During the same time als Germany increased her gold circulation from $227,500.000 in 1870 to $587,500, 000, in 1879 The net result in these two countries, therefore, is an enormou increase of redemption money sinc 1873. 45.) This increase mor than makes good the retirement o: $295,000,000 from the ciculation o Germany. Then it is wel known that during the period of th Bland-Allison and Sherman acts oui silver circiilation was increased t f625,300,000 (report of director of min for 1894, p. The meaning of the expression "demonetization of silver destroyed ou half the redemption money of the United States' ' as applied to this perioc is not therefore clear. To begin with our circulatoin from 1861 to 1879 contained no gold or silver, they having been driven out by depreciated paper. Now, the issue here involved is one of fact, based on official statstics and not difficult to determine therefore. On page 39 of "Coin", we read "The dislocation of the parity of the two metáis by the demonetization of silver and the attempt to maintain our credit in gold, has reduced the redemption money of the world from $7,547,590,215 to $3,725,018,869, or a little less than one half the original amount. Nor is this claim less absurd than the other that the demonetizaton of silver destroyed one half of our money of redemption (see "Coin" page 52) and not only of the United States, but of the world. It furnishes convincing evidence, however, of the inability of this countiy alone to restore silver to its former value no matter what may be the cause of its decline. The claim is a palpable absurdity and so manifest that it smacks of intentional deceit. Notwithstanding these facts free silver advocates persistantly assert that this fall was due to the closing of our mints to silver in 1873. It appears therefore that under the Bland-Allison act and the Sherman law, the market for silver for coinage purposes was enormously increased, more than twentty fold ia fact, and yet there was a steady decline in the price of the white metal, until it reached one half of its former value. Even including the subsidiary coinage, the governinent under the much lauded free coinage act, only coined on the average $1,800,000 a year. Thus it will be seen that during these 15 years years our governmeut purchased and converted into money, on the average about $40,000,000 a year, or more than f our times as many dollars in a single year as during the entire 71 years of our preceding history. In 1890 came the Sherman act and under its provisions there were coined, or rather issued upou the bullion purchased, $155,931,002 of silver certificates - making a grand total in 15 years of f 577, 707,410 of silver purchased and converted into money. In 1878 carne the Bland-Allison act, passed over the veto of President Hayes and up to 1890 there were'coined under its provisions 421,776,408 silver dollars. From 1861 up to about the time of resumption in 1879 onr circnlation contained neither gold nor silver - they had been driven out by the depreciated greenbacks. What are the f acts? These: During the 71 years previous to 1873, we had coined all told 8,045,838 silver dollars. Very niany people, through the teachings of the free silver advocates and of "Coin's Financial School, ' ' bnt without investigation for themsolves, have been led to snppose that large numbers of silver dollars had been coined previons to 1873, bnt that since that time their coinage has ceased and that as a result of the demonetization act one-half of the redeniption money of the United States was destroyed and the ïnarket value of silver depressed by the throwing of a large amount of the white metal into the arts.
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