Free Coinage Bill Provisions

The so-called free sil ver coinage bill, which luis been passed by the I'. 8. Senate, has these provisions: That the unit of value in the United States, shall be the dollar, and the same may be coiued of 411'1.. grains of standard silver, or of 15.8 raius of standard gold ; and the said coins shall be legal tender for all debts, public and private ; that hereafter any owner of silver or gold bullion uiay deposit the same at any mint in the l'uited States to be formeel into standard dollars or bars for lus benefit, and without charge ; but it shall be lawful to refuse any deposit of less than $100, orany bullion so Dase as to be unsuitable to the operations of the mint." Provisión is also made for the issue of coin certifieates of denominations of not less than one, or more than one hundred dollars, and that such certificates shall be redeemable in coin of standard value. Section 4 of the bilí provides "That the certificates provided lor in this act, and all silver and gold certificates already issued, shall be receivable for all taxes anti dues to the United States of every description, and shall be legal tender for the payinent of all debts, public and private." There is a possibility, but not a probability that this bill or one equivalent to it, may become a law within a year. As to the effect of such a free coinage act there is a diversity of opinión. If it will enhance the value of silver so that it shall be on a par with gold, then well and good. If the value of silver does not increase, and the government stamps the dollar mark on eighty cents' worth of silver, then gold will disappear from circulation, and this country will descend to a place alongside India, China and other silver standard countries. The bill does not confine free coinage to the bullion produced in this country, but throws the mints open to the world. If this bill should pass and result in giving this country depreciated rnoney, the speculators and silver kings will have a bonanza at the expense of the farmers, wage earners and merchants of this country. There is another class that wants a depreciated currency for the purpose of having their debts scaled down. There are many who houestly believe that free coinage will bring silver up to par with }.old and benefit the country. But the history of all financial legislation is to the contrary, and it is a dangerous experiment to try. The next meeting of the I.. A. W. will be held at Detroit July 16, 17, and 18, 1891. The event will cali to that city about 10,000 wheelmen trom all over the country. Theentire inenibership of the organization is now 18,113, which includes 441 ladies. For once in itslife the Al pena (Labor) Journal has struck a streak of good, sound common sense. Tliat paper is to be congratulated upon the following : "The 'free coinage of silver' is a great political hobby just now with deniocrats and farmers' alliances, but for ompart, we cannot forsee any permanent good in it for the masses of people. Whatever good there may be in it, should the bilí become a law, will be a mere temporary good. While private individuals, or banking corporations control the money of the nation it matters but little what our money is made of, so taras capital and labor are concerned. The passage of the 'free coinage bill' may be important to speculators in silver bullion and mine owners, but the people 's interests are seldom or never taken into consideration, by those who make and unmake our laws.