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Letter to Editor
January 17, 1878
The Wichita City Eagle
Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas
What is this article about?
In a letter dated Jan. 14, 1878, from Elmdale, Kan., Hon. S. N. Wood corrects prior silver dollar coinage statistics and contends that switching the U.S. monetary unit from silver to gold inflated the national debt by 8%, adding over $132 million and defrauding the public.
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Full Text
For the Eagle.
Explanatory Letter from Hon. S. N. Wood.
Elmdale, Kan., Jan. 14, 1878.
Editor Eagle:- In my hastily written letter in the Eagle of the 10th, written at the Harvey House, Topeka, on the 4th, I am made to say "The very last year before demonetization took place there was more silver coined than in any one year for eighty-one years before." I did not mean to say this. It is either an error of the types or my bungling way of writing. I intended to say "more silver dollars coined etc."
From reports of the mints there were coined of silver dollars from
1792 to 1817 88,200
1818 to 1837 1,000
1837 to 1847 938,873
1848 45,000
1849 62,000
1850 47,000
1851 1,300
1852 1,100
1853 46,110
1854 33,140
1855 26,000
1856 63,500
Total $1,274,223
This brings us up to 1856 when silver dollars ceased to be coined, and up to this time only $1,274,223 had been coined in a period of sixty-four years. Yet from 1856 to 1873 when silver was demonetized, a period of only seventeen years, there was coined $7,003,056, making a total of $8,277,270. In 1871 the silver coinage was $1,900,000; in 1872 it was $2,300,000. But this, after all, is not the question. It is not whether much or little was coined. It was the change of the "Federal unit." From 1792 to 1873 the "unit" of our money, established by law, was 24 3/4 grains of silver, 900 fine. It was upon this basis we contracted the National debt. By changing the silver to the gold dollar 25.8 standard gold we add eight per cent to our National debt, or over $132,000,000, and cheat the people just that much.
Yours,
S. N. Wood.
Explanatory Letter from Hon. S. N. Wood.
Elmdale, Kan., Jan. 14, 1878.
Editor Eagle:- In my hastily written letter in the Eagle of the 10th, written at the Harvey House, Topeka, on the 4th, I am made to say "The very last year before demonetization took place there was more silver coined than in any one year for eighty-one years before." I did not mean to say this. It is either an error of the types or my bungling way of writing. I intended to say "more silver dollars coined etc."
From reports of the mints there were coined of silver dollars from
1792 to 1817 88,200
1818 to 1837 1,000
1837 to 1847 938,873
1848 45,000
1849 62,000
1850 47,000
1851 1,300
1852 1,100
1853 46,110
1854 33,140
1855 26,000
1856 63,500
Total $1,274,223
This brings us up to 1856 when silver dollars ceased to be coined, and up to this time only $1,274,223 had been coined in a period of sixty-four years. Yet from 1856 to 1873 when silver was demonetized, a period of only seventeen years, there was coined $7,003,056, making a total of $8,277,270. In 1871 the silver coinage was $1,900,000; in 1872 it was $2,300,000. But this, after all, is not the question. It is not whether much or little was coined. It was the change of the "Federal unit." From 1792 to 1873 the "unit" of our money, established by law, was 24 3/4 grains of silver, 900 fine. It was upon this basis we contracted the National debt. By changing the silver to the gold dollar 25.8 standard gold we add eight per cent to our National debt, or over $132,000,000, and cheat the people just that much.
Yours,
S. N. Wood.
What sub-type of article is it?
Informative
Persuasive
What themes does it cover?
Economic Policy
What keywords are associated?
Silver Coinage
Demonetization
Monetary Unit
National Debt
Gold Standard
What entities or persons were involved?
S. N. Wood
Editor Eagle
Letter to Editor Details
Author
S. N. Wood
Recipient
Editor Eagle
Main Argument
corrects a misstatement in a prior letter regarding silver coinage volumes and argues that the legal shift from a silver-based monetary unit (24 3/4 grains of silver) to a gold standard (25.8 grains of gold) effectively increases the national debt by eight percent, or over $132,000,000, thereby cheating the people.
Notable Details
Provides Historical Mint Reports On Silver Dollar Coinage From 1792 To 1856 Totaling $1,274,223
Notes Post 1856 Coinage From 1856 1873 Totaling $7,003,056
References 1871 Coinage $1,900,000 And 1872 $2,300,000
Emphasizes The Change In The 'Federal Unit' From Silver To Gold As The Basis For National Debt Contracts