Year: 1877

bills by as many different members for the
remonetization Of silver. AS yet we are
able to judge of these bills only by their
titles, these alone being reported in the
Congressional Record They are as like to
one another as peas from the same pod, and
as we choose to estimate this bad cargo by
sample we select and copy the longest OF
the titles rs we find them officially reported
in the Record, from which we make the fol-
lowing verbatim transcript -


Mr. Hunter introduced q bill III X No 443) to au-
horzo the Secretary Of the Troasury TO purchase sill
bullion, tho 10 be coined, well as
silver bullion oil The citizens OF the rnited States, and
making said silver dollar when coined n lega. tender
tor all debts, public und private, within tho United
States including duties on imports and interest on the
public debt excepting obligations heretofore entered
into und made payable In gold, such obligations last
named be paid M gold anc repealing all acts and
parts of acts herewith; which rend
first and second time, referred to tho Committee on
Coinage Weights and Measures, when appointed, and
ordered TO be printed


The bill to which the foregoing descrip-
tive title is prefxed by its author being
specimen of tho whole number as described
by their titles we are constrained to oppose
and denounce the entire batch. There is
not one of tho thirteen which it would not
be national infamy for Congress to pass.
We concede that there might be bill for
remonetizing silver which would not be
disgraceful. Mr.. Evarts limited ut some
plan for this purpose without de-
fning it in his speech last summer at
the Chamber of Commerce banquet. But
he could have meant nothing similar
to any Of these disreputable bills which
-,
dent Hayes and Secretary Sherman have
given more open encouragement to the re-
monetization of silver, but surely they
never intended to countenance the most in
sidious and rascally form of reputation.
The silver men have presumed SO much on
the favoring hints of the administration,
and have been so emboldened to broach
projects SO fraught with national dishonor,
that it is the duty of all honest
men to fight their scheme and give it
no quarter. The folly of dallying with
this subject is demonstrated by the effect
OF the moderate concession to Western senti-
ment made during the autumn by the ad-
ministration. To give any countenance to
these schemers is like playing with fire.
small fire on the hearth of dwelling may
be very good thing; but when there are
maniacs in the house bent on snatching
burning embers and tlinging them right and
left through all the apartments there is no
safety but in extinguishing all the fires. The
character Of the numerous silver bills intro
duced on Monday leaves us no choice but
to insist on the postponement Of the whole
subject until the advocates Of remonetiza-
ton shall become more rational. We trust
they will receive no further countenance
from the President and the Secretary Of the
Treasury. Things have come to such
pass that there must be no moro dallying
with this subject.


There are two fundamental and fatal
objections to every one Of this batch of sill
yer bills. The first Of these objections is
tization without any change in the standard
OF the old silver dollar The fit thing to
be said about such project is that it is q
piece of swindling scoundrelism. If silver
is to be remonetized beyond the necessity
for small change it is the plainest die





that the coinage law should be so
altered as to make the amount OF metal in
silver dollar of the same value as the metal
in gold dollar. The silver coin should
contain precisely a gold dollars worth Of
silver bullion, SO that dollar in either
The old silver dollar, or ''the dollar Of our
fathers" as these schemers, with foolish
affectation Of fondness, are pleased to call
it, contains q smaller weight OF metal than
can be purchased for gold dollar,
whereas in an honest silver dollar the
equivalent to the uncoined metal
which the national Mint puts into gold
dollar. We do not think Of contending
that the two coins could be kept at par for
any length Of time. double or bi-metallic
standard being theoretically absurd from
the impossibility Of keeping two metals al
ways at par with each other. But if an
honest attempt were made to perform this
impossible feat the gold and the silver dol
lar should at least be made equivalent at the
outset of the experiment. Butall these mum er-
Gus silver bills agree in prescribing silver
dollar which is worth less than gold dollar
at the present market price Of silver, and
they are therefore, one and all, cheats and
swindles The first step and indispensable
requisite of an honest reconciliation Of
silver is such IA change iii the silver coinage
as would make the gold and the silver dol
lar equivalent. 1t would not be possible to
keep them SO for any length of time, but
with honesty at the start the disparity would
| not become SO great


| The other and still more fatal objection
to these silver bills is that they all contem.
plate the payment Of silver for the interest
and principal Of the public debt. Even il
the standard were SO changed as to make
tho silver dollar equal to the gold dollar