Evening star., 1902-03-24
USE FOR WHITE METAL
Republican Leaders Consider
ing a Proposition.
NO FREE COINAGE
PROBABILITY OF A PHILIPPINE
SILVER DOLLAR.
Senate Committee May Authorize One
to Be Worth Only Fifty Cents to
Replace Mexican Coin.
NO FREE COINAGE

The Idea that there Is any likelihood that
the Senate committee on the Philippines
VIII recommend TO the Senate bill for the
Zee coinage OF silver in those islands is
wholly erroneous. The leading republican
members on that committee and In the
Senate have no intention Of having free
coinage in the Philippines or anywhere
else
The proposition that is being discussed is
one to provide silver coinage for the Phil
ippines that will take the place OF the
Mexican peso, now generally used there.
This coinage will be issued by the govern
ment on very much the same principle that
silver dollars We're coined under the Sher-
man act and about as silver coin for India
is provided by the British government
The Idea which is dominant among re-
publican leaders of the Philippines commit
tee and of the Senate is that the United
States government shall coin what Will
probably be called Philippine dollars as in
the judgment Of the authorities they are
needed for the purposes of trade. The plan
that is being considered by them is to have
the government purchase silver for this
purpose as needed and TO coin 1t, the Phil
ippine dollar to be worth 30 cents The idea
of opening the mints for the free coinage
Of silver for the Philippines any other
possessions of the United States has never
been seriously considered by republican
leaders.
This proposition is now being considered
by subcommittee of the committee on the
Philippines, consisting of Senators Allison.
Beveridge and Dubois. Mr.. Dubois il an
advocate of free silver and will use his in
f1uence in order to secure as general use
Of that metal possible. The subcommit-
tee is still considering the matter, but it is
not likely that they will be ready to make
report to the full committee before next
Monday. Senators Allison and Beveridge
tn nrt- 10 tilt, ia
coinage for the Philippines except some
limited plan as Indicated.
Money Now in Circulation.
The money now in circulation in the
Philippine Islands is chiefly the Mcxican
dollar. two of which pass for one -Amori-
can gold dollar. The action contemplated
by leading republicans in Congress is to re-
| place that dollar with an American coin
| that will have about its same value. This
| coin will. in fact. contain less than -
| cents worth of bullion silver, and when
| once put out by the government will prac-
tically take care of itself just as the
coin put out by the British government in
India does. Mr.. Conant, who made an in
vestigation Of conditions of finance In the
Philippines and reported on them to the
| Secretary Of the Treasury, recommended
| that this coin be maintained on a parity
| with the American gold dollar, but the
dominant opinion of republican leaders in
the Senate does not favor such plan. al
| though that proposition will be discussed
| by the Philippine committee
1t has been found by actual experience
| that the British coin in India not main
| tanned on parity with gold takes care NJ
| itself and circuates While it is coined in
! India, it crculates chiefly in China and
| lately has been circulated largely at Pekin,
| being accepted there. In the same way it
| is anticipated that a silver coin to be
| known as the Philippine dollar is expected
n n1nv Wnr6 a ha oh rh.l
| there, making necessary a frequent
| plenishment of the Philippine coinage by
| this government, which it is proposed to
| do just as frequently and in such quanti-
ties the circumstances seem to demand
| 1t is believed that this plan will not only
| supply coins more acceptable to the Fill
| pinos than those they now have. but that
| it will make a for large amount Of
American silver.
The Mexican coin now used In the islands
| is said not to be of uniform value. They
vary In grain or two of silver. while the
new coins will be absolutely uniform in
| value, At the beginning OF this discussion
| among senator's it was shown that to put
| forward in the Philippines American
| dollar that would be worth two of the dol
| lars that people had been accustomed to
would cause endless dissatisfaction inter
| fering with the long eSta bliShed standards
of value 1t was accepted as without doubt
| that the Filipinos would not willingly ac-
cept five dollars as payment for ten OF the
dollars they had been accustomed to, so
| that the plan under consideration was read
| lily arrived at. This coin will be placed in
| circulation by the government paying it
| out for it's various purposes just as it has
| temporarily been using the Mexican dollar
| in general circulation there. 1t will not, OF
| course, be paid to those who have been
| contracted with on the basis of the Ameri-
| can gold dollar except by the payment of
| two such silver dollars for one gold dollar.
But the idea of genuine free coinage Of
silver in the Philippines has not. and those
best informed on the purposes Of the repub-
| lican body, declare that it will not be even
| seriously considered