The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-11
PASSING OF THE SILVER DOLLAR.

PASSING OF THE SILVER DOLLAR. We do not allude to the passing of silver dollars over the counter. or from one pocket to another. but to the fact that the use of the cart wheeT' is be- coming unpopular and is likely to be a thing of the past as currency. Without any desire to stir up old issues or un- cover old sores, 1t Is well enough to re- member that but few years have passed since a determined effort was made to make the silver dollar the standard of our financial system and to crown the cart-wheel as the king of moneys.
 The effort failed, as it should have done, and the coin Is losing its popular ity. That 1t will not go entirely out of use is certain, because 1t is good sound money, and there are yet many people who prefer 1t to any other form of cur rency. Especially is this true of the negroes of the South. and their prefer ence is sensible. Interruptions rascals frequently take advantage of the me- groes' ignorance to swindle them in various ways with paper money. Old Confederate bills. repudiated State money and money of old State banks which have long passed away. are palmed off on ignorant and uneducated negroes, and 1t Is not an infrequent occurrence for bills to be passed on the negro of a lower denomination than represented by the swindler.
 With the time -honored silver dollar
 
 True, there are some commercials. but they are comparatively few and no &C., count Is taken of them by the colored people. They know what a silver dol lar is and what 1t represents. It ap- peals to them in many ways and they value 1t above all other money. It Is also true that many white people pre- fer this money. partly from association and partly because 1t is more conven- lent to carry in small quantities. and when a small surplus is on hand. 1t can be laid away with more safety than paper bills can.
 But all these varied reasons cannot keep the cart-wheel money in the front as a medium of exchange. All argu- mepts in its favor, whether actual or sentimental, cannot prevent 1t from losing It's popularity. Our Government itself, about a score of years ago, tried to force its circulation by withholding the greenbacks, but all efforts to keep 1t going have failed. Now, in the words of a contemporary, "the interesting story comes from Washington that the effort to crowd the bulky and inconven- tent dollar upon the public has been abandoned. and that the "cartwheels' are going into the treasury vaults at the rate of several millions a year. Their place in circulation Is taken by silver certificates. The exchange is now encouraged by the Government be- cause of the heavy cost of shipping the silver from place to place as it is needed to equalize circulation. The silver dol lar is virtually out of use in the East, and in a few years 1t will disappear from the West also if the present policy is followed. The chief objection to the paper dollar. its filthy condition after 1t has been a long time in circulation, has been especially potent in the West on account of the long distance to the sub- -treasuries where new dollars could be procured. The Government will en- deavor to do away with this objection by making a special effort to send clean paper to the Western States"
 The silver craze of few years ago was the last spasmodic effort to keep the dollars going. and 1t is not likely that there will be another. Our paper currency Is now practically safe. 1t is to handle and carry, and oc- cupies a comparatively small bulk. One of the great objections, as stated above. IS that the bills from constant handling become ragged and filthy. and many people object to them for that reason, but the Government will remove that objection as rapidly as possible by substituting new bills for old ones.
 The silver dollars are no longer coined. but the Government will always keep enough of them to supply all de- mands, so that those who prefer them can be accommodated. And 1t should be remembered that the smaller silver coins are still made and are as popular as ever. They supply our only small change and immense quantities of them are needed, but the day of the cart wheel is passing.
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