage laws of 1892 were in force
making the equivalent in coins of Is
ounces of silver and one ounce of gold.
The silver coin of the world outside
of the United States bears the ratio
to gold coin of 1874 to /. Prior to 1884
gold coin of the United States was
shipped abroad in payment of foreign
balances in preference TO silver, be-
cause gold, relatively TO silver, would
go further in satisfying foreign de-
mands on account of one ounce of gold
being equivalent to 1914 ounces OF sill
Is ounces at home.
In 1894 a law was passed reducing
the weight of our gold coins. Under
the new law one ounce of gold was
the equivalent in coin of 1898 ounces
Of silver, which being only POI Of an
ounce less than 16, has since that time
been referred to incorrectly as 16 to
for the sake of speaking in round num-
bers.
After the passage of the coinage law
of 1884 the American silver dollar was
at premium over American gold coin
in Europe until after the demonetiza-
tion act of 1873.
What is therefore known as 16 to
is the law of the land, and has been such
for &C years. The latest coinage law
enacted in this country was passed
by a republican congress and signed
by President Mckinley June -. 1898.
1t will be remembered that when the
war revenue bill was on its passage
Senator Wolcott, of Colorado, intro
duced an amendment which became
part of the bill, authorizing the coin
age of not less than 100000 silver
dollars each month. The silver dollars
coined under this law are coined at
the ratio of 16 to / and contain the
same amount of pure silver authorized
in the law OF 1894, which is the only
silver dollar ever coined by the govern
ment.
Under the administration of Presi-
dent Mckinley there have been coined
59,9ss, 500 silver dollars. During the
month of June this year there were
coined at the mints of the United
States 100000 silver dollars at the
ratio of 16 to /. and the mints are still
coming silver dollars at that ratio.
Why then this republican howl about
16 to /? If 16 Is wrong, why did Presi-
dent Mckinley sign law authorizing
the coinage of not less than 1900 900
of these dollars per month at that ratio,
until all the silver bullion purchased
under the Sherman law, amounting to
about S90,OO0,OOO worth. is made into
coin?
If there is anything wrong about 16
to 1 why has not the president recon-
mended a change of ratio, which he
has not done? If 16 to is wrong. why
has not some republican member of
the house of representatives or of the
senate introduced bill to change the
ratio which none of them have done,
but instead have passed bill to coin
approximately 500, 100000 at that
ratio?
Sixteen to one is McKinley's ratio.
the conclusive proof of which is that
he is coming silver at that ratio and
has never mentioned any other, al
though both houses of congress are
republican and the administration has
the power to change the ratio.
1t has been our experience, and we
venture the assertion that it is the
experience of our readers generally.
that the men who are found prating
about 16 to throughout the country
are ignorant of the facts herein stated.
Many of those whom we find decrying
16 to 1 honestly think that these fig-
ures refer to something new, the in
vention of Mr.. Bryan or something cop
led by him from the populists. They
do not know that it is the law of the
land and that it has been such for &C
years and that it has the Endorsement
of the present administration. If there
is anything wrong about 16 to l the
Mckinley administration is culpable
because under a law OF its own enact
ment it is coming and paying out sill
yer dollars at that ratio, and is not
confining itself TO the minimum au-
thorized by law but is uttering such
coin far in excess of such minimum
limit under the law.
These facts will no doubt appear TO
be startling information to such re-
publicans and democrats as have been
the unsuspecting dupes of some igno-
rant editor who parrots through the
columns of his paper the twaddle sent
out from some fake factory of the gold
combination. But the fact that they
have been deceived and victimized
ought to serve TO put them on their
guard in the future and to warn them
against crediting what purports to be
information coming to them through
any such unreliable sources.-National
Watchman.