Silver Coins

It s not always best to have too much of a good thing. The United States is proud of its silver mines and their enormous output. And it may well take pride in mining as much of the shining metal as all the rest of the world combined. However the country has undoubtedly made many mistakes in the management of that which is perhaps considered too cheap by it owing to the vast amount which is yearly made available for coinage. First the trade dollar was made, not for general circulation on this continent, but to assist our merchants in the oriental, trade especially those in China. It served a good purpose in that direction until private speculation, ever on the alert for gain, saw advantage in buying the coins bjr weight and shipping them back to America where they would pass for a dollar. The weight was less than that of the silver dollar, so a good profit was effected by the difference. Hitherto they have gone unquestioned, but now they are becoming so plentiful as to threaten to drive out the legitimate "dollar of the dads." By one of the most natural laws of politica 1 economy an inferior coin will ahvnys drive out its superior in value, because everyone will board up the good and make haste to get rid of the suspicious, thus keeping the latter in active circuianon. The Eastern banks estiniatlng it by its value in weight have recently refused to allow more than 80 or 85 cents for the trade dollar. A slight panic was occasioned and at once an eflbrt was made to induce the government to call in the intruder and recoiu it This demand is confronted with the fact that speculators have again seen their opportunit, bought up large quantities of the foreign dollars at the depreciated price and now hold theiu in expectation that the government will call them in at face value. Tradesmen are generally cautious about handling them. Another problem in silver coinage is propounded to the people of the U. 8. By a bill passed by Congress the Mint is obliged to coin every month an amount largely in excess of that which can be forced into circulation. There are already nearly 112,000,000 of silver dollars locked up in the treasury and they are heilig added to at the rate of several millions every thirty days. It is true the people do not in any way suffer for the unemployment of this large sum of money, yet the fact that the supply is so much greater than the demand shows there is an expenditure which to a great extent is extravagant and useless. One of the urgers of this policy was Mr. New the afsistant secretary of the treasury, and we are glad to see that he is beginning to see the folly of the senseless over coinage and acknowledges his mistake. The people are beginning to ask that the cash in the public treasury be not regularly drawn upon so largely to purchase silver bars to be made into dollars they do not need.